It is time to dust off your favourite oversized zero-print t-shirt and prepare to feel exceptionally old. The Smashing Pumpkins have officially announced a massive new tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their seminal 1995 double album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.
Dubbed the “Rats in a Cage Tour”, the run is set to be a massive celebration of the record that defined the angst of a generation. According to the band’s official announcement, fans can expect a unique show featuring two distinct sets. One will focus heavily on the milestone anniversary, while the other promises to span nearly four decades of hits and “dark treasures” from their extensive catalogue. Frontman Billy Corgan and company also shared a slick teaser video across their social media channels to get the nostalgia engines revving.
For those who spent the mid-nineties glued to Double J or obsessively watching Rage on a Saturday morning, Mellon Collie was more than just a commercial success. It was a sprawling, ambitious, 28-track masterpiece that somehow balanced beautiful orchestrations with blistering alternative rock. It gave us “1979”, “Tonight, Tonight”, and, of course, “Bullet with Butterfly Wings”, the track that gifted us the very lyric the tour is named after.
The Catch For Australian Fans
Now, before you go rushing to local ticketing outlets, there is a slight logistical hurdle to address. The initial tour routing is strictly focused on North America.
The 27-date marathon kicks off on September 30 in Columbus, Ohio. From there, the band will crisscross the United States and Canada, making stops in major hubs like Brooklyn, Toronto, Chicago, and Nashville, before finally wrapping up the nostalgia trip in Inglewood, California on November 12.
This announcement follows a busy period for Billy Corgan, who recently made a surprise appearance at Coachella to perform alongside alternative artist sombr, proving the frontman is still eager to keep one foot in the contemporary music scene while honouring his legacy.
So, where does that leave Australian devotees? Currently, we are looking from afar. The Smashing Pumpkins were last on our shores in 2023 for their widely successful “The World Is A Vampire” festival tour, which proved that Australian audiences still have a massive appetite for the band’s melancholic wall of sound.
While passport holders might already be looking at flights to Los Angeles or New York for a cheeky holiday, the rest of us will have to cross our fingers that this anniversary celebration eventually makes its way southern hemisphere. Given our historic loyalty to the band, it would be rude not to.
