The almost completely reunited Smashing Pumpkins are in town tonight to perform at KeyArena as part of their Shiny and Oh So Bright tour.
The tour, which features three-fourths of the band’s original members (Billy Corgan, Jimmy Chamberlain and James Iha), has reportedly not sold well due to concert promoters overestimating demand for a not-fully reunited Pumpkins lineup. This pushed the band’s tour into arenas across the country and has found them playing to half-full venues.
Tonight’s concert at KeyArena will be at the largest venue the band has played in Seattle in 21 years, which is the last time they played at KeyAreana. Previously, various forms of the Smashing Pumpkins have played clubs like Showbox SoDo and theaters like the Moore and Paramount during their Seattle tour stops. The lack of demand for this reunited version of the band combined with the band’s reputation for not being the most engaging group live likely contributed to the poor sales.
But the arena ambitions weren’t that unrealistic. Slightly more recently, in 2012 the band opened its tour supporting the album “Oceania” in Everett at Comcast Arena. There they played in front of a crowd estimated to be around 5,000, delivering a pretty drab and emotionless show.
Despite poor sales and smaller-than-expected crowds, the tour has been getting good reviews with most shows lasting more than three hours. The setlists are deep dives into the first 15 years of the band’s career, filled with hits and deep cuts as well as choice covers such as “Stairway to Heaven.”
If you decided not to buy tickets to tonight’s concert but are curious about this version of the Pumpkins, you’re in luck because you can stream tonight’s Smashing Pumkins concert on Twitter. Instead of sitting in a hard plastic seat staring at a large video screen inside of KeyArena you’ll be able to watch the show staring at a screen of your choice form the comfort of your couch. The band is scheduled to take the stage at 8:15 p.m. PT which is when you can head on over to Twitter to watch the full concert.
