Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan was asked about reports of slow ticket sales in certain markets of the Shiny and Oh So Bright tour in a new New York Times interview.
“Are they all selling as well as I would like them to sell? No,” he told the New York Times, but he added, with eyes toward the international market, that the band was still ahead of estimates and selling more tickets overall than it did in 1997.
Mr. Corgan insisted the tour would be a corrective after decades of hardheadedness. “We’re going to say, ‘Look, yes, we’re brats. Yes, we’ve tested your patience. But this is our absolute best effort,’ ” he explained. “We charted a very, very, very difficult path, and have rarely received the credit. This is our time to have a party — we deserve a party.”
Corgan said in a late February video, “Hello everyone, William Corgan here standing at the edge of the Pacific in beautiful Malibu working on new Pumpkins. I just wanted to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone for supporting this tour, it means so much to us.
Putting on second shows in Chicago and LA is a big deal. The last time I played the Forum was 1996, with the Pumpkins in this form. United Center, we have a lot of history there, where we did the second to last show before the breakup. Anyway, thanks everyone who has bought a ticket, can’t thank you enough. God bless.”
Alternative Nation and many other outlets reported just a few days after tickets went on sale that sales appeared strong in cities like Chicago, Philadelphia, Uncasville, New York, Los Angeles, Duluth, Kansas City, Austin, and San Diego, but slow in cities like Salt Lake City, Glendale, Louisville, Portland, and Miami.
