The Smashing Pumpkins launch 2018 reunion tour in Phoenix with 3-hour show

Ed Masley | The Republic | azcentral.com

It was the age of the outsider, a time when weirdos were given the keys to the cultural kingdom.

And few performers played that role with more aplomb than Billy Corgan as he led the Smashing Pumpkins to multiplatinum glory on the strength of such timeless commercial-alternative radio staples as “Disarm” and “Cherub Rock.”

But for all his charming eccentricities and the alienation his lyrics explored, he was equally comfortable embracing the arena-rock aesthetic of the pre-punk era.

That dichotomy would serve him well throughout the decade the Smashing Pumpkins helped define.

Shiny and Oh So Bright Tour

And it served him well again last night in Glendale when they launched the much-anticipated Shiny and Oh So Bright Tour, reuniting three of the four founding members, with a triumphant performance at Gila River Arena.

Drummer Jimmy Chamberlain, a force of nature who powered through the set as though he hadn't aged a day since 1994, has been in nearly every version of the band,

But guitarist James Iha’s return from an 18-year hiatus has given this year's tour some serious reunion buzz – this despite the conspicuous absence of founding bassist D'arcy Wretzky.

And they rose to the occasion with a sprawling, theatrical concert that featured no fewer than 31 songs in three hours, from their greatest hits to unexpected deep cuts and "Stairway to Heaven."

Yes, "Stairway to Heaven."

That's right, I said 'Stairway to Heaven'

"Stairway" was one of three classic-rock covers that found its way into the set, an oddly faithful presentation of a song most artists wouldn't think of covering.

Corgan, who started the song on electric piano, encouraged fans to join on the climax and Iha yelled "'Stairway to Heaven!' Give it up!' when it was through.

It was surreal, to say the least, a "What in God's name do they think they're doing?" moment that worked, in part, because it made no sense at all that it was even happening, much like their encore-closing treatment of the "Dumbo" ballad "Baby Mine."

And if that "Dumbo" cover was the only one they truly made their own, they couldn't very well have done it just like Mrs. Jumbo.

After setting the tone for a night of nostalgia by projecting images from classic Pumpkins videos and album covers over the opening theme, the curtains parted and Corgan strolled out for a solo acoustic performance of "Disarm."

"I used to be a little boy," he sang as the screen behind him filled with images of Corgan as a little boy, including what appeared to be a kindergarten photo with the words "Broken Boy" etched across his dress shirt.

It was both an emotional introduction to Corgan's world and a great bit of rock and roll theater.

Then, the other founding members hit the stage, joined by bassist Jack Bates (whose dad is Peter Hook of Joy Division and New Order), guitarist Jeff Schroeder and Katie Cole on a variety of instruments and harmonies.

As they followed "Disarm" with "Rocket," a second track from "Siamese Dream," their multiplatinum breakthrough, we got our first taste of the psychedelic tapestry of sound this new lineup can weave with that three-guitar army as the music built to a majestic climax.

After reaching back to "Gish" for a headbanging "Siva," which featured the first of many electrifying displays of guitar heroics from Corgan, they turned in a dreamy, hypnotic rendition of "Rhinoceros" from that same album, making brilliant use of vintage videos to complete the nostalgic effect.

David Bowie's "Space Oddity" proved an interesting departure that also came off as perfectly natural extension of their own aesthetic, much more so than "Stairway" or Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide," which they also played.

The Mac song wasn't nearly as surprising as their other cover choices, given that their version of the ballad was included on "Pisces Iscariot," a collection of B-sides and rarities that followed the success of "Siamese Dream" in 1994.

Four detours into other artists' catalog still left plenty of time in a three-hour set to treat the fans to nearly every major Pumpkins' track they could have hoped for from the Iha years, including all the hits from "Siamese Dream" and "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness."

And Corgan was clearly enjoying the opportunity to share those memories in a large arena, throwing himself into delivering lyrics as essential to a Smashing Pumpkins crowd as "God is empty just like me" in "Zero" with all the conviction that moment requires and pointing to the fans with a grin when he hit the line "the creatures scream" in "The Everlasting Gaze."

I'm pretty sure he even changed it to "YOU creatures scream" for the occasion but I could be wrong.

A date with the Smashing Pumpkins is still, in many ways, the Billy Corgan Show with all the crazy costumes and the quirky cult of personality that is his stock in trade, all while rocking a look that ranged from Nosferatu chic to evil bishop in a Gothic horror film.

But Thursday's most transcendent moments, once you got beyond the Corgan-tastic splendor of "Disarm," were the result of six musicians sculpting something more majestic than their individual parts.

For all the showmanship and spectacle, what made this concert more than an emotional nostalgia fix for children of the '90s was the sound of them chasing those transcendent moments as a group. And they got there more often than not.

Smashing Pumpkins setlist

"Disarm"

"Rocket"

"Siva"

"Rhinoceros"

"Space Oddity" (David Bowie cover)

"Drown"

"Zero"

"The Everlasting Gaze"

"Stand Inside Your Love"

"Thirty-Three"

"Eye"

"Soma"

"Blew Away"

"For Martha"

"To Sheila"

"Mayonaise"

"Porcelina of the Vast Oceans"

"Landslide" (Fleetwood Mac cover)

"Tonight, Tonight"

"Stairway to Heaven" (Led Zeppelin cover)

"Cherub Rock"

"1979"

"Ava Adore"

"Try, Try, Try"

"The Beginning Is the End Is the Beginning"

"Hummer"

"Today"

"Bullet With Butterfly Wings"

"Muzzle"

Encore:

"Solara"

"Baby Mine" (from "Dumbo")

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