This past Sunday night at the Hollywood Legion Theater in Los Angeles, The Smashing Pumpkins welcomed some 300 lucky fans for a private black attire engagement: ZERO: Here Lies Emptiness A Private Requiem with The Smashing Pumpkins. Ahead of the band’s performance, fans experienced quite the theatrical funeral for ZERO, the avatar Billy Corgan first inhabited 30 years ago on Mellon Collie.
It was an evening I will never forget. I had ZERO idea what I was walking into when I pulled up to the Hollywood Legion Theater. I knew I was supposed to wear all black, and I knew it had something to do with The Smashing Pumpkins. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to bring my dad along, and he was just as clueless. As we walked up, we saw a line of people in all black, and I realized, “Oh! This is a funeral… alright.” Then, I saw the marquee that confirmed my guess.
The entrance to the theater was covered with a giant black curtain, and two pallbearers dressed in t-shirts with “ZERO” across the front. It definitely set a moody and mysterious, almost ominous vibe. We walked into a pitch-black room and were met with a beautiful silver coffin, with beams of light illuminating it. The funeral procession began, and it was very silly and humorous right off the bat. Each speaker went up, faking their sadness and choking up as they shared their stories of “Zero.” Each speaker made “Zero” sound like someone who was very difficult to be friends with, and made jokes pertaining to some of the albums The Smashing Pumpkins have put out through the years.
There were musical breaks by a violinist, and an almost operatic number was sung to us from the balcony above. At one point, Howie Mandel went to speak and hilariously had nothing to really say about “Zero.” Once the ceremony had ended, the pallbearers moved from their stations in the corner of the room and guided the casket outside. We were then directed to another room, where we were met with theater seats and a set stage. You could tell everyone was beaming with excitement, obviously anticipating some sort of performance.
Sound started coming from the speakers, and then we saw it, in a very quick flash: the upcoming tour announcement. How awesome. It all clicked for my dad and me then, what we were all doing here. Not long after, The Smashing Pumpkins took the stage for this small theater of fans. When they started playing, I took a moment from photographing to embrace the experience and appreciate what was happening in front of us. We were seeing The Smashing Pumpkins play an intimate set, comprised of songs mainly from Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.
After each song, there were a few seconds of loud cheers and clapping, and then silence. Almost as if everyone was worried that being any louder for longer would be considered rude or disrespectful. It was beautiful, and the Pumpkins sounded incredible. You could feel, hear, and see the passion Billy Corgan still holds for his discography.
The rarely performed fan-favorite, “Here Is No Why,” finally got its stage time after 29 years, which blew my mind. We heard all of “Porcelina of the Vast Oceans,” an almost 10-minute-long song. My brain almost couldn’t comprehend how incredible this experience was, especially as someone who has a deep love and connection to Mellon Collie. To experience that was such a gift, and I am extremely grateful. My dad was so happy, and said he couldn’t have imagined a more perfect opportunity to see them live. I was under the impression we would hear 2 or 3 songs, but instead we were given about a 12-song setlist including “1979,” “Luna,” “Bullet With Butterfly Wings,” “ZERO,” “Tonight, Tonight,” and more.
Though the performance was near perfect, I found myself begging for my favorites, “Lily My One and Only” (which my parents named me after) and “By Starlight.” Perhaps I’ll be able to catch those songs at The Forum this November as part of their upcoming The Rats In A Cage Tour. The run of shows will feature two sets: one celebrating Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness recent 30th anniversary, and the other set will be a journey through nearly four decades of Smashing Pumpkins hits, deep cuts, and fan-faves.
The Smashing Pumpkins’ tour kicks off in September and runs through November 2026 with stops in Los Angeles, Portland, Denver, Chicago, Brooklyn, and more cities across North America.
“Staging a Mellon Collie-themed show is something we’ve discussed for over a decade, and finally the stars have aligned and exactly on the terms I’d set: which was to build a special night around its most enduring aspirations and ideas,” Billy Corgan said. “With set 1 of the Rats In A Cage tour exclusively featuring Mellon Collie songs in a highly theatrical setting, and set 2 drawing from the rest of our canon so that there’s a decent amount of variance as to what songs we’ll play from night to night: from our first in ‘Gish’ to our last in ‘Aghori Mhori Mei’.”
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