by Nelson

The minute that it was announced, I knew that somehow, some way I’d wind up going. How I’d get there, who would go with me, and how I’d justify the expense was another matter entirely. What’s important is that the principle players of The Smashing Pumpkins are back together again, and there’s no way in Hell I’m going to pass up the opportunity to yell for James Iha to play a brief refrain of “Bugg Superstar,” the tribute song to the beloved dog of SP’s trademark rhythm guitarist.

Of course, considering where I’m sitting, there’s not much of a chance that James Iha will be able to hear anything that I’ve got to yell. But, hey, that’s okay. I’m going to see The Smashing Pumpkins, and that’s a big deal to me.

It was kind of amazing how it all came together, really. Tickets went on sale earlier last month, but prices were a bit high, and a rock concert struck me as a little too leisurely of an expense to put on the credit card. So I figured I’d wait it out and see about tickets at the first of the month. What I didn’t realize was that the universe would provide in substantial ways. Turns out, I’ve got a four-day work conference in Atlanta that commences on the day the Pumpkins will be in town. When something comes together that perfectly (and when your employers are perfectly happy to let you step out and attend a rock show), you can’t deny it. You put that leisurely expense on your damn credit card, and you get ready to smash some pumpkins like it’s 1995 all over again.

The Pumpkins have been a constant in my life ever since I discovered them way back in the fifth grade. The fact that I was first introduced to what would become my all-time favorite band by Weird Al Yankovic singing the chorus for “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” on his “Alternative Polka” became immediately irrelevant the minute that Billy Corgan’s magnum opus, Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness, found its way into my possession. To say that I loved that band was an understatement. I was all-in. Utterly obsessed. To the point that most of my friends and acquaintances over the years tend to roll their eyes about it. But that’s okay. Because they just don’t get it. What exactly “It” is, I don’t’ know. But it’s something, and it’s there. Because I absolutely fucking love The Smashing Pumpkins, and I’m over the moon about going to see them in concert. Again. It never gets old.

Who is going with me, you ask? Oh, no one. That’s how it is when you’re a Pumpkins fan. I’m not a lonely guy. I’ve got a wife. I’ve got friends. But Billy Corgan’s distinct vocals aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, and, much as I may love them, The Pumpkins getting back together isn’t exactly an example of the trendy kind of nostalgia that is currently running rampant through pop culture. Siamese Dream and the aforementioned Mellon Collie produced some of the most iconic tunes in all of 90s alternative rock, but Billy Corgan’s tumultuous relationship with pretty much every conceivable form of media out there goes a long way to cement The Pumpkins as the perpetual black sheep of the rock scene.

Being a Pumpkins fan is a tough gig, for sure. No one else in your life is likely to share your enjoyment for very long (if at all), and, whenever you mention the group, folks around you tend to snicker, either because of how ridiculous the band’s name sounds when spoken out loud, or because they’re briefly remembering Corgan’s distinct and oft-mocked vocals. Also, largely thanks to Corgan, the group is subjected to a Guns ‘n’ Roses levels of scrutiny. While most bands with any staying power tend to have revolving lineups, Corgan and company have long been under fire for going through drummers, rhythm guitarists, and bassists like an Irishman goes through whiskey. Hell, even this latest “reunion” is a bit deceptive when you consider the fact that the band first “renewed and revived” way back in 2007. Corgan took out a full-page ad in the Chicago Sun to announce that one. Since then, The Smashing Pumpkins have put out three full-length albums, one EP, and nearly two albums worth of material through digital release. How can a band that’s been consistently active with releases and tours suddenly have a reunion anyway?

Well, it’s a reunion of the original lineup. James Iha hasn’t shared a stage with Billy Corgan in two years eighteen years, and Jimmy Chamberlin hasn’t been with the band since 2015 2009 2000 1996!

The odd definition of “reunion” and the fact that, technically speaking, The Pumpkins haven’t really gone anywhere in awhile doesn’t seem to phase many folks, though. Instead, they’re just pissed that D’arcy Wretzky, the group’s original bassist, isn’t back in the saddle again, despite being the only former member of the band who didn’t pursue a post-Pumpkins musical career. As a matter of fact, D’arcy hasn’t been on a stage in nearly twenty years now, last appearing on bass duties for SP during a 1999 tour. Since then, D’arcy has lived in relative obscurity, popping up in the headlines once for a drug arrest shortly after her exit from the group and then, years later, in an odd story covering the day D’arcy’s horses got off her property and ran amok through town. Of course, now, D’arcy is back in the headlines again, this time as a sympathetic figure since she’s the latest victim of Billy Corgan’s legendary ego. The fact that D’arcy barely sounds coherent in interviews and goes on and on about being in tip-top health and “immune” to addiction doesn’t seem to phase many because, hey, how dare Corgan not consider taking such an obviously reliable person out on the road with him?

There’s a lot about Pumpkins fandom that seems weird and unfair to me. After all, no one seemed to care when Pink Floyd carried on without Roger Waters, the guy who wrote all of their good songs. The fact that ever post-Waters release from Floyd absolutely sucked? Meh, that was okay too. But try to suggest that there’s some merit to be found from The Pumpkins admittedly weaker post-2000 breakup catalog? Well, that’s just an impossibility. How can The Smashing Pumpkins possibly release any good music. It’s not the original group, don’cha know?

In its own way, though, the “Shiny and Oh So Bright” Reunion Tour does feel a little off to me. Not because D’arcy isn’t gonna show up, though. Instead, what seems weird to me is that the tour seems exclusively focused on the Siamese Dream – Mellon Collie era, with no real acknowledgment of anything else in either the promotion or the proposed setlists. It’s a weird moment of conformity for a band that’s based so much of their reputation on going against the grain. Not that I’ve got anything at all against an opportunity to hear James Iha play “The Boy” in concert, but, still…..no love for Adore, the absolute masterpiece of an album that houses the finest song Corgan has ever written? “For Martha” is getting the ax For the masses, and, ironically enough, Corgan may have been better served to have catered this tour towards his hardcore fanbase rather than the casuals based on the dark cloud of negativity over this tour that’s been pretty visible ever since the news about D’arcy broke. It’s not that I’m not stoked to hear “Today” or “Here is No Why” or maybe (just maybe) even “Bodies,” but it’d be neat if the albums that I spent years supporting long after the band wasn’t “cool” anymore could get a little love, too.

Either way, though, The Smashing Pumpkins are back (again), and I’ll be damned if I’m not super excited to go, whether anyone else wants to join me or not.