The Smashing Pumpkins Announce ‘Mellon Collie’ 30th Anniversary Arena Tour

The Smashing Pumpkins will belatedly celebrate the 30th anniversary of their iconic double album, Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness. The Rats In A Cage Tour flyer states that the band will perform “two unique sets celebrating Mellon Collie 30 and nearly four decades of unruly hits and dark treasures.” The announcement follows a surprise show at the Hollywood Legion Theater in Los Angeles. At the show, the band staged a funeral for Billy Corgan’s alter ego, Zero, from the Mellon Collie era of the band.

The 27-date North American tour kicks off on September 30 in Columbus, Ohio, at the Schottenstein Center. The Rats In A Cage Tour includes stops in New York, Chicago, Montreal, and more. It will wrap up in Los Angeles on November 12. Tickets will go on sale Thursday, May 21, through the band’s website.

In a statement released through Rolling Stone, Billy Corgan said, “Staging a Mellon Collie-themed show is something we’ve discussed for over a decade, and finally the stars have aligned and exactly on the terms I’d set, which was to build a special night around its most enduring aspirations and ideas. With set 1 of the Rats In A Cage Tour exclusively featuring Mellon Collie songs in a highly theatrical setting, and set 2 drawing from the rest of our canon so that there’s a decent amount of variance as to what songs we’ll play from night to night, from our first in Gish and our last in Aghori Mhori Mei.”

A Brief History of the Success of ‘Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness’ in the 1990s

Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness was released on October 23, 1995, and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. It’s the band’s most successful release, generating five hit singles. “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” was the album’s lead single and the band’s first top-40 hit. It peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on the Mainstream Rock chart. The song won a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1997.

The album’s second single, “1979,” peaked at No. 12 on the Hot 100. Additionally, it hit No. 1 on the US Alternative Airplay chart in March 1996. A third single was released on April 23, 1996, and peaked at No. 9 on the US Modern Rock Tracks. “Tonight, Tonight” was the fourth single released on May 6, 1996. The music video features future SpongeBob voice actor Tom Kenny and his wife, Jilly Talley, who voices Karen on the cartoon. It peaked at No. 4 on the Mainstream Rock chart and No. 36 on the Hot 100. The fifth and final single, “Thirty-Three,” was released in November 1996. It peaked at No. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was the band’s fourth and final top-40 hit.