Smashing Pumpkins Reunion Tour Lined Up with Only 3/4 of the Original Members

By Emmanuel Panti, Christian Post Contributor Friday, February 16, 2018

Summer of 2018 is going to be a big one for The Smashing Pumpkins fans. The rock band is gearing up for the "Shiny and Oh So Bright Tour 2018" all over North America.

The Grammy Award winning band will commence the reunion tour on July 12 at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

"This show and staging will be unlike any we've ever one, and will feature a set unlike any we've ever played. For if this is a chance at a new beginning, we plan on ushering it in with a real bang," Billy Corgan, frontman of the band, told The Rolling Stone.

Unfortunately, the band's original bassist D'arcy Wretzky will not be joining the rest for the tour. It will only be frontman Corgan, guitarist James Iha, other guitarist Jeff Schroeder, and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. That makes three-fourths of the band's original lineup.

In a statement to the Rolling Stone, the band said they invited Wretzky many times to join the reunion, but the bassist "always deferred."

Back in January, Wretzky apologized to all the disappointed fans who are hoping for all four original members to be part of the tour. "My apologies to all the Smashing Pumpkins fans out there who are excited about this oncoming reunion tour of the original members of the band. I know this is a huge disappointment for me, as well, but it's not going to happen," she told Blast Echo via text message.

The "Shiny and Oh So Bright Tour 2018" will run until September, and tickets are now on sale. The reunion tour will also serve as the band's 30^{th anniversary. Smashing Pumpkins was formed by Corgan and Iha back in 1988 in Chicago, Illinois. The pair then recruited Wretzky for the bass and Chamberlin for the drums. Fans are excited to hear the best hits of the band from their initial albums from 1991 to 2000.}