The Smashing Pumpkins

The Smashing Pumpkins exploded into their Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness-celebrating “The Rats in a Cage” fall tour last night, bringing the songs of that juggernaut album and more to the fans at Columbus, Ohio’s Value City Arena. As previously reported, the North American arena run was built as a two-set spectacular. The first part highlights various tracks from 1995 double-album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. They didn’t perform the record front-to-back, though. The night began with coming-of-age anthem “1979,” then ran into the red for “Bullet with Butterfly Wings,” which got bandleader Billy Corgan anthemically screaming the tour’s famous namesake chorus lyric: “Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage.” Corgan was flanked by Mellon Collie-era players James Iha (guitar) and Jimmy Chamberlain (drums), as well as more modern Pumpkins additions like virtuosic six-stringer Kiki Wong. The first set hit big singles like “Tonight, Tonight” and the creep-grooved “Zero.” They also spotlighted a few cuts that hadn’t crossed the stage in years. This included “Cupid de Locke,” which hadn’t been performed by the Pumpkins since 2008, and the bratty, drum roll-building “Fuck You (An Ode to No One”), which hadn’t been in the set since 2007. After capping the Infinite Sadness portion of the performance, Smashing Pumpkins hit a 16-song set that covered material from 1991 debut album Gish all the way up to 2024’s Aghori Mhori Mei. This included heavy-hitters off 1993’s Siamese Dream, like “Today” and “Cherub Rock.” Stage debuts were made last night — amazingly, this included Gish’s “Jesus Is the Sun,” as well as “Sojourner” from the band’s ATUM opera. You’ll find fan-shot footage of the Pumpkins’ epic tour kickoff above and down below. The full setlist info is below as well (via setlist.fm) Their “The Rats in a Cage” tour continues tomorrow (October 2nd) at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The rest of the tour schedule can be found here. Smashing Pumpkins setlist 9/30/26:Set 1:1979Bullet With Butterfly WingsCupid de Locke (First time since 2008)Porcelina of the Vast OceansJellybellyBodiesGalapogos (First time since 2008)Thirty-ThreeTonight, TonightHere Is No WhyTo ForgiveFuck You (An Ode to No One) (First time since 2007)ZeroMuzzleBy Starlight (First time since 2010)Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (First time since 2018)Set 2:Le Deux Machina (First time since 2000)Sojourner (Live debut)EdinPentagramsDisarmAva AdoreWar Dreams of ItselfMayonaiseDorianAs Rome Burns (First time since 2010)Stand Inside Your LoveTodayCherub RockJesus Is the Sun (Live debut)The Everlasting GazeSuperchrist (First time since 2019) View this post on Instagram View this post on Instagram View this post on Instagram