For over a year now, rumors have been circulating around a potential Smashing Pumpkins reunion tour. Preempting the official statement from the band, there have been subtle hints, several vague near-announcements, and of course the public expression of disappointment at not being included in the not-yet-officially-announced reunion on the part of former Pumpkins bassist D'Arcy Wretzky. Nevertheless, the day has finally come, and the rumors have proved true.
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The Shiny And Oh So Bright Tour — the GRAMMY-winning band's first in nearly 20 years — will wind through 36 U.S. cities between July and September 201 and feature three founding members: frontman/songwriter Billy Corgan, drummer Jimmy Chamberlin and guitarist James Iha.
Since the dissolution of the group's original lineup in 2000, the Pumpkins have been, as NPR put it, "remarkably prolific for a band that's not together anymore," releasing six albums or EPs between 2000 and 2014. (Though technically, all releases under the Smashing Pumpkins moniker after 2006 came from an officially reformed band helmed by Corgan that featured no other founding members.)
With those facts in hand, it is all the more exciting news for longtime Pumpkins fans that the new tour will exclusively feature material from the band's early albums Gish, Siamese Dream, Melon Collie And The Infinite Sadness, Adore, and Machina – a rare occurrence, given Corgan's well-known resistance to playing catalog material in live shows.
"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 explained via the band's official announcement.
The Shiny And Oh So Bright Tour will kick off in Glendale, Ariz., on July 12 and wrap Sept. 7 in Boise, Idaho. Full tour dates and ticketing info are available on the band's official website.
