THE SMASHING PUMPKINS MIX UP SET LISTS FOR FALL TOUR; TOURING LINEUP EXPANDED WITH HORNS, STRINGS, KEYBOARDIST

DATE:   NOVEMBER 21, 2008

FROM:  MITCH SCHNEIDER/TODD BRODGINSKI/ALEXANDRA GREENBERG

For their in-progress North American “20th Anniversary Tour,” THE SMASHING PUMPKINS are committed to keeping their shows hard-hitting and adventurous. They are varying set lists every night and not repeating songs when playing back-to-back shows in a single city, with Night #1 called “Black Sunshine” and night #2 “White Crosses.”  The group–also performing new unreleased material as well as some covers–has also added a second keyboardist, a horn section and a multi-instrumental string player to the tour, which kicked off October 31 and wraps December 3 with two nights in Los Angeles.

The 20th Anniversary Tour line-up is: BILLY CORGAN (vocals & guitars); JIMMY CHAMBERLIN (drums); JEFF SCHROEDER (guitars); GINGER POOLEY (bass); LISA HARRINGTON (keyboards); KRIS POOLEY (keyboards); STEPHEN BRADLEY (horns); GABRIAL MCNAIR (horns); and GINGGER SHANKAR (strings).

Writing in the New York Times about opening night of the Pumpkins’ two sold-out shows at the United Palace Theatre in NYC, Jon Pareles noted:

 "…the Smashing Pumpkins’ music has stayed explosive….The concert also included the band’s newly released songs, ‘G.L.O.W.’ and ‘Superchrist,’ both ferocious, blaring rockers. Songs like ‘Siva’ and ‘United States’ stretched into jams, which hurtled from one pealing guitar line to the next, and quieter songs, like ‘The Rose March,’ still ached” (11/7/08).

In his Chicago Tribune review of the first (“Black Sunshine”) of the band’s four shows in the city, Greg Kot observed:

“‘Tarantula’ sounded like an elephant rampage, and ‘G.L.O.W’ packed a wallop over the top of Ginger Reyes’ propulsive bass line. ‘Siva’ crashed, burned and rose phoenix-like…Chamberlin put on a clinic as he pounded away over long, suspended notes by the guitarists. ‘Tonight, Tonight’ realized its orchestral ambitions with horns and violin abetting the core band. And the ‘Superchrist’/’United States’ epic brought a smile from Corgan as he locked in with guitarist Jeff Schroeder” (11/19/08).

Writing about the second Chicago show (“White Crosses”) in the Chicago Sun-Times, Mark Guarino commented:
 
"Wednesday, the majority of songs came from the Corgan songbook that has long been in the shadows, including the ballad ‘Cupid de Locke’ and ‘Suffer,’ a song from the band's 1994 debut now transformed into sly Afro-beat, sending its singer dancing to both ends of the stage. The band interwove these with new, unreleased songs that captured a similar tone: Corgan opened and closed "99 Floors" playing acoustic guitar and harmonica, ‘Owata’ had the deep pocket feel of 1970s country rock, while ‘A Song For a Son’ built to majestic heights that has long become his signature. The songs reflected Corgan's deepening maturity as a songwriter, but also as an arranger; the music felt evenly wrought, with each player neatly complimenting the overall textures and moods” (11/20/08). 

The five-week run is being highlighted by multi-night stops in such cities as Chicago, Toronto, New York, Washington, Boston, Kansas City and Los Angeles (a special two-night ticket bundle will be available for all multi-night engagements). In Chicago–where BILLY CORGAN and JIMMY CHAMBERLIN continue to be based–the Pumpkins are playing four sold-out shows at two different venues.  In cities where the band is set to play one night, they plan to deliver a unique one-off set.

Before the tour kicked off, the band performed their new single “G.L.O.W.”– the #1 most added song at Modern Rock radio its first week out and now positioned at #12 on the Modern Rock chart–on two TV shows: SPIKE TV’s “Scream Awards” and on ABC-TV’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”  Now independent artists who are releasing music in unconventional ways, the pioneering and influential Pumpkins are making “G.L.O.W” available via the Guitar Hero® World Tour game.  This marks the first time a band has recorded a new song exclusively for the franchise which will be released afterwards, giving Guitar Hero® fans exclusive access to Smashing Pumpkins music before anyone else.  In the Rolling Stone review of “G.L.O.W.,” Kyle Anderson wrote: “This monster, which will appear on Guitar Hero: World Tour, plows over Billy Corgan’s late-blooming prog sensibilities to make way for a volcanic Siamese Dream-style riff and an end-of-days bass roll” (11/13/08).

The band is also receiving attention for a two-DVD set If All Goes Wrong, released November 11. It consists of an unflinchingly honest 105-minute documentary, also titled If All Goes Wrong, tracing the Pumpkins during their 19-show residency in 2007, which began with eight shows at Asheville, NC’s Orange Peel in late June and continued through 11 sold-out nights at San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium.  The set also includes The Fillmore Residency, a full concert filmed in late July and early August of 2007 over five of the 11 shows at the venue.