Smashing Pumpkins reunite after 18 years for 30th anniversary tour

San Diego Union-Tribune

Feb. 15, 2018 9:15 AM PT

Three of the four original members of Smashing Pumpkins are reuniting for their first tour together in 18 years to celebrate the alternative-rock band’s 30th anniversary, it was announced Thursday morning.

The three — singer and guitarist Billy Corgan, drummer Jimmy Chamberlin and guitarist James Iha — will kick off their Shiny And Oh So Bright Tour on July 12 at Arizona’s Gila River Arena in Glendale.

The North American concert trek concludes Sept. 7 at the Ford Idaho Center in Boise. It includes four California dates, including a Sept. 1 show at San Diego State University’s Viejas Arena.

All cities and dates appear below, along with ticket information.

Smashing Pumpkins has been working on a new album with legendary producer Rick Rubin. For this tour, however, the revamped band will exclusively play songs from its first five albums: 1991’s “Gish,” 1993’s “Siamese Dream,” 1995’s “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness,” 1998’s “Adore” and 2000’s “Machina.”

“Some 30 years ago, as The Smashing Pumpkins, James Iha and I began a musical journey in the cramped rear bedroom of my father’s house,” Corgan said, in a statement released Thursday morning.

“And so it’s magic to me that we’re able to coalesce once more around the incredible Jimmy Chamberlin, to celebrate those songs we’ve made together.”

Missing from the reunion tour lineup is original Smashing Pumpkins bassist D’arcy Wretzky, who has alleged she was not invited to participate in the reunion. That contention is disputed by the other band members.

In a statement released this week, a representative for Corgan, Chamberlin and Iha said: “In reuniting The Smashing Pumpkins, the band’s dedication remains to its fans and its music. To that, James Iha, Jimmy Chamberlin, and William Corgan haven’t played a show with D’arcy Wretzky for over 18 years. But it’s not for a lack of trying.

“Despite reports, Ms. Wretzky has repeatedly been invited out to play with the group, participate in demo sessions, or at the very least, meet face-to-face, and in each and every instance she always deferred. We wish her all the best, and look forward to reconnecting with you all very soon.”

Not so, counters Wretzky, who recently told Alternative Nation that it was “a complete lie” she had been invited to play on the reunion tour.

Her role on bass will reportedly be filled for the tour by Jack Bates, the son of New Order’s Peter Hook. Guitarist Jeff Schroeder will complete the lineup.

“This show and staging will be unlike any we’ve ever done, and will feature a set unlike any we’ve ever played. For if this is a chance at a new beginning, we plan on ushering it in with a real bang,” Corgan said.

Corgan has led various lineups of Smashing Pumpkins since the original lineup disbanded.

However, in a 2010 Union-Tribune interview, he criticized bands that reunited, saying: “Pavement is out there playing their old hits. What do they think? Not everyone does a cash-grab (and reunites). They’re an easy target, because I have issues with them.

“But the response of my generation (to current events) is pitiful and overwhelming, so why the (expletive) do I want to run out there with a flag? To get criticized for giving a (expletive)? I don’t want to be a dead hero. I do what I can, here and there.”

Tickets for Smashing Pumpkins’ reunion tour will go on sale to the general public Feb. 23 at 10 a.m. local time and be available at smashingpumpkins.com, LiveNation.com, ticketmaster.com and via the Live Nation App.