Smashing Pumpkins celebrate ‘Mellon Collie’ anniversary in Chicago

The Smashing Pumpkins performed a special concert at Chicago’s United Center to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their 1995 double album, ‘Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness’. The performance was part of the ‘Rats In A Cage’ tour.

The setlist included iconic hits such as ‘1979’, ‘Bullet With Butterfly Wings’, ‘Tonight, Tonight’, and ‘Zero’. Beyond the mainstream singles, the band incorporated deep cuts and album tracks like ‘Ava Adore’, ‘Galapagos’, and the ten-minute prog-rock song ‘Porcelina of the Vast Oceans’.

Billy Corgan, James Iha, and Jimmy Chamberlin performed a set that combined nostalgia with a focus on the album's broader discography. Corgan noted that the tour's direction was inspired by a previous operatic interpretation of the album performed with the Lyric Opera Company of Chicago.