Halestorm singer Lzzy Hale joined Smashing Pumpkins onstage in Nashville on Friday to cover Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven.”
The Dallas Observer reviewed a recent Smashing Pumpkins show:
The original Smashing Pumpkins were not able to reform in 2018, so Billy Corgan and company gave fans something worth remembering: a well-crafted three-hour, 31-song marathon walk down memory lane.
After people found their seats to the sounds of Metric, the Great Pumpkin came out alone just shy of 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. Backed by a stage and light setup that looked like the classic film Metropolis, the presentation was retro with a futuristic bent. There had been reports of initially soft ticket sales in many of the markets outside of Chicago, but the AAC was almost filled to the brim with fans. (The upper nosebleed section was closed off.)
The review later stated:
Corgan and his bandmates seemed comfortable onstage, barely taking a break before their two-song encore. They kept playing hit after hit and long-loved album cut after another. Chamberlin’s snare rolls and hi-hat accents are still on point, and Corgan and Iha’s guitar leads sounded as good as they’ve always been. Cole’s backing vocals were rich as she harmonized well with Corgan.
The pace of the set was executed well. While there were plenty of the hard-charging tunes, the band was not afraid to take the tone down with songs like “For Martha,” “To Sheila” and “Mayonaise” [sic].
Going for the arena-friendly route of familiar fan favorites might have seemed like resignation for Corgan, who reformed the band with changeable members almost 20 years ago, but Smashing Pumpkins faced that boogeyman and gave the longtime fans a strong reason to care again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfD62mxtssI
