Smashing Pumpkins have held a “requiem” show for the character ‘Zero’, playing a one-off special show in California and announcing a ‘Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness’ tour.
The persona is one that frontman Billy Corgan took on around the time Smashing Pumpkins dropped their third studio album, ‘Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness’.
He was frequently seen wearing the now-iconic black-and-white shirt reading ‘Zero’, including in the music video for ‘Bullet With Butterfly Wings’ in 1995 and at nearly all performances during the ‘Infinite Sadness’ tour.
The name is also the title of one of the songs on the album, and the character has continued to be referenced by fans over the past three decades.
Over the weekend, Smashing Pumpkins announced a “requiem” for the alias – performing a one-off show in Hollywood that was designed like a funeral. It was held on Sunday (May 17) and featured black-and-white pic of Corgan from that era in elaborate silver frames next to candles, a coffin in the middle of the venue that was surrounded by bald men wearing ‘Zero’ shirts, and even a eulogy for the character.
“Zero is dead. In the brisk and heady autumn of 1995, Zero appeared without warning: As mirror, wound, joke, threat, prayer and then, a reflection in glass,” Smashing Pumpkins said, announcing the show just hours before it kicked off.
“Countless souls understood, countless others did not, and yet, the lonely kept him alive far longer and into some greater influence than anyone might have intended. For that, we know Zero and those who loved him are grateful.”
Those who attended were given a pamphlet with the running order of the show, which featured “Invocation by The Honorary Tommy Sykes”, “Reflections by Jill Kargman”, the song ‘In The Arms Of Sleep’ sung by Gas Farwell, “Remarks by Dr Christopher Nowinski”, a “eulogy by Chloe Mendel”, followed by “Closing Remarks”.
Corgan also took to the stage for a live performance, breaking out songs from ‘Mellon Collie…’ including ‘1979’, ‘Bullet With Butterfly Wings’, ‘Jellybelly’, ‘Tonight, Tonight’ and ‘Zero’, as well as the first performance of ‘Here Is No Why’ since 1997.
Check out the full setlist as well as more footage from the show below.
The setlist was:
‘1979’
‘Bullet With Butterfly Wings’
‘Edin’
‘Lina’
‘Here Is No Why’ (first time since 1997)
‘Porcelina Of Vast Oceans’
‘Jellybelly’
‘Bodies’
‘Tonight, Tonight’
‘Cherub Rock’
‘Zero’
‘The Everlasting Gaze’
Billy Corgan has put the ‘Zero’ moniker to one side over the years, and the original shirt he wore in the music video is currently on display at his own Madame Zuzu’s coffee bar in California. Various replicas have been sold as merch over the years, including at the one-off show over the weekend.
Shortly after the Hollywood “requiem” wrapped up, Smashing Pumpkins announced details of a new US tour: ‘The Rats In A Cage Tour’.
Those gigs will come as a “one-of-a-kind’ type show, according to the band, and be structured as “two distinct sets” that each celebrate “the 30th anniversary of ‘Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness’ plus nearly four decades of hits and dark treasures’.
The tour kicks off at the end of September with a show in Columbus, Ohio, before continuing throughout the following month with shows in Boston, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Charlotte, Jacksonville and more.
November dates include stops in Portland, Phoenix, Inglewood and more, and all shows come after a stop at Lollapalooza in July. Tickets go on sale on Thursday (May 21) at 10am local time. Visit here for tickets and more information.
The Smashing Pumpkins US tour dates are:
JULY
31 – Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza
SEPTEMBER
30 – Columbus, OH @ The Schottenstein Center
OCTOBER
2 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden
3 – Baltimore, MD @ CFG Bank Arena
4 – Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center
6 – Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena
7 – Hamilton, ON @ TD Coliseum
9 – Montréal, QC @ Centre Bell
11 – Madison, WI @ Kohl Center
13 – Saint Paul, MN @ Grand Casino Arena
14 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
16 – Charlotte, NC @ Spectrum Center
17 – Jacksonville, FL @ VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena
18 – Tampa, FL @ Benchmark International Arena
20 – Indianapolis, IN @ Gainbridge Fieldhouse
22 – Nashville, TN @ The Truth
24 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Paycom Center
25 – Austin, TX @ Moody Center
27 – Denver, CO @ Ball Arena
29 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Delta Center
30 – Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden Arena
NOVEMBER
1 – Portland, OR @ Moda Center
3 – Calgary, AB @ Scotiabank Saddledome
5 – Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena
6 – Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
8 – San Jose, CA @ SAP Center
11 – Phoenix, AZ @ Mortgage Matchup Center
12 – Inglewood, CA @ Kia Forum
14 – Huntington Beach, CA @ Darker Waves
Earlier this month, Billy Corgan confirmed that he would be bringing his ‘A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness’ live shows to the UK and Europe later this year – celebrating the classic album by reimagining the setlist with a 60-piece orchestra.
Those shows launched in the US last year, and before then, the alt-rock icons dropped the 30th anniversary deluxe reissue of ‘Mellon Collie’, which featured over 80 minutes of unreleased audio from their 1996 tour and more.
The post Smashing Pumpkins hold ‘requiem’ for ‘Zero’ as they play special gig to announce ‘Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness’ tour appeared first on NME.
