I’ve Heard This Smashing Pumpkins Album a Million Times, but It’s Never Sounded Quite As Good As This
· Vice
For two nights in London, Billy Corgan performed The Smashing Pumpkins’ iconic 1995 album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness in full. In 2025, a run of concerts kicked off to celebrate the album’s 30th anniversary, beginning in North America. On September 1 and 2, 2026, Corgan took A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness Tour across the pond.
Longtime fans know and love the elaborate, ambitious album. Critics praised it for its scope and detail, and it cemented The Smashing Pumpkins as an indie rock household name. But it’s very likely that it’s never been performed like this before.
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For the anniversary tour, Corgan is joined by a 60-piece orchestra. The Smashing Pumpkins filled London’s Royal Festival Hall with incredible sound, utilizing the space to effectively transform Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.
The Smashing Pumpkins Turn Iconic 1995 Album Into an Orchestral Art Piece for 30th Anniversary Tour
When Corgan announced the tour in 2025, he described it as a “completely new, sonic and visual experience”. Overall, that’s been a decent assessment of how The Smashing Pumpkins are presenting their iconic album. They’re celebrating its legacy, but also transforming it into an operatic, once-in-a-lifetime experience.
In London, the orchestra took the first few songs solo. First, the already instrumental title track. Then they worked through “Tonight, Tonight” and a tender rendition of “Jellybelly”. Only then did Billy Corgan take the stage, launching into “Thirty-Three”.
The setlist consists of the album in a new arrangement, which Corgan and conductor James Lowe composed for orchestra. It seems that the main component of the reimagined Mellon Collie is the orchestra, with Corgan appearing periodically. He performed “Zero”, “1979”, “To Forgive”, and another rendition of “Tonight, Tonight” as the closer.
In two acts, Corgan and the orchestra journey through Mellon Collie in its entirety, but not technically in its correct order. The orchestra also performed highlights like “Muzzle”, “Lily (My One and Only)”, “Stumbleine”, “By Starlight”, “Bullet with Butterfly Wings”, and “In The Arms of Sleep”.
What makes these performances additionally interesting is that Billy Corgan has crafted a loose character to go with the reimagined Mellon Collie. Dressed in a subdued all-black costume, he joined the orchestra solo, focusing only on the vocals. No guitar, and no audience interaction. Clearly, he wasn’t lying when he said it was a totally new experience. This celebration of the album’s milestone takes a concert blueprint and turns it into an art piece.
Photo by Lorne Thomson/Redferns
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