Smashing Pumpkins: great band. Some might even say they’re the 100th best band of all time. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness: Great album. Some might even say it’s the 84th best record of all time. So, Billy Corgan and company’s “Rats in a Cage Tour,” which features a full set of Mellon Collie cuts and a second set of fan favorites and rarities, should be a pretty rockin’ time, yeah? Well, you know what, for the most part, it is.
Last night, Smashing Pumpkins stopped by the United Center for a homecoming show in Chicago, and while there wasn’t much in the way of surprises or special guests (as was the case for their Lollapalooza shows a few months ago), the gang still managed to do justice to the city and Mellon Collie. Corgan’s voice remains nasal and iconic, the playing was expectedly proficient, and a vast majority of the songs are tried and true. Both on paper and on stage, the foundation for the show they put together is simply rock solid.
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And Chicago received the Pumpkins with open arms. Throughout the marathon, 30-song split set, the audience turned into a roaring chorus, loudly singing along with nearly all of the Mellon Collie tunes. That vibe persisted past the 20-minute intermission and into the second set, even with Corgan pulling a risky gambit by leading off with three straight modern-era cuts. (Had big “one for them, one for you” energy. And, you know what, go ahead, Billy, you can clearly get away with it.) Siamese Dream hits like “Mayonnaise,” “Today,” or “Cherub Rock” received some of the best reactions of the night, and even the extended drum solo during closer “Superchrist” had people hooting and hollering.
For as excited as the crowd was, however, the energy in the arena seemed to be capped for one simple reason: the floor was entirely seated. Given Smashing Pumpkins’ demographic and current position as iconic Gen X rockers celebrating an album’s 30th anniversary, the decision to litter the pit with folding chairs does make sense. At the same time, the comfort comes with limitations: a certain amount of rigidity, a non-rock ‘n’ roll amount of organization, and the dampening of the communal experience that comes with a more free-flowing crowd. Corgan’s massive riffs got the people going, but the people had no real place to actually go. As someone who the frontman rightly clocked as not being “born when that album was released,” it had me longing to experience what a Smashing Pumpkins club show in, say, ’96 felt like.
Still, Smashing Pumpkins filled the arena with giant guitar tones and plenty of jubilant fans. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness purists who want to hear album deep cuts (several of which haven’t been on a setlist for a decade or more), Pumpkins diehards who will be equally excited to hear “Disarm” as “Jesus Is the Sun” or “Sojourner,” and casuals who are looking to merely experience the glory of the greatest hits will all be far from melancholic.
Oh, and one more observation: Beer was about three dollars more expensive across the board than the prices at Olivia Rodrigo’s United Center show on Monday. The promoters really know their audience, huh? (Still got one, though. I am a Chicagoan, after all. Fuck Green Bay.)
Smashing Pumpkins “Rats in a Cage Tour” Setlist:
Set One
1979
Bullet with Butterfly Wings
Cupid de Locke
Porcelina of the Vast Oceans
Jellybelly
Bodies
Galapagos
Thirty-Three
Tonight, Tonight
Here Is No Why
To Forgive
Fuck You (An Ode to No One)
Zero
Muzzle
By Starlight
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Set Two
Bullet with Butterfly Wings (Alternate theatrical version by Kristeen Young)
Sojourner
Edin
Pentagrams
Disarm
Ava Adore
War Dreams of Itself
Mayonaise
As Rome Burns
Today
Cherub Rock
Jesus Is the Sun
The Everlasting Gaze
Superchrist
Smashing Pumpkins 2026 Tour Dates:
10/16 — Charlotte, NC @ Spectrum Center [Buy Tickets]
10/17 — Jacksonville, FL @ VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena [Buy Tickets]
10/18 — Tampa, FL @ Benchmark International Arena [Buy Tickets]
10/20 — Indianapolis, IN @ Gainbridge Fieldhouse [Buy Tickets]
10/22 — Nashville, TN @ The Truth [Buy Tickets]
10/24 — Oklahoma City, OK @ Paycom Center [Buy Tickets]
10/25 — Austin, TX @ Moody Center [Buy Tickets]
10/27 — Denver, CO @ Ball Arena [Buy Tickets]
10/29 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Delta Center [Buy Tickets]
10/30 — Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden Arena [Buy Tickets]
11/01 — Portland, OR @ Moda Center [Buy Tickets]
11/03 — Calgary, AB @ Scotiabank Saddledome [Buy Tickets]
11/05 — Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena [Buy Tickets]
11/06 — Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena [Buy Tickets]
11/08 — San Jose, CA @ SAP Center [Buy Tickets]
11/11 — Phoenix, AZ @ Mortgage Matchup Center [Buy Tickets]
11/12 — Inglewood, CA @ Kia Forum [Buy Tickets]
11/14 — Huntington Beach, CA @ Darker Waves