Smashing Pumpkins Take Over BleuLive

The Smashing Pumpkins made their Las Vegas stop at the new BleuLive Theater in the stunning Fontainebleu Hotel and Casino. While venue isn’t as large as some of the other more famous strip concert halls, sound and stage were a perfect match for the classic band, who are approaching 35 years as an active touring act. 

The band features original members Billy Corgan on guitar and vocals, lead guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmie Chamberlain. The core group were responsible for some of the 90’s biggest grunge hits, such as “Bullet With Butterfly Wings”, “Today” and “1979”; which were all played to perfection on this night, showing the band hasn’t missed a step. Joined by touring members Jack Bates on bass, internet guitar hero Kiki Wong on guitar and Australian musician Katie Cole on backing vocals and keyboards, the Pumpkins moved seamlessly between their aforementioned hits as well as some deep cuts to satisfy their legions of die-hard fans, like “Gossamor” and “JellyBelly”. In the past few tours, the Pumpkins have relied heavily on a multimedia display, utilizing large screens and computer-generated images. But for this tour, the have stripped back down to the bare bones and just let the music do the talking.

While the Pumpkins have had their share of band drama in the past, they were enjoying themselves on stage, even the normally stoic Corgan flashing smiles and cracking jokes on stage, celebrating bassist Bates birthday with a cake brought on stage by Vegas’ own Carrot Top.  They even threw in some surprising covers, like U2’s “Zoo Station” and snippets of “Thunderstruck” from AC/DC and the Rolling Stones classic “Satisfaction”. The band played these all in top form, with each member showing off a little of their respected wizardry on their instruments.

Chamberlain provided a heavy back beat, driving each song harder and further than they ever appeared on record, while guitarists Iha, Corgan and Wong each displayed flashes of brilliance in their solos throughout the night. Newest member Wong, who won a nationwide search to be the band’s new guitarist, seemed to be enjoying her newfound role in the band the most, singing, dancing, and working the crowd throughout the evening. 

Ending the show with two more of their classic hits “Cherub Rock” and ” Zero”, the Pumpkins left the energetic crowd wanting more, as they have been known to clock in 3 hour shows at times. But for tonight, perhaps due to casino rules, or just trying a less is more approach, the crowd had to be satisfied with “only” 1 hour 45 minutes, but you didn’t hear anyone complaining on the way out. 

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PHOTO CREDIT: All photos by Stephy Hayward-Muzio of Live Wire Photography for ZRockR Magazine – ©2024 – All Rights Reserved.