The Smashing Pumpkins kicked off their co-headlining North American tour with Noel Gallagher last week, playing a set heavy on classics like Today, 1979, Cherub Rock and Bullet With Butterfly Wings. However, One surprise came near the end of the night when they played the Machina/The Machines of God deep cut Blue Skies Bring Tears for the first time since 2007, and another came earlier in the show when they performed a cover of James Taylors Fire and Rain. It marked the first time theyd ever done the song, which has now become a staple of their current trek.
Much like their classic cover of Fleetwood Macs Landslide, Billy Corgan and company took a classic 1970s ballad and gave it the full Pumpkins treatment. It begins with a nearly two-minute instrumental jam before Corgan starts singing the song and ends with a guitar solo.
In 2018, the Smashing Pumpkins reunited with estranged guitarist James Iha for the first time since the original band broke up in 2000. (Original drummer Jimmy Chamberlain re-joined the group in 2015.) Attempts were made to bring back bassist Darcy Wretzky for a complete reunion of the classic lineup, but they broke down when Wretzky went public with a series of private text exchanges between her and Corgan. She also gave an interview where she said he may have a brain tumor.
I think what she did demonstrates why she couldnt be involved, Corgan told the New York Times in 2018. I was vulnerable and shared things and trusted that there was a reason to give it a chance, despite plenty of empirical evidence that that was not a wise decision.
Even without Wretzky, the Pumpkins still played a very successful reunion tour last year that lead to their new Rick Rubin-produced album Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun. Their tour with Noel Gallagher wraps up August 31st at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California.