Smashing Pumpkins and Weezer kicked off their joint UK tour in Birmingham last night – check out footage and their setlists below.
Even though it was a joint tour, both bands played substantial setlists full of hits, deep cuts and the occasional cover. It also marked the Pumpkins’ first gig with new guitarist Kiki Wong, who was selected from over 100,000 applications earlier this year when they put out an open call to replace longtime guitarist Jeff Schroeder.
Up first was Weezer, who stormed through a 19-song setlist containing the usual run of hits frm ‘My Name Is Jonas’ and ‘Beverly Hills’ to ‘Say It Ain’t So’ and ‘Buddy Holly’.
They also played their cover of Hole‘s ‘Celebrity Skin’, which they had previously played at a one-off show in Santa Ana, California last month.
Smashing Pumpkins followed with a 24-song run. Notably, their third song was a cover of U2’s ‘Zoo Station’, which they had never played before. They also aired some of their newer material for the first time live, including ‘That Which Animates The Spirit’, ‘Springtimes’ and ‘Birch Grove’.
Numerous songs also returned to the setlist for the first time in a significant while, including ‘Thru The Eyes Of Ruby’ (which hadn’t been played since 2015), ‘Panopticon’ and ‘Gossamer’ (both for the first time since 2013).
Check out footage and the setlists below:
Had the most amazing time going back to the 90s and seeing #Weezer, who were great fun, and #TheSmashingPumpkins who were – honest to goodness – up there as one of the best live acts I’ve seen! Absolutely epic! pic.twitter.com/cJM8JFcgzy
— Chris (@chris1701G) June 7, 2024
If you’re going to watch @SmashingPumpkin and @Weezer on this tour you’re in for a real treat! What an insane night! 30 year dream in the making for me seeing my two favourite bands on the same night! #smashingpumpkins #weezer pic.twitter.com/j08cL2Tm9H
— Mr Corbett (@_MrCorbett) June 7, 2024
omg guess who saw rivers cuomo #weezer and the #smashingpumpkins with their very own eyes today ^_^ wowie pic.twitter.com/unEmM1crDf
— ivan (@ivanstinkysauna) June 7, 2024
Weezer played the following (via Setlist.fm):
‘My Name Is Jonas’
‘Beverly Hills’
‘Dope Nose’
‘Undone – The Sweater Song’
‘Pork And Beans’
‘Photograph’
‘All My Favourite Songs’
‘You Gave Your Love To Me Softly’
‘Pink Triangle’
‘Island In The Sun’
‘Perfect Situation’
‘The Good Life’
‘Celebrity Skin’ (Hole cover)
‘In The Garage’
‘Say It Ain’t So’
‘Run, Raven, Run’
‘Hash Pipe’
‘Only In Dreams’
‘Buddy Holly’
Smashing Pumpkins played the following:
‘The Everlasting Gaze’
‘Doomsday Clock’
‘Zoo Station’ (U2 cover)
‘Today’
‘Thru The Eyes Of Ruby’
‘Spellbinding’
‘Tonight, Tonight’
‘That Which Animates The Spirit’
‘Ava Adore’
‘Disarm’
‘Springtimes’
‘Mayonaise’
‘Bullet With Butterfly Wings’
‘Empires’
‘Beguiled’
‘1979’
‘Birch Grove’
‘Panopticon’
‘Shame’
‘Jellybelly’
‘Rhinoceros’
‘Gossamer’
‘Cherub Rock’
‘Zero’
Meanwhile, Smashing Pumpkins’ frontman Billy Corgan said that he doesn’t want to play exclusively fan favourites at their shows.
“I don’t play any songs I don’t want to play. I don’t care if they’re a classic or not,” he told Kerrang!. “If I don’t want to play it, I just don’t play it. I don’t put that on the audience like, ‘Well, I’ve got to play this one for you.’ I think that’s kind of cheese.”
Instead, he explained, he’d rather incorporate some lesser-known tracks into the performances in the hopes that it’ll not only be more interesting for devoted fans, but also inspire newer listeners to dive into their catalogue.
“Here’s the best way I would say it: the best show for me would be, you’re a fan that really is mostly focused on the older music,” Corgan continued.
“You come and you hear those songs you think, ‘Wow, those sound great, band sounds great. The voice is still there.’ You feel good about your decision to come to the show.”
He added: “But then you might hear five, six, seven other songs, and you find yourself going, ‘I don’t know this one,’ so you look up one, and go, ‘Oh, that was a deep cut from 1996. I didn’t know that one. It was some B-side. That’s interesting.’
“And then someone making the same discovery about your new stuff, but thinking it was old. I’m not talking about causing confusion. I’m talking about having the person be curious about that.”
The tour continues tonight (June 8) in London, which they will follow up with Dublin, Glasgow, Cardiff and Manchester. Visit here for any remaining tickets.
Additionally, Corgan announced the news in February that he would be releasing a new unscripted series called Adventures In Carnyland. The show will reportedly focus on his involvement in wrestling – with the musician serving as the president of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) since 2017 – and the trailer dropped last month.
The post Check out what Weezer and Smashing Pumpkins played as they kicked off their joint UK tour in Birmingham appeared first on NME.
