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Smashing Pumpkins and Jane's Addiction Took Hard Rock Live Back to the '90s

Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins performing at Irving Plaza in New York City on September 22.

"Up the Beach"
"Ain't No Right"
"Three Days"
"Jane Says"
"Been Caught Stealing"
"Mountain Song"
"Ted, Just Admit It..."
"Ocean Size"
"Bullet with Butterfly Wings"
"We Only Come Out at Night"
"Once in a Lifetime" (Talking Heads cover)
"Ava Adore"
"Tonight, Tonight"
"Stand Inside Your Love"
"I of the Mourning"
"Cherub Rock"
"Silverfuck"
"Harmageddon"

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Smashing Pumpkins and Jane's Addiction Kicked Off Their American Tour in Dallas On Sunday

Perry Farrell from Jane's Addiction gave his all during Sunday night's show in Dallas.

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Music and Concerts | Concert review: Jane’s Addiction outshines an…

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Music and concerts, subscriber only, music and concerts | concert review: jane’s addiction outshines an often dull smashing pumpkins at xcel energy center.

It felt more like 1992 on Friday night when two reunited bands from the era played St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center in front of about 11,000 nostalgic fans.

Or, make that nearly reunited. Openers Jane’s Addiction were down guitarist Dave Navarro, who is currently dealing with the effects of long COVID. Bassist D’arcy Wretzky, meanwhile, never rejoined Smashing Pumpkins when Billy Corgan invited original guitarist James Iha to join him and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin to tour and record again in 2018. (Of Corgan, Wretzky has said: “I honestly think he may have a brain tumor. He’s always been insufferable.”)

And, well, Jane’s Addiction won the evening with an exceptional hourlong set marred only by lead singer Perry Farrell’s inane between-song patter, which at one point had him going on at length about the hair of some dude in the crowd.

Queens of the Stone Age’s Troy Van Leeuwen lacked Navarro’s over-the-top rock persona, but he did a great job replicating Navarro’s memorable solos and added his own flourishes here and there.

The real secret weapon, though, was bassist Eric Avery, who has declined to participate in most reunited Jane’s Addiction activities, beyond a brief spell in the late ’00s. His distinctive, bass-as-lead-guitar approach is what made Jane’s Addiction’s early work so compelling, particularly on 1988’s “Nothing’s Shocking,” songs from which made up about half of Friday’s set list.

The band opened with the slow-burning “Kettle Whistle,” a track from Jane’s Addiction’s first, short-lived reunion in 1997. And while it was clear there were some effects being utilized, Farrell’s voice was shockingly on point. The guy is 63, has not led the healthiest lifestyle and, you know, the vocals on a lot of Jane’s Addiction songs are really weird and tough to sing in the best of circumstances.

Farrell and Avery soared on a huge “Ocean Size,” an even huger “Mountain Song” and an extended “Ted, Just Admit It …” Yes, Farrell did kind of mess up “Jane Says” and, again, he should have focused more on singing than speaking. But once they get Navarro back in the fold, these guys will be unstoppable, which no one was expecting from Jane’s Addiction in 2022.

The good news about Smashing Pumpkins is that they really dialed back the Billy Corgan Is God-isms of the 2018 tour. It felt much more like an actual band this time around, rather than Billy Corgan and others. The bad news is that Corgan has been quite prolific over the past years, recording a whopping 61 new songs across three albums, the most recent of which (“Atum: A Rock Opera in Three Acts”) is coming out in three separate 11-track collections.

That meant a lot of material unfamiliar to those who just wanted to rock out to “Bullet with Butterfly Wings.” They opened with “Empires,” the first of two selections from “Atum: Act Two.” Despite the bright “Today” popping up early, much of the first half of the show felt murky and aimless, with no real momentum and some truly dull newbies (“Cyr,” “Solara”).

The show hit rock bottom, though, when Corgan revived his cover version of Talking Heads’ “Once in a Lifetime,” which was previously a staple of live dates back in 2000. He slapped on an extended instrumental intro and recast the new wave smash as something approaching death metal. It didn’t work, Billy.

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Jane’s Addiction and Smashing Pumpkins live in New York City: ’90s legends stage a hit-filled fiery rock show

Madison Square Garden, October 19: The joint 'Spirits On Fire' arena tour proves rock's staying power in NYC

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the rock show,” Billy Corgan , enigmatic frontman of The Smashing Pumpkins , declares to a buzzing New York City crowd towards the start of their set. Madison Square Garden screams in response as he looks out at the mass of enthusiastic fans in Pumpkins tees, balancing drinks and swaying with excitement as they watch the legendary rock band take on one of the world’s biggest stages.

To be fair, the Manhattan audience has had quite the warm-up for the NYC stop of their ‘Spirits On Fire’ tour. Suited in a silver sparkling blazer and flanked by scantily clad dancers, Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell heats up the crowd with a swift but sensational set, one he describes as “short and sweet like afternoon sex”.

READ MORE: Perry Farrell on new music from Porno For Pyros and Jane’s Addiction, and the return of Eric Avery

The spicy statement seems fitting for a performance featuring sexy upside-down silhouettes on monkey bars and Farrell’s wife, Etty, spinning on a sex swing, but even with the heavy dose of adult content on stage, the guest-filled performance tips the scale towards rock and roll.

Josh Klinghoffer, formerly of Red Hot Chili Peppers and touring musician for Pearl Jam, ups the grunge rock ante by joining the Jane’s during their spiralling track ‘Three Days’. Daniel Ash of Bauhaus also takes part in the action, performing ‘Jane’s Says’ and ‘Slice Of Life’ to gracious listeners.

At 63 years old, Farrell, who midway through the rapid set shifts to black leather fingerless fringe gloves, still shimmers in his rock and roll prowess, keeping the attention of the crowd between hit tracks and gratifying banter, all while taking multiple sips from a glass.

“New York City, just like I remembered it only different,” he jokes before telling the story of the last time the band, which recently reconvened with founding bassist Eric Avery, played the Garden. “Last time I was here I got in a fight with a girl I was with in the hotel room before the show,” he says. “That’s why I was late. I do apologise.”

The band closes to the tune of ‘Been Caught Stealing’, with the whole of the stadium singing along to every word.

READ MORE: Smashing Pumpkins release new single ‘Beguiled’ and tell us about their three-part “rock opera”, ‘ATUM’

The Smashing Pumpkins open their set with their latest offering ‘ Empires ’ before leaning into fan favourites, ‘Bullet With Butterfly Wings’, ‘Zero’, and ‘Cherub Rock’. Lasers, mammoth screens, and a massive tilting brightly lit star illuminate the performance, but the most subdued moment, an acoustic version of ‘Tonight, Tonight’ steals and stills the show.

The band also shares a sinister cover of ‘Once in a Lifetime’, something they’ve done multiple times during their current tour, but the track goes off like a missile in Talking Heads ‘ hometown.

Pumpkins also delight the crowd by playing their pounding new track, ‘Beguiled’, the lead single to their upcoming album ‘ATUM’ which arrives next year . Although he’s draped in a black robe and dark face paint, Corgan’s demeanour on stage is anything but gloomy. The set is punctuated by multiple rounds of thanks and gratitude to onlookers. The band ends their set with another new track, ‘Harmageddon’ with fans singing along even though the song received its live debut less than a month ago.

The mid-week Madison Square Garden romp marks a triumphant night from two ‘90s bands whose ability to mix nostalgia-inducing tracks with fresh music, staying power, and driving sound has kept them and their fans going. The ‘Spirits On Fire’ tour stop in New York City proves there’s no such thing as a bygone era when it comes to a tried and true rock show.

Jane’s Addiction played:

‘Up the Beach’ ‘Whores’ ‘Ocean Size’ ‘Ain’t No Right’ ‘Three Days’ ‘Mountain Song’ ‘Jane Says’ ‘Slice of Life’ ‘Ted, Just Admit It…’ ‘Stop!’ ‘Been Caught Stealing’

Smashing Pumpkins played:

‘Empires’ ‘Bullet With Butterfly Wings’ ‘Today’ ‘We Only Come Out at Night’ ‘Cyr’ ‘Once in a Lifetime’ ‘Solara’ ‘Eye’ ‘Ava Adore’ ‘Tonight, Tonight’ ‘Stand Inside Your Love’ ‘I of the Mourning’ ‘Cherub Rock’ ‘Zero’ ‘1979’ ‘Beguiled’ ‘Silverfuck’ ‘Neophyte’ ‘Disarm’ ‘Harmageddon’

Related Topics
Billy Corgan
Jane's Addiction
Perry Farrell
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The Smashing Pumpkins

Smashing Pumpkins, Jane’s Addiction tour a double dose of rock that has endured for decades

Over three hours and 27 songs at the united center, it was hard not to recall the first time you heard ‘today’ or saw the ‘been caught stealing’ video..

Billy Corgan sings with Smashing Pumpkins on Saturday at the United Center, backed by the band’s original drummer, Jimmy Chamberlin.

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times, Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Everyone had a story Saturday night at the United Center. In the merch line, some were reminiscing about their first time seeing Smashing Pumpkins play the Metro in ’92. In the women’s bathroom, there was a mini high school reunion where old friends recalled wearing out their cassettes of Jane’s Addiction’s debut, “Nothing’s Shocking.”

Since it kicked off in early October, the Spirits on Fire Tour featuring the two ’90s mainstays has become a music fan’s scrapbook pasted together with decades of sentimental glue, perhaps to the chagrin of Billy Corgan, who has often vocalized his thoughts on dreaded nostalgia. But he tapped into his memory bank on this night, asking bandmate James Iha if he remembered the early “Gish” days, with Corgan then sharing he could recall “every moment” over the past three decades of the band.

As the Pumpkins and Jane’s combined three hours and 27 songs played on throughout the night, it was hard not to recall the first time you heard the former’s “Today” or first came across the latter’s wild video for “Been Caught Stealing.”

The pairing of the two bands for the first time on a bill together since 1988 feels like a birthright moment, an inimitable double dose of some of the most solid music and musicians that rock has birthed in the past 40 years, not the least of which were drummers Jimmy Chamberlin and Stephen Perkins, true stars of the show. It was hard to forget that on the other side of the country on this night, a handful of bands were being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and here on stage at United Center were two legacy acts just as worthy.

“It’s so great to be home,” Highland Parker Corgan said midway through the Pumpkins’ set, bowing to the crowd and thanking them for 34 years of support. (Saturday’s show also felt like a homecoming for Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell, who recently inked a new 10-year contract with the city.) Of course, the pinnacle moment in the Pumpkins’ set came during a pared-down, acoustic version of “Tonight, Tonight” featuring just him and Iha surrounded by a backdrop of twinkling stars on a wraparound video screen. It’s almost a given the Pumpkins will play the song in Chicago, as the giant echo of the proud crowd singing back the lyric “the city by the lake” is unique to our town.

The Pumpkins also had a few local guests, including photographer friend Dicky Shay (who once also worked on “The Oprah Winfrey Show”), who Corgan said saved the tour a few weeks back by flying in with forgotten passports, as well as Corgan’s two young children, who came out for a dance-along to new song “Beguiled.” But it was the guest appearance of local saxophonist Frank Catalano on “Silverf- - -” that was a prime moment, adding an alluring and dark jazzy layer on top of the explosive live song.

The 17 tracks were an excellent curation of the Pumpkins’ well-hewn discography, similar to the setlist from an intimate show at Chicago’s Metro in September as part of the venue’s 40th anniversary celebrations, where the Pumpkins got their feet wet so many years ago. Surprises on this night included “Eye,” their “Lost Highway” soundtrack contribution and a sublimely heavy cover of the Talking Heads’ “Once in a Lifetime” that was drenched in the Pumpkins’ psych rock and metal influences. It was another great example of the band’s incredible guitar frontline made up of Corgan, Iha and Jeff Schroeder that remains pivotal to the band’s sonic identity. (There was still no D’arcy Wretzky to round out the band’s full original lineup, as Jack Bates continues his stint as the touring bassist while Katie Cole fills in on backup vocals.)

Before the Pumpkins, it was a relief to see Jane’s Addiction take their rightful place Saturday night after a few issues that have marred the tour. Notably, guitarist Dave Navarro has not been able to join due to issues with long-haul COVID, and more recently the band had to cancel a few stops due to an undisclosed injury suffered by Farrell.

Though they were in fine form on this night, with the talented Troy Van Leeuwen (Queens of the Stone Age) doing justice as a fill-in for Navarro and original bassist Eric Avery rounding out the compatible-as-ever lineup. The band tore through 10 songs that showed the unmistakable range that has always bucked trends and made Jane’s un-categorically diverse.

“We can do it all,” Farrell said at one point, introducing a “folksy” stripped-back take on “Jane Says.” His penchant for jazz scat vocals on this night also added unusual flair on a few songs, as did his wild banter that took on everything from the price of wine to his thoughts on spanking. Mid-set stunner “Three Days” was the prize of the performance, slinky and dangerous in its approach, added to by the choreography of Farrell’s wife Etty Lau and her tribe of dancers. The song was also full of long-sweeping solos that showed off incredible musicianship, begging for rumors to be true the troupe is working on new music.

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Live Review: The Smashing Pumpkins w/ Jane’s Addiction @ Capital One Arena — 10/18/2022

The Smashing Pumpkins perform at Capital One Arena on Oct. 18, 2022. (Photo by Kyle Gustafson / @kgustafson)

The Spirits on Fire Tour featuring The Smashing Pumpkins and Jane’s Addiction paid visit to Capital One Arena last week featuring two bedrocks of the ’90s alternative rock scene taking different approaches to their sets.

At Capital One Arena on Oct. 18, headliners Smashing Pumpkins, led by alt-rock curmudgeon Billy Corgan, were ostensibly promoting their upcoming triple album, Atum, which is being released in three phases with Act 1 arriving on Nov. 15. The band’s set featured four new songs from Atum, “Beguiled,” “Empires,” “Harmageddon,” and “Neophyte.” “ Beguiled ” is out on your streaming service of choice, and it’s the best thing Corgan and Co. have done in years.

Watch the official music video for “Beguiled” by The Smashing Pumpkins on YouTube:

The aforementioned “Empires” led off the night and was quickly followed by “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” and “Today” had the capacity crowd all on their feet. The next phase of the show was more for the hardcore fans and the energy in the venue dragged a bit when the band played a gothy cover of Talking Heads’ “Once in a Lifetime” and the industrial-sounding tracks “Eye” and “Ava Adore.” However, a heartfelt acoustic version of “Tonight, Tonight” by Billy and guitarist James Iha was a nice change of pace and got everyone’s attention back.

A late set 1-2-3 punch of “Cherub Rock,” “Zero,” and “1979” showed the breadth of the Pumpkins sound and returned the crowd’s energy level to 10/10 for the final few songs.

All in all, not a bad performance (certainly better than their somewhat stodgy 2019 show at Merriweather ) that showed Billy Corgan still has things to say that are worth hearing.

One thing Billy Corgan has been very good at recently is choosing excellent openers for his tours. In 2016 for Billy’s “Plainsong” tour he brought Liz Phair and in 2019 Noel Gallagher did the honors . This time around it was Jane’s Addiction, a band that somehow I had never seen. I still regret not seeing their 2009 NINJA co-headlining show at Merriweather with Nine Inch Nails but I unsuccessfully tried to see the Beastie Boys in Baltimore that night.

I did not have high expectations for their set, especially with Dave Navarro’s absence due to long covid (get well soon, Dave!) but I could not have been more wrong. Perry Farrell and Co. sounded brilliant and aside from one cover, stuck to material released before 1991. Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen filled in at guitar and with all respect to Navarro, he fit in seamlessly and you’d have never known this was his first tour with the band.

We got all the band’s best known songs, “Ocean Size,” “Mountain Song,” “Stop!,” Been Caught Stealing” and of course, “Jane Says.”

Watch the official music video for “Jane Says” by Jane’s Addiction on YouTube:

Perry Farrell’s voice was magnificent and the rhythm section of bassist Eric Avery and drummer Stephen Perkins supplied the tribal beats and basslines that propel the band. The 10-minute epic “Three Days” was a particular highlight and a song I’ve waited decades to hear live.

Here are photos of Smashing Pumpkins and Jane’s Addiction performing at Capital One Arena on Oct. 18, 2022. All photos copyright and courtesy of Kyle Gustafson .

jane's addiction smashing pumpkins tour review

Smashing Pumpkins set:

Empires Bullet With Butterfly Wings Today We Only Come Out at Night Cyr Once in a Lifetime (Talking Heads cover) Solara Eye Ava Adore Tonight, Tonight(acoustic) Stand Inside Your Love I of the Mourning Cherub Rock Zero 1979 Beguiled Silverfuck Neophyte Disarm Harmageddon

Jen’s Addcition set:

Up the Beach Whores Ocean Size Ain’t No Right Three Days Mountain Song Jane Says Slice of Life (Bauhaus cover) Ted, Just Admit It… Stop! Been Caught Stealing

[…] – Jane’s Addiction @ Capital One Arena — 10/18/22Somehow I had never seen Jane’s Addiction before this show. I am still kicking myself for not […]

'Blistering rock 'n' roll': Smashing Pumpkins go wild at TD Garden in Boston

Review: Smashing Pumpkins "Spirits on Fire" tour, with Jane's Addiction and Poppy, Sunday, Oct. 16 at TD Garden.

BOSTON – On Sunday night, the Spirits on Fire Tour touched down at TD Garden headlined by Smashing Pumpkins and Jane’s Addiction, a pair of rock bands from the 1990s with interesting, and even difficult histories. Both groups were kind of post-punk but pre-grunge, although their music has shadings of both those styles. Both veer between straight, hard rock and heavy metal elements, with punk rock fervor and insouciance, and are comfortable straying into the room-rattling thunder that characterizes grunge. And both have fascinating front men who are the essential parts of their respective bands.

Sunday night’s little soiree, attended by a crowd estimated at 14,000, or about two-thirds of capacity, offered more than three hours of music, delivered by talented and focused veteran musicians. There were moments of fiery, blistering rock 'n' roll, a few quieter segments that spotlighted the imagery in the bands’ lyrics (which are too often lost in the din), and some stretches where the sound seemed to be bludgeoning for the sake of bludgeoning.

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Smashing Pumpkins began in Chicago in 1988, with singer/songwriter/guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin as the key members. By the time the group’s 28-song double album “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness” hit it big in 1995, the Pumpkins were well on their way to selling more than 30 million albums, with a handful of memorable singles. The Pumpkins broke up in 2000, but Corgan and Chamberlin launched the short-lived but potent Zwan in 2001. Since Corgan’s poetic, yearning and oft-melancholy songs were always the music’s focal point, he has continued with various projects and the prospect of a reunion was never far away.

Corgan and Chamberlin reunited in 2006 with guitarist Jeff Schroeder. Chamberlin left in ’09, but was back by 2018, with Iha also back in the fold. The band has been producing new work ever since, with “Shining and Oh So Bright” (2018), and “Cyr” (2020) reviving their national profile before the pandemic. Now Smashing Pumpkins is readying “Atum: A Rock Opera in Three Acts,” to be released as a trio of albums released in sequence. The problem for this tour, 32 dates through Nov. 19, was that the first chapter in the "Atum" trilogy won’t be out until Nov. 15. But the setlists on the tour have pretty steadily leaned towards Pumpkins’ favorites from the past, with five cuts from “Mellon Collie” and just four from the forthcoming work, among the 20-song sets they’ve been performing.

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Corgan, 55, and the touring band – which includes Schroeder and Iha on guitars, Chamberlin on drums, and touring musicians Jack Bates on bass and Katie Cole on keyboards and backing vocals – began with “Empires” from the forthcoming album, with the serrating guitars framing Corgan’s pointed lyrics. The singer was wearing a black robe that went below his knees, making him look like either an evil monk, or perhaps a vampire ghost – an impression heightened by the black makeup under his eyes. Thunderous drums announced the start of “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” and the crowd reaction to that Smashing Pumpkins nugget was immediate as it became a rowdy singalong.

A bit later, “We Only Come Out At Night” seemed like the quintessential Corgan song, full of yearning and angst and building from a slow beginning to a bust-out chorus and catharsis. The title cut to that 2020 album, “Cyr” bore some fresh synthesizer sounds for added variety as Corgan strode the stage and Cole’s harmonies on the chorus added heft. The band has been doing its cover of the Talking Heads’ “Once in A Lifetime” on the tour and its slower take on it rides throbbing bass and some of Schroeder and Iha’s most brain-curdling guitar lines. But that Gothic take on the old hit didn’t have any of the original’s quirky rhythmic pull and the audience seemed just a bit confused.

The tune called “Eye” was a riddle wrapped in an enigma, to steal a phrase. Corgan sang as lyrics appeared on the screen behind him, phrases like ‘I lie, I repent,’ and then as the midtempo ballad downshifted with the guitars lending a Middle Eastern feel, he concluded by simply stating "Thank you, Boston, from the bottom of our broken hearts.” While everyone was weighing that, the funkier rock sound of “Ava Adore” got matters back on track. But that was also when a trio of ghostly scarecrows were slowly wheeled out onto the back of the stage to overlook the rest of the show.

Corgan noted the band’s long history of playing Boston and recalled a show at the long-gone T.T. the Bear’s in Cambridge where it was so packed it was “137 degrees.” He then joked that when they’d started visiting, ‘the Cubs were no good, and the Red Sox were ... eh ... but then Theo Epstein rescued us both ... But Theo’s like me, he always ends up leaving.”

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An acoustic duet by Corgan and Iha on “Tonight, Tonight” was a lovely interlude, where that sweet, sort-of-love-song and its lyrics really stood out. The straight-ahead power rocker “Stand Inside Your Love” was a glorious avalanche of churning guitars and bashing drums. The pulsating chestnut “I Of the Mourning” finished with the singer chanting “Radio, Radio, What Is it You Want.” The full bore “Cherub Rock” was another number that had the crowd singing along wildly, and Corgan added his own screeching guitar solo. The night’s best singalong might have been “1979,” a midtempo tune that is just as urgent now as it was when it was released 27 years ago.

The new tune “Beguiled” was loud, with repetitive, sawing power chords, but it just didn’t seem to congeal into anything you could get your ears around. One of rock’s most furious lost love songs, “Silverf-xxx” began like a guitar jam, with Corgan’s howling vocals interspersed, and was rather delightfully a crazed jam all the way through. There was a heavy keyboard/synth sound underlying “Neophyte,” but that variety again worked well on the visceral march. 1993’s “Disarm” was one more opportunity for Pumpkins fans to join in with a beloved classic, with its signature chorus "the devil in me is the devil in you …” The night ended with one more pounding blast of squalling guitars on “Harmageddon,” and if the set had some hits and misses, Smashing Pumpkins proved they are still one of America’s most interesting – sometimes befuddling, but never boring – musical groups.

Jane's Addiction, a 'metal buzz-bomb'

Jane’s Addiction hails from Los Angeles and got its start in 1985, with the charisma of singer Perry Farrell and guitar Dave Navarro making them almost instantly successful. By 1991 they were playing their farewell tour, but there have been numerous reunions and lineup changes ever since. This year’s tour was supposed to boast the original lineup, but Navarro is sidelined by long-Covid, so the quartet recruited Troy Van Leeuwen from Queens of the Stone Age to step in on guitar. But with bassist Eric Avery back for the first time in 12 years, it is as close as you can get to the original foursome.

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Jane’s Addiction threw some curveballs into the setlist they’ve been doing on this tour and welcomed a couple of guest stars to their Boston show. During their old nugget “Whores” the band was also joined by – how should we say this? – three models in bikinis who did gymnastics-type routines on parallel bars and other frames at the side and rear of the stage, along with just basic twerking.

Jane’s Addiction was joined by guitarist Josh Klinghoffer (who played with Red Hot Chili Peppers from 2009 to 2019) for the blistering punk-metal “Three Days.” A bit later, Daniel Ash from the band Bauhaus was a guest on an acoustic guitars version of “Jane Says,” adding extra poignance to that tragic portrait. Ash stuck around to join the quartet on a jangly rendition of Bauhaus’ “Slice of Life.” The models returned, in different bikinis, to cavort during the astral guitar tones of “Ted, Just Admit It,” and this time there was a hobby horse involved. There was no denying the potency of the metal-like charge ironically titled “Stop!,” and Jane’s Addiction’s finale of the industrial metal buzz-bomb “Been Caught Stealing” left fans calling out for more, but their one-hour set was done. Los Angeles pop-metal singer Poppy opened with a short set, while most of us were still navigating the Expressway.

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Smashing Pumpkins, Jane's Addiction blast through masterful, mesmerizing sets at Garden

BOSTON — The Smashing Pumpkins were absolutely smashing, while Jane's Addiction proved they are still a hard "Ritual de lo Habitual" to break Sunday night at TD Garden.

Proving that less can sometimes be more, Jane’s Addiction delivered a killer, hour-long, nine-song set that was awe-inspiring and flawless.

Whether time makes the heart grow fonder or there just has been a lot of awful bands emerging since their untimely exit, Jane's Addiction sounded better, heavier and more infectious than ever.

At 63 years old, Perry Farrell — the visionary who created the alternative rock lovefest Lollapalooza and the spiritual guru behind Jane's Addiction — is still a space cadet in the best sense of the term. Dressed in all black, Farrell came out wearing a slim hat, bolo tie and country-western cut jacket with illustrations of a lone wolf howling at the moon.

Jane’s Addiction opened with ethereal mood-piece “Up the Beach,” the first of four tracks from 1988’s “Nothing Shocking.” With his bandmates weaving the song’s sonic tapestry before his arrival, Farrell, who has one of the most distinct voices in alternative rock, slinked onstage and seductively cooed the number’s trippy lyrics. And, instantly, the crowd was mesmerized.

Farrell wasn’t the only Jane’s Addiction member who made a fashion statement on stage. Bassist Eric Avery wore a Boston Bruins cap and matching sweatshirt with yellow checkered pajama pants.

On stage, Queens of the Stone Age’s guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen has been filling in for glam-rock guitar god Dave Navarro, who has been sidelined for the latest Jane’s Addiction tour due to his continued battle with “long COVID.” By the time Van Leeuwen let it rip on the guitar during the second number, “Whores,” no one was missing Navarro anymore.

Then again, you also had three long-haired, high-kicking cabaret dancers led by former Pussycat Doll (and Perry Farrell’s wife) Etty Lau Farrell. Looking like extras from “From Dusk Till Dawn,” Etty Lau Farrell led the scantily clad, politically incorrect and very limber ladies into some risqué numbers on monkey bars and hobby horses that would even make Rob Zombie blush.

Strong set ensues

Singing about his insatiable appetites while giving “the man” the middle-finger, Farrell's unorthodox street narrative on “Whores” unfolded in an encompassing dreamlike haze while Van Leeuwen, Avery and drummer Stephen Perkins collectively sounded like they had the strength to flatten everything, including today's poseurs and nonbelievers, in their path. Pretty good for a Los Angeles-based combo that released its major-label, self-titled debut 35 years ago when President Ronald Reagan was still in office.

Guitarist Josh Klinghoffer — formerly of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and, more recently, a touring musician for Pearl Jam — joined Jane’s Addiction for the psychedelic garage rocker “Three Days,” the first of three songs from 1990’s “Ritual de lo Habitual.” While sonically the song erupted into an all-out metal maelstrom of roaring guitars and pulverizing drums, Farrell’s ode to multiple love partners visually ended with the singer being mobbed by the three dancing ladies and Farrell’s smooching his wife.

Wearing a black leather jacket and black sunglasses and sporting spiky hair while strumming a 12-string guitar, Daniel Ash of Bauhaus and Love and Rockets fame joined Farrell and the gang for the Jane’s Addiction classic, “Jane Says.” Inspired by Farrell’s ex-housemate, muse, inspiration and namesake of the band, Jane Bainter, the title character’s romantic woes that seep into the song about her abusive boyfriend Sergio still sound timeless.

Before exiting, Ash delivered a killer version of Bauhaus’ “Slice of Life,” which Farrell graciously allowed.

After his dark-haired wife and her two blond gal-pals changed their G-strings from black to red, Farrell — who rivals Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder when it comes to drinking wine onstage — lamented how there’s nothing shocking in the world anymore on “Ted, Just Admit It.”

After a revved-up “Stop!” Jane’s Addiction delivered “Been Caught Stealing,” the best song ever written about shoplifting and the second-best song with barking dogs (only behind “Jingle Bells” by The Singing Dogs). Both songs are still absolute hoots.

Most bands would have packed up their bags and gone home rather than to follow Jane’s Addiction but the Smashing Pumpkins came out and they rewarded the faithful.

Smashing success

Unlike Jane’s Addiction, which only played songs from their first three albums (released from 1987 to 1990), the Smashing Pumpkins played songs from eight different albums, going as far back as 1993’s breakthrough “Siamese Dream” and as far forward as next year’s “Atum: A Rock Opera in Three Acts.”

Not only did he sound like “The Great Pumpkin” of yore, Billy Corgan sounded like he has a renewed sense of vigor and purpose to go along with his seemingly inexhaustible creative spark.

Looking like Uncle Fester’s understudy with his shaved head, raccoon eyeliner, monk’s cloak and army boots, Corgan — the singer, songwriter and guitarist for the Smashing Pumpkins — was melancholic, melodramatic, morose and oftentimes masterful during the band's hour and 50-minute, 20-song set. Whether he was playing manic preacher, doomed soul or hopeless romantic, Corgan whined, snarled, howled, screamed and sang with an urgency and intensity that kept the audience entranced.

The Pumpkins, which also includes founding members Jimmy Chamberlin and James Iha on drums and guitar, respectively, alongside guitarist Jeffrey Kim Schroeder, touring bassist Jack Bates and background vocalist Katie Cole, opened with “Empires,” from the band’s upcoming 12th studio album “Atum: A Rock Opera in Three Acts.”

Despite the song’s unfamiliarity, “Empires” certainly did rock and might have all it takes to become a staple of the band’s live shows in the future. But, for the second and third numbers, the Smashing Pumpkins rewarded their diehard fans with the evening’s first one-two (and, sometimes, one-two-three) punch combination.

The raging rocker "Bullet with Butterfly Wings," from 1995’s multiplatinum, double-disc smash "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness," is still a great number that the audience head-banged and shouted along with. In Corgan’s nihilistic eyes, “The world is a vampire” and “Despite all my rage, I’m still just a rat in the cage.” What makes this bleak world an irresistible one to visit is its emotionally charged and extremely catchy melody.

Followed by the cheery “Today,” off the band’s 1993 breakthrough “Siamese Dream,” Corgan showed off his warm, nostalgic side and his uncanny ability to capture a delicate, fleeting moment and preserve it in a nifty pop song.

Corgan strummed a white acoustic guitar with a big black star on it during the nocturnal opus “We Only Come Out at Night,” also from “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.”

The Great Pumpkin (aka Corgan) had one forgivable Charlie Brown “knucklehead” moment when he covered the Talking Heads’ new wave classic “Once In a Lifetime” and transformed it into an unrecognizable grunge rocker that obliterated the cheeky paranoia and charm of David Byrne’s original.

Before the end of the dirge-like, unrequited love ditty “Eye," Corgan took a moment to greet the audience in a way that only Corgan could do — “Boston, welcome to the show. We’re so happy that you’re with us tonight. Thank you from the bottom of my broken heart.”

With a giant red star blinking overhead, Corgan gave a menacing, maddening performance on “Ava Adore” as he craftily strung together contradictory sacred and profane images while presenting his promise of undying love as though it's a death pact. Not only did Corgan have the audience belting out the “We must never be apart” refrain, several scarecrows were wheeled on the stage for no apparent reason.

The tender and beautiful “Tonight, Tonight” showcased Corgan’s masterful songwriting skills and his gift for inherent melody. Played acoustically by Corgan and Iha, this stripped-down gem resonated with an immediacy and urgency that made it one of the crowd’s favorites and a singular standout.

When Corgan hit the audience with a song that was good but not great or unfamiliar but still rocking and promising, the Smashing Pumpkins always came back in a big way. And two thirds into the concert, the Pumpkins hit the audience with three irresistible tunes — the cathartic, neo-psychedelic opus “Cherub Rock,” the disillusioned rocker “Zero” and the delicious childhood daydream set to music, “1979,” all of which were sing-a-longs with the audience, with "1979" being the most massive.

In the homestretch, Smashing delivered three more yet-to-be released songs (“Beguiled,” “Neophyte” and “Harmageddon”) with two “Siamese Dream” tunes (“Silver(expletive)” and “Disarm”) sandwiched in between.

“Silver(expletive)” was arguably the most explosive number of the night by either the Smashing Pumpkins or Jane’s Addiction.

If he didn’t reclaim his righteous place as an alternative-rock god (and guitar god) prior to this number, Corgan certainly did by song’s end. On this loud and noisy (both in a good way), 10-minute epic, Corgan’s guitar playing sounded like a Tommy gun one moment, a roaring dinosaur on a feeding frenzy the next.

Strumming a black acoustic guitar with a giant white star (he must have a collection of these), Corgan dropped all of his defenses and confessed all his childhood pain and hurt on the lost little boy lament, “Disarm,” which was made even more poignant by old snapshots of Corgan as a kid flickering on the screen behind him.

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Smashing Pumpkins, Jane’s Addiction to Embark on ‘Spirits on Fire’ Tour

By Daniel Kreps

Daniel Kreps

The Smashing Pumpkins have announced a North American arena tour where the semi-reunited band will be joined by special guests and fellow alt-rock gods Jane’s Addiction.

Frontmen Billy Corgan and Perry Farrell announced the Spirits on Fire Tour Wednesday morning during a visit to the Howard Stern Show , with the Smashing Pumpkins also scheduled to perform Thursday on The Late Late Show .

This fall SP is heading out on the Spirits On Fire tour with @janesaddiction ! Tickets on sale Friday, May 13th at 10 AM (local time) pic.twitter.com/Ivo3Er5l1V — The Smashing Pumpkins (@SmashingPumpkin) May 11, 2022

The trek — the Pumpkins’ first since their semi-reunion tour in 2019, and Jane’s first full-scale jaunt since 2016 — kicks off Oct. 2 at Dallas, Texas’ American Airlines Center and keeps both bands on the road for nearly two months, hitting basketball and hockey arenas in most major markets before concluding Nov. 19 at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl. Check out the Pumpkins’ site for ticket information.

To celebrate the Spirits on Fire Tour and their career in general, the Smashing Pumpkins will dip their hands in wet cement Wednesday afternoon as the latest artists enshrined outside Hollywood’s TCL Chinese Theater.

In addition to the tour, the Smashing Pumpkins have promised new music in 2022 as the prolific Corgan follows up the band’s 2020 double-LP Cyr .

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Smashing Pumpkins With Jane’s Addiction Tour Dates

Oct. 2 – Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center Oct. 3 – Houston, TX @ Toyota Center Oct. 5 – Austin, TX @ Moody Center Oct. 7 – Tampa, FL @ Amalie Arena Oct. 8 – Hollywood, FL @ Hard Rock Casino Oct. 10 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena Oct. 11 – Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena Oct. 13 – Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Oct. 14 – Belmont Park, NY @ UBS Arena Oct. 16 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden Oct. 18 – Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena Oct. 19 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden Oct. 21 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center Oct. 22 – Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena Oct. 24 – Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena Oct. 26 – Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre Oct. 27 – Quebec City, QC @ Centre Videotron Oct. 29 – Cleveland, OH @ Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse Oct. 30 – Milwaukee, WI @ Fiserv Forum Nov. 1 – St. Louis, MO @ Enterprise Center Nov. 2 – Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena Nov. 4 – St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center Nov. 5 – Chicago, IL @ United Center Nov. 7 – Denver, CO @ Ball Arena Nov. 9 – Spokane, WA @ Spokane Arena Nov. 11 – Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena Nov. 12 – Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena Nov. 13 – Portland, OR @ Moda Center Nov. 15 – San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center Nov. 16 – Anaheim, CA @ Honda Center Nov. 18 – Phoenix, AZ @ Footprint Center Nov. 19 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl

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Review: smashing pumpkins and jane's addiction revisit gen x glory days in st. paul.

Nearly 30 years since he first sang about living in the moment in his hit song "Today," Billy Corgan finally seems to recognize that Smashing Pumpkins is largely a band of yesterday.

The Chicago rocker and his rebounded band did a smash-up job playing the nostalgia card Friday night at Xcel Energy Center, where they paired up with another big band of the same early-'90s era, Jane's Addiction.

Having the Jane's crew aboard — plus flashy art-rocker Poppy for a warm-up act (think: Lady Gaga gone metal) — benefited the Pumpkins in more ways than upping attendance to more than 11,000 ticket-buyers.

Corgan & Co. had to whittle down their set time significantly to about 100 minutes. This definitely felt like a good thing after their last gig at Xcel Center in 2018 , a nearly three-hour set. This time, the Pumpkins stuck largely to their hits and other fan favorites and embraced their status as a greatest-hits nostalgia act.

It was also great to have Jane's Addiction along because — duh! — Jane's Addiction almost always puts on a electrifying set.

Playing its first Twin Cities date since 2012, the Los Angeles gutter-glam-rock band rose to the occasion once again even without Dave Navarro. The co-founding guitarist had to bow out of the tour due to long-COVID symptoms.

Singer Perry Farrell wasn't nearly as spot-on when it came to hitting his old notes. However, the cosmically charismatic frontman still entertainingly carried the torch for his fiery band. He was especially ebullient later in the set as he led the crowd in mass singalongs to "Jane Says," "Been Caught Stealing" and an especially towering "Mountain Song."

While Farrell donned a curious , shiny look that was part Howdy Doody and Buzz Lightyear, Corgan came out with his usual ultra-dark Uncle Fester appearance, including black monk's cloak. He seemed a lot lighter mood-wise from the get-go, though.

"We are so pleased and touched you are with us tonight," Corgan gushed.

Considerably tighter than in 2018, the Pumpkins sounded as monstrous as ever in the heaviest and most manic rockers near the end, including "Cherub Rock" and "Zero." The show's best moments, though, were the softer and sweeter ones.

Corgan played "Tonight, Tonight" accompanied only by guitarist James Iha, who rejoined the band in 2018 and seems irreplaceable now. The singer and the audience then had their own bonding moment in "1979," singing together lyrics about growing older without growing old. Both of Friday's bands are doing well in that department now.

Chris Riemenschneider has been covering the Twin Cities music scene since 2001, long enough for Prince to shout him out during "Play That Funky Music (White Boy)." The St. Paul native authored the book "First Avenue: Minnesota's Mainroom" and previously worked as a music critic at the Austin American-Statesman in Texas.

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Billy Corgan and the Smashing Pumpkins return Friday with Jane’s Addiction

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Smashing Pumpkins Debut Two New Songs at Triumphant Tour Kickoff: Review, Set List

No small feat following up Jane's Addiction 's ferocious set at Sunday night's Spirits on Fire Tour kickoff, but the Smashing Pumpkins rose to the occasion with a dynamic headlining performance that blended massive hits, old-school deep cuts and a sprinkling of brand-new, unreleased songs.

The Billy Corgan -fronted outfit opened its hour-and-50-minute set with "Empires," a recently released song from the upcoming three-part rock opera ATUM . The 33-track set will serve as a sequel to the band's chart-topping 1995 double album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness , as well as 2000's Machina/Machines of God . Mellon Collie was the most-represented album in the Smashing Pumpkins' oeuvre on Sunday, accounting for six of the evening's 22 songs.

The group dished out the aggressive, anthemic "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" and "Zero," treated the audience to an acoustic version of "Tonight, Tonight" and summoned the biggest singalong of the night with "1979." They ended the set with a brutal, knuckle-dragging rendition of "X.Y.U.," contrasting nicely with the delicate Machina II cut "If There Is a God" that preceded it.

Other requisite hits and set-list mainstays — Siamese Dream smashes "Cherub Rock" and "Disarm," Adore 's "Ava Adore" — made their appearances, but overall, the Smashing Pumpkins' tour kickoff was hardly the warm, fuzzy nostalgia trip that some audience members had hoped it would be. Along with the darkly seductive ATUM track " Beguiled ," the band debuted two new songs from the upcoming album. The first, "Neophyte," was a melancholy, synth-inflected number whose " It ain't right " refrain was emphasized by the words broadcasted on the screen behind the band. The second, "Harmageddon," was a riff-heavy thrasher that bore a passing resemblance to the obliterative Siamese Dream track "Silverfuck," which also appeared late in the set.

Corgan and the band seemed most engaged when they indulged that heavy side, including a doomy, larynx-shredding rendition of Talking Heads ' "Once in a Lifetime" that became an early set highlight. They also excited hardcore fans by dusting off Mellon Collie 's "We Only Come Out at Night" and Machina 's "I of the Mourning," which they hadn't played since 2008 and 2013, respectively.

Not everybody was receptive to the curveballs, though: It was easy to telegraph when fans would take their seats or make a run for the bar and bathroom as the band broke into newer or lesser-known material. No arena act is immune to this kind of apathy, and the Smashing Pumpkins have never been afraid to defy audience expectations, even at the expense of their popularity. And besides, the newer songs still had their perks, like a gobsmacking drum solo from Jimmy Chamberlin in the middle of 2018's "Solara."

If the Smashing Pumpkins' tour kickoff eschewed the instant gratification of a pure greatest-hits set, it also offered a defiant, often virtuosic display of dynamics from a band that still feels like it has something to prove — and isn't that all we want from our rock stars anyway?

Watch Smashing Pumpkins Play '1979' Live on 10/2/22

Watch Smashing Pumpkins Cover Talking Heads' 'Once in a Lifetime' on 10/2/22

Watch Smashing Pumpkins Debut 'Neophyte' Live on 10/2/22

Watch Smashing Pumpkins Debut 'Harmageddon' Live on 10/2/22

Smashing Pumpkins, 10/2/22, American Airlines Center, Dallas 1. "Empires" 2. "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" 3. "Today" 4. "We Only Come Out at Night" 5. "Cyr" 6. "Once in a Lifetime (Talking Heads cover) 7. "Solara" 8. "Eye" 9. "Ava Adore" 10. "Tonight, Tonight" 11. "Stand Inside Your Love" 12. "I of the Mourning" 13. "Cherub Rock" 14. "Zero" 15. "1979" 16. "Beguiled" 17. "Silverfuck" 18. "Neophyte" (new song, live debut) 19. "Disarm" 20. "Harmageddon" (new song, live debut) 21. "If There Is a God" 22. "X.Y.U."

Jane's Addiction and Smashing Pumpkins, Oct. 2, 2022

Jane’s Addiction and Smashing Pumpkins Tour

By Alex Kluft

Smashing Pumpkins and Jane’s Addiction kicked off the opening night of their tour at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX. This dream 90’s tour will end at the Hollywood Bowl on November 19th. For Jane’s Addiction, this was their first show with original bassist Eric Avery in 12 years and for Smashing Pumpkins they played two songs that haven’t been played in years and it was the live debut of “Neophyte” and “Harmageddon.” Smashing Pumpkins was formed back in 1988 and Jane’s Addiction in 1985. These two groups dominated the 90’s. Jane’s Addiction released their first album in 1988 and only have released three albums since with the last being The Great Escape Artist in 2011, however, there will be a new release next year with Avery for the first time since their 1990s release Ritual de lo Habitual.

After Avery left the group in 1991, The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea would briefly be the bassist in 1997, Martyn LeNoble (2001-2002), Avery Again from 2008-2010 Guns N Roses’ Duff McKagan in 2010, and Chris Chaney had the longest tenure from 2002-2004 and 2011-2022. Drummer Stephen Perkins and guitarist Dave Navarro joined in 1986 with founder Perry Farrell replacing their original drummers and bassist. Just three days before the tour it was announced that Navarro would have to sit out to tour after a long recovery from Covid-19 which goes back to December 2021. In Navarro’s place is Queens of the Stone Age’s Troy Van Leewun. Jane’s Addiction played a set of 11 songs beginning with “Up The Beach,” followed by “Whores” and were joined by Farrell’s wife Etty and two dancers all in Vegas showgirl outfits and would return later after a wardrobe change. They also played hits like “Jane Says” which is usually the encore for the group but for this set, it was song six and Perkins stayed behind the drums rather than come out and play steel drum, however, Avery switched to acoustic guitar. They always played hits like “Been Caught Stealing” and “Mountain Song.” The final song was “Stop!.”

The band was formed by Billy Corgan (Guitar/Lead Vocals), Jimmy Chamberlin (Drums), James Iha (Lead Guitar) and D’Arcy Wretzky (Bass). This lineup remained together until 1999 minus two years Chamberlin had left and in 2000 the band took a six-year hiatus. Corgan and Chamberlin reformed the band in 2006. Chamberlin would leave again in 2009. Mike Byrne was the drummer from 2009- 2014. Tommy Lee of Motley Crue played drums on their 2014 album “Monuments to an Elegy.” Rage Against The Machine’s Brad Wilk was the touring drummer before Chamberlin’s second return (2014-2015) For those six years (2009-2015)Corgan was the sole founding member. Guitarist Jeff Schroeder joined in 2007, bassist Jack Bates and Keyboardist/vocalist Katie Cole have both been touring members since 2015.

Jane’s Addiction Setlist:

1.Up the Beach

4. Ain’t No Right

5. Three Days

6. Jane Says

7. Been Caught Stealing

8. Mountain Song

9. Ted, Just Admit It…

10. Ocean Size

Smashing Pumpkins Setlist:

2. Bullet With Butterfly Wings

4. We Only Come Out at Night

6. Once in A Lifetime (Talking Heads)

7. Solara w/ Chamberlin solo

9. Ava Adore

10. Tonight, Tonight- Corgan/Iha acoustic

11. Stand Inside Your Love

12. I of the Morning

13. Cherub Rock

16. Beguiled

17. Silverfuck

18. Neophyte

20. Harmageddon

21. If There Is a God

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Smashing Pumpkins, Jane’s Addiction Announce Fall 2022 North American Arena Tour

The 'Spirits on Fire' outing will kick off in October.

By Gil Kaufman

Gil Kaufman

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Two of alt rock ‘s biggest bands, Smashing Pumpkins and Jane’s Addiction , are teaming up for a North American headlining arena tour dubbed “Spirits on Fire.” The 32-date outing featuring the Pumpkins headlining with support from Jane’s is slated to kick off on Oct. 2 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas and hit Houston, Austin, Tampa, Nashville, Atlanta, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Toronto, St. Louis, Detroit, Chicago, Denver and Vancouver before winding down with a show at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on Nov. 19.

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Billy Corgan

Jane's addiction, perry farrell.

Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan and Jane’s vocalist Perry Farrell announced the Live Nation-promoted tour on Howard Stern’s SiriusXM show on Wednesday morning (May 11) and the Pumpkins will promote the outing on The Late Late Show on Thursday night (May 12). On Wednesday afternoon, the Pumpkins will also appear at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood for a commemorative ceremony celebrating the tour, with the band members slated to put their handprints in cement.

Poppy and Meg Myers will join the bill on select dates. Pre-sales for the tour begin on Thursday (May 12) beginning at 10 a.m. local time with general on-sale kicking off on Friday (May 13) at 10 a.m. local time; click here for more details.

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Check out the dates for the “Spirits on Fire” tour below.

Oct. 2 — Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center **

Oct. 3 — Houston, TX @ Toyota Center **

Oct. 5 — Austin, TX @ Moody Center **

Oct. 7 — Tampa, FL @ Amalie Arena **

Oct. 8 — Hollywood, FL @ Hard Rock Casino **

Oct. 10 — Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena **

Oct. 11 — Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena **

Oct. 13 — Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun **

Oct. 14 — Belmont Park, NY @ UBS Arena **

Oct. 16 — Boston, MA @ TD Garden **

Oct. 18 — Washington, D.C. @ Capital One Arena **

Oct. 19 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden **

Oct. 21 — Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center **

Oct. 22 — Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena *⌃

Oct. 24 — Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena **

Oct. 26 — Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre **

Oct. 27 — Quebec City, QC @ Centre Videtron **

Oct. 29 — Cleveland, OH @ Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse *⌃

Oct. 30 — Milwaukee, WI @ Fiserv Forum **

Nov. 1 — St. Louis, MO @ Enterprise Center **

Nov. 2 — Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena **

Nov. 4 – St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center **

Nov. 5 — Chicago, IL @ United Center **

Nov. 7 — Denver, CO @ Ball Arena **

Nov. 9 — Spokane, WA @ Spokane Arena **

Nov. 11 — Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena **

Nov. 12 — Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena **

Nov. 13 — Portland, OR @ Moda Center **

Nov. 15 — San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center **

Nov. 16 — Anaheim, CA @ Honda Center **

Nov. 18 — Phoenix, AZ @ Footprint Center **

Nov. 19 — Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl **

** with Jane’s Addiction, Poppy

*⌃ with Jane’s Addiction, Meg Myers

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The Smashing Pumpkins and Jane's Addiction kick off 32-date North American tour

The alt-rock dream tour opened its account with a show at American Airlines Arena in Dallas on October 2

Perry Farrell performs at Jane's Addiction show in Dallas, October 2022

The Smashing Pumpkins kicked off their 32-date Spirits on Fire tour at Dallas' American Airlines Center on October 2.

Special guests Jane's Addiction featured the return of original bassist Eric Avery to the fold, while Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen filled in for Dave Navarro while he recuperates from long COVID symptoms.

The Californian quartet's 11-song set consisted solely of their earlier material, opening with Up The Beach from their 1988 debut Nothing's Shocking and Whores from their 1987 self-titled live release, and closed with Stop! from 1990 classic Ritual de lo Habitual .

The Smashing Pumpkins headline set opened with Empires , taken from their three-part rock opera Atum , while new songs, Beguiled , Neophyte and Harmageddon , were included alongside Bullet With Butterfly Wings , I of the Mourning , Cherub Rock and a cover of Talking Heads' Once in a Lifetime .

Earlier this year, Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan described their relationship with Jane's Addiction as "beautiful".

"We have a long, long, crazy history," he said. "The Pumpkins opened for Jane's in 1988, when Nothing's Shocking was coming out, I believe, right around Thanksgiving... and we've literally had this crazy history back and forth through all these years... beautiful."

"We're about to go on tour with one of the greatest bands ever, [and] The Smashing Pumpkins are, by nature, a competitive lot, and to share a stage with Jane's Addiction each night... they'll kick our ass if we're not careful. But the beautiful thing is that there's so much family love between the two camps... I really want Jane's at their best and I want us at our best, and that's the way we're going to show our love for each other to the audience. We will give our supreme effort each night."

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Check out the setlists from the evening below.

The Smashing Pumpkins: Dallas American Airlines Center setlist

Empires Bullet With Butterfly Wings Today We Only Come Out at Night Cyr Once in a Lifetime Solara Eye Ava Adore Tonight, Tonight Stand Inside Your Love I of the Mourning Cherub Rock Zero 1979 Beguiled Silverfuck Neophyte Disarm Harmageddon If There Is a God X.Y.U.

Jane's Addiction: Dallas American Airlines Center setlist

Up the Beach Whores 1% Ain't No Right Three Days Jane Says Been Caught Stealing Mountain Song Ted, Just Admit It... Ocean Size Stop!

The full list of dates are as follows:

Oct 05: Austin Moody Center, TX Oct 07: Tampa Amalie Arena, FL Oct 08: Hollywood Hard Rock Casino, FL Oct 10: Nashville Bridgestone Arena, TN Oct 11: Atlanta State Farm Arena, GA Oct 13: Uncasville Mohegan Sun, CT Oct 14: Belmont Park UBS Arena, NY Oct 16: Boston TD Garden, MA Oct 18: Washington Capital One Arena, DC Oct 19: New York City Madison Square Garden, NY Oct 21: Philadelphia Wells Fargo Center, PA Oct 22: Pittsburgh PPG Paints Arena, PA Oct 24: Toronto Scotiabank Arena, ON Oct 26: Montreal Bell Centre, QC Oct 27: Quebec City Centre Videotron, QC Oct 29: Cleveland Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, OH Oct 30: Milwaukee Fiserv Forum, WI Nov 01: St. Louis Enterprise Center, MO Nov 02: Detroit Little Caesars Arena, MI Nov 04: St. Paul Xcel Energy Center, MN Nov 05: Chicago United Center, IL Nov 07: Denver Ball Arena, CO Nov 09: Spokane Arena, WA Nov 11: Vancouver Rogers Arena, BC Nov 12: Seattle Climate Pledge Arena, WA Nov 13: Portland Moda Center, OR Nov 15: San Francisco Chase Center, CA Nov 16: Anaheim Honda Center, CA Nov 18: Phoenix Footprint Center, AZ Nov 19: Los Angeles Hollywood Bowl, CA

Poppy and Meg Myers open on selected dates

The first instalment of The Smashing Pumpkins' three-part album Atum will be released on November 15, 2022. Act 2 will be released on January 31, 2023 and Act 3, along with a special edition boxset featuring all 33 album tracks plus 10 additional unreleased songs, will be released on April 21, 2023.

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Live Review: The Smashing Pumpkins & Jane’s Addiction give Sydney a superplex – The Hordern Pavilion (19.04.23)

April 20, 2023
Live Reviews
Amyl and The Sniffers
Battlesnake
Jane's Addiction
The Smashing Pumpkins
The World Is A Vampire

After more than thirty years, you could be wondering whether Jane’s Addiction and The Smashing Pumpkins are past their prime. But judging by their performances as part of Billy Corgan’s global-scaling The World Is A Vampire Festival , they’re showing no signs of slowing down.

This wasn’t a concert. Let’s get that out of the way first. This was a one-venue festival, running through Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion and kicking off in the afternoon before wrapping up around 11 PM. Jane’s Addiction and The Smashing Pumpkins, two of the most iconic rock bands of the 90s, were the two big attractions here but Aussies Battlesnake and Amy & The Sniffers held their own well.

In fact, Amyl & The Sniffers in particular looked right at home on the lineup, aligned perfectly with the guitar-licking, crunchy rock & roll that the bigger bands are known for. And peppered in between? Oddly enough, short wrestling matches between Billy Corgan’s National Wrestling Alliance and the Wrestling Alliance of Australia . The festival was nowhere near short of on-stage theatrics, even if none of that seemed to matter once the two biggest names in the building hit the stage.

Jane’s Addiction has not been to Sydney for many years now, and I’ve seen them live quite a few times. The legendary rock band still feels like a band you’re watching in its prime. This is remarkable given lead Perry Farrell is clearly getting on with age. Age hasn’t, however, affected his paramount charisma as the rock dandy struts around the stage, either serving as solemn rock god on “Mountain Song” or dropping the pretentiousness and dipping into fan service with “Jane Says” and “Been Caught Stealing”. Just as good as the last time I saw them in 2010.

The biggest surprise, however, was that Billy Corgan and guitarist James Iha were in a good mood. The Smashing Pumpkins have developed a reputation for Corgan’s noted prickliness, but standing tall on stage the one-of-one frontman seemed to be in very high spirits.

Perhaps it’s Corgan’s lifelong admiration of wrestling that helped build morale. Yet, whatever it is, this was the finest set I’ve seen from The Smashing Pumpkins out of the four-or-so times I’ve seen them. And that says a lot, given my personal favourite “Disarm” was sadly left off the setlist – a mixed-bag of songs both old and new, all tied together by some resoundingly excellent musicianship from all band members, particularly Iha who stayed on with Corgan for an acoustic run while the rest of the band briefly sat on the sidelines.

Corgan knows how to put together a set list. He starts with a breathless run of hits, switches through to deeper cuts, and then heads back to some consecutive hits again. “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” has become the band’s signature song over the years and it was only second on the set list.

While Corgan has most definitely faded as far as screaming “CAAAAAAGE” goes (or pronouncing “believe” in a brilliant acoustic version of “Tonight, Tonight”), the fierceness in the man’s voice was clearly expressed. Even more so since it was juxtaposed with a genuinely playful, slightly sardonic stage presence that saw Corgan and Iha crack plenty of jokes and banter with the crowd.

“Ava Adore” was a mid-set highlight, brilliantly executed with perhaps the best arrangement I’ve heard from that song to date. Yet it was the behemoth trilogy of hits towards the end of the set that remained the highlight of the night. “Cherub Rock” was up first, quickly bleeding into a perfectly performed “Zero” before doubling down on the heavy bass of “1979”.

And the crowd. Well, the show sold out. And for a ’90s band that has been here more than a few times, that’s something that speaks highly of how relevant and beloved The Smashing Pumpkins will always be. After all, there is no other band in history that sounds like them.

FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)

All photos: Bruce Baker – you can see more photos from Sydney HERE

Chris Singh

Chris Singh is an Editor-At-Large at the AU review, loves writing about travel and hospitality, and is partial to a perfectly textured octopus. You can reach him on Instagram: @chrisdsingh.

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The bands kicked off their 32-date Spirits on Fire tour at Dallas’ American Airlines Center on October 2.

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The Smashing Pumpkins - Photo: Theo Wargo/Getty Images

The Smashing Pumpkins kicked off their 32-date Spirits on Fire tour at Dallas’ American Airlines Center on October 2.

Special guests Jane’s Addiction featured the return of original bassist Eric Avery to the fold, while Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen filled in for Dave Navarro while he recuperates from long COVID symptoms.

The Californian quartet’s 11-song set consisted solely of their earlier material, opening with “Up The Beach” from their 1988 debut Nothing’s Shocking and “W____s” from their 1987 self-titled live release, and closed with “Stop!” from the 1990 staple Ritual de lo Habitual .

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The Smashing Pumpkins headlining set opened with “Empires,” taken from their three-part rock opera Atum , while new songs, “Beguiled,” “Neophyte,” and “Harmageddon” were included alongside “Bullet With Butterfly Wings,” “I of the Mourning,” “Cherub Rock,” and a cover of Talking Heads’ “Once in a Lifetime.”

“We’re about to go on tour with one of the greatest bands ever, [and] The Smashing Pumpkins are, by nature, a competitive lot, and to share a stage with Jane’s Addiction each night… they’ll kick our ass if we’re not careful,” said Corgan in a statement. But the beautiful thing is that there’s so much family love between the two camps… I really want Jane’s at their best and I want us at our best, and that’s the way we’re going to show our love for each other to the audience. We will give our supreme effort each night.”

Last year, the band celebrated the 30th anniversary of their groundbreaking, platinum-selling, critically acclaimed debut studio album Gish .

Produced by Butch Vig and Billy Corgan at Vig’s Smart studios in Wisconsin from December 1990 through March 1991, this genre-defining break-out placed The Smashing Pumpkins well and truly on the global map. Gish became the highest-selling independently released album of all time upon release. The album featured tracks such as “Siva, “Rhinoceros,” and “I Am One.”

Listen to the best of Smashing Pumpkins on Apple Music and Spotify .

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LIVE REVIEW: ‘World Is A Vampire’ with Smashing Pumpkins, Janes Addiction and more… hits Adelaide

Adelaide entertainment centre, 26th april 2023.

28 April 2023 Gordon Phipps

When I told a friend my plans for this evening were to go see Smashing Pumpkins, Jane’s Addiction and some wrestling her quick response “Where are you going? 1991? It is a bizarre concept but one that has travelled the globe in this post-Covid touring world successfully… so it must have something going for it.

I arrived just on time to see SODA, the opening act, deliver a nice set of indie pop rock to a pretty small crowd. Hitting the stage at 4.15pm on a Wednesday afternoon, it is always going to be a hard slot to fill.

Next up was the 7-piece Battlesnake. They took to the stage looking like The Darkness just emerged from the GHOST dressing room and decided to belt out a set of ‘dungeon and dragons’ inspired NWOBHM tracks. A slightly bemused Adelaide crowd was soon won over. With a line up consisting of 7 members, it allowed a continuous rotation of 2 members throwing devil horns to the enthralled crowd while the other 5 continued to play.

If you hadn’t had enough of the theatrics from Battlesnake, next up was time for some wrestling. The wrestling ring was sited at the back of the arena near the sound desk so it encouraged people to amble away from the stage while setup was carried out for following bands. It was entertaining enough. Most people were happy to watch while they sipped on their pints, with the occasional heckle as the wrestlers attempted the engage the crowd with some comical interactions.

Time for nuclear powerhouses Amyl and the Sniffers to take the main stage. A blistering set as usual from the band with highlights being Guided by Angels, Knifey, Some Mutts, Security and Hertz. At one stage drummer Bryce Wilson stopped the show to take exception to a sign in the crowd that called them “Punk Sell Outs”, asking the sign bearer to explain the comment. Amy was as energetic as ever upfront while Bryce, Dec and Gus provided the frenetic punk rock riffs and fills that Amy feeds off. I overheard someone in the crowd describe Amy as ‘Bon Scott’s granddaughter’.

There was another break for wrestling where a local Billy Idol lookalike got double teamed by a pair of lycra clad lotharios in a triple threat match. Again, people watched, amused a little while they sipped their pints between bands.

Jane’s Addiction took to stage next and reverberated guitar with that distinctive tone of ‘Up The Beach’ echoing around the now ¾ full arena. Perry was interactive with the crowd from the off pointing out someone in the crowd with a Motorhead T shirt and responding, ‘Dunno if I’ve got enough meth to keep up with Motorhead’. During ‘Whores’ the looping bass riff kept the groove while the lead guitar went stratospheric. At this point I remembered Dave Navarro was absent but what an incredible substitution in former Chilli Pepper Josh Klinghoffer as he more than ably filled the gap. Original bassist Eric Avery (who’s birthday it was) put down the bass and picked up an acoustic as Perry dedicated ‘Jane Says’ to a woman in the crowd named Pauline. This was met with a mass crowd clap a long and sing a long as everyone enjoyed the moment. The power of the drumming and percussion during ‘Mountain Song’ was a particular highlight. Dancing girls appeared on stage periodically but more prevalent during this song giving a glimpse of what it would look like if Jane’s Addiction played the Crazy Horse. Finishing with ‘Stop’ fans were delighted with the setlist comprised mostly from the first two albums however casual observers may have been disappointed with the exclusion of ‘Been Caught Stealing’ from the set.

The scene from The Simpsons ‘Billy Corgan, Smashing Pumpkins, Homer Simpson, smiling politely’ lives absolutely rent free in my head and pops into my head again as soon as the house lights die down and the stage is shrouded in black and white light for the arrival of the headline act. Beginning with ‘Empires’ the band graciously open their set as the crowd fills up the arena. Next up Corgan welcomes us to his party with the opening line ‘The world is a vampire’. ‘Bullet with Butterfly Wings’ is revered by the crowd and then followed up with another classic ‘Today’. Corgan’s voice sounds the same today as it did 30 years ago when originally delivering this 90’s classic. For the next song Corgan is handed an acoustic guitar and delivers a beautiful tender rendition of ‘We only Come Out at Night’ supported soulfully from the shadows by Melbournian Katie Cole on BV’s. Returning to the electric guitar Corgan drums on the wood to build up the ambience as touring bassist Jack Bates plucks along a somewhat familiar bassline accompanied by Jimmy Chamberlins drums and Corgan’s vocal as they offer up they’re unique cover of Talking Heads ‘Once in a Lifetime’. Have they made it better? No. Would David Byrne approve? Probably.

‘Ava Adore’ included a spectacular drum solo from Jimmy Chamberlin met with rapturous approval from the crowd. Latest release ‘Spellbinding’ was electric and is every bit a new Pumpkin’s classic. James Iha took to lead vocals next for a cover of ‘Under the Milky Way’ which was followed by some relaxed banter between Corgan and Iha debating what they thought each other would look like by this age, then Iha quoted that 70% of the worlds deadliest animals live in Australia. Corgan humorously replied ‘know what kills them?….Chicken salt’. From that quip straight into a sparse acoustic version of Tonight, Tonight showed the humility and outrageous talent of the pair. The tail end of the set includes ‘Cherub Rock’, ‘Zero’ and ‘1979’ with its unforgettable riff. ‘Beguiled’ seen the return of a male and female wrestler to the stage who appeared to be having a domestic with the bloke copping a DDT for his troubles. Finishing with ‘Silverfuck’ the band rock out emphatically for an extended goodbye.

Billy Corgan is a maverick who forged his own way in the 90s and created some of the best songs of that era and is now continuing to entertain the world with his unique mix of music and wrestling. Good on him I say and thank you for bringing it to Adelaide!

Words by Gordon Phipps

Photography by Rock Tsar Photography

IMAGES

Concert Review: Smashing Pumpkins and Jane's Addiction at Hard Rock
Smashing Pumpkins and Jane's Addiction Announce North American Tour
Smashing Pumpkins, Jane’s Addiction tour a double dose of rock that has
Jane’s Addiction And Smashing Pumpkins Deliver As ‘Spirits On Fire
Smashing Pumpkins & Jane’s Addiction (2022)
Smashing Pumpkins Announce Arena Tour with Jane's Addiction

COMMENTS

Concert Review: Smashing Pumpkins and Jane's Addiction at Hard Rock
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This was a one-venue festival, running through Sydney's Hordern Pavilion and kicking off in the afternoon before wrapping up around 11 PM. Jane's Addiction and The Smashing Pumpkins, two of the most iconic rock bands of the 90s, were the two big attractions here but Aussies Battlesnake and Amy & The Sniffers held their own well. Amyl & The ...
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Jane's Addiction took to stage next and reverberated guitar with that distinctive tone of 'Up The Beach' echoing around the now ¾ full arena. Perry was interactive with the crowd from the off pointing out someone in the crowd with a Motorhead T shirt and responding, 'Dunno if I've got enough meth to keep up with Motorhead'.
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The Smashing Pumpkins and Jane's Addiction kick off 32-date North American tour

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Live Review: The Smashing Pumpkins & Jane’s Addiction give Sydney a superplex – The Hordern Pavilion (19.04.23)

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