Smashing Pumpkins Deliver Over Two Hours of Awesome at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena

A bill promising a celebration of 1990s-era alternative went a bit off the rails when Jane’s Addiction fell off the tour 24 hours beforehand, citing an undisclosed injury to vocalist Perry Farrell. Our Lady Peace was quickly added to the line-up, a minor miracle that they were all available and willing to jump in on such short notice. It happened so last minute that many attendees were unaware that Jane’s Addiction wasn’t playing. Many fans were upset; some had purchased their tickets favouring seeing them over the Smashing Pumpkins.

Poppy (Moriah Rose Pereira) opened the show. Touring to support her fourth studio album, Flux, she brought a tight 30-minute set of material that was more on the metal side of genres than anything else. This evening was my first time seeing her live; “BLOODMONEY” and “Hysteria” sounded tight; musically, Poppy delivered a solid show.

It wasn’t apparent if there was any nervousness behind the scenes for Our Lady Peace pinch-hitting for Jane’s Addiction. They played a set of their most well-known material and a tasty cover of “Mountain Song.” Raine Maida introduced that cover, telling a story of sneaking into the Diamond Club as an underage teenager to watch an early Jane’s Addiction Toronto appearance and how taken aback he was by their performance. Fans were singing along to some of their songs, delivering way more interaction than I thought OLP would get, given the situation. “Clumsy” and “Starseed” were stand-outs.

During the changeover, the entirety of Judas Priest’s Killing Machine album played through the PA as fans secured beverages and made their way to their seats. People around me were using the Shazam app to learn what songs were playing. When the Pumpkins took the stage, Toronto got a taste of the upcoming triple releases; Atum: A Rock Opera in Three Acts with “Empires,” “Beguiled,” and “Neophyte” included in the set. These three tracks are scheduled to be released in January 2023 on Atum: Act Two. The first of the three Atum albums is set for release in mid-November.

This two-hour Smashing Pumpkins live set was rife with old hits, a few of them performed in an updated fashion. Billy Corgan and James Iha doing “Tonight, Tonight” acoustic discussing their long history together while reminiscing about early Toronto performances was endearing. A rousing rendition of “Once in a Lifetime” by Talking Heads was wild; the song was one of the heaviest moments of the entire evening. During “We Only Come Out at Night,” a couple in the stands a few rows up from center ice slow-danced together while adjacent fans lit them up with cell phones – it was adorable. “Silverfuck” sounded terrific; it was one of the songs I wanted to hear live, and I wasn’t alone; people around me welled up as they played it.

Billy Corgan, James Iha, Jimmy Chamberlin, Jeff Schroeder, Jack Bates, and Katie Cole hit this show out of the park. I came prepared for a letdown in the absence of Jane’s Addiction, but I left wearing a smile.

Smashing Pumpkins Setlist Toronto:

Quiet
Empires
Bullet With Butterfly Wings
Today
We Only Come Out at Night
Cyr
Once in a Lifetime (Talking Heads)
Solara
Eye
Ava Adore
Tonight, Tonight (Billy and James acoustic)
Stand Inside Your Love
I of the Mourning
Cherub Rock
Zero
1979
Beguiled
Silverfuck
Neophyte
Disarm
Harmageddon