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Smashing Pumpkins’ Anniversary Tour Slated By Fans

added 11 November 2008 at 10.06

Reaction to the re-formed grunge legends 20th anniversary shows have been less than ecstatic as Billy Corgan and co. get jeered in New York.

The Pulse Of Radio in America are reporting that Smashing Pumpkins’ recent shows in New York were met with a distinctly lukewarm reaction from fans. Far from wheeling out the hits, Billy Corgan swerved some of the band’s more famous songs for a forty-minute, mid-set jam. You can see a Youtube clip of a fan taking to the stage to protest below…

Despite the tour celebrating twenty years of Smashing Pumpkins, Billy Corgan, in a recent blog posting (dated October 27), was quick to dash hopes of a catalogue retread.

“I don't think terms like 'harkening back' or 'sentimental' will be the words that will come to mind. This tour is a celebration of where we are, not where we've been. We are HERE! (With a big smile and a foot in your back) Enjoy it if you will, we realize it’s not for everybody.

“Last evening we were able to play for the first time as a 9 piece version of the band, which is very exciting. The more we let go of how the band is supposed to appear numbers-wise and more of what it is supposed to sound like heart-wise, the closer we get to a present kind of truth”.

In the same post he also ruled out a reformation of the original line-up. He said the door had been open for guitarist James Iha and bassist D’arcy Wretzky to return, but the pair had rebuffed the offer.

“I can now say definitively that they aren't ever coming back. Period. There is no maybe. If the door was once open to at least have the conversation and consider the possibility, it is now closed. For good. We have moved on. We love them, and we wish them well”.

Tagged as Smashing Pumpkins, Live

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