Glorious fall-like weather settled over Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre (and the entire region) as PVRIS (Paris) took the stage opening for The Smashing Pumpkins on this mid-August night.
The Lowell, MA band that started in 2012 as a metalcore group with five members is now comprised of frontwoman Lynn Gunn (with support on tour). PVRIS will take its fans on a ride from dark electro-pop to synth-pop, EDM, alt-rock, and more. This Wednesday night Gunn kicked off her 40-minute set with the driving, synth pop-rock “Good Enemy” and “Animal” both off the 2023 album Evergreen. The growing crowd was also treated to the more melancholy “White Noise” and the hardcore/spoken word “Burn the Witch.”
A few minutes before their scheduled time, The Smashing Pumpkins sauntered onto the expansive, darkened stage while “Atum” blared over the speakers. If fans weren’t already on their feet, “The Everlasting Gaze,” the opening song of this nearly 2.5-hour concert swept them out of their seats and had everyone bobbing their heads.
From “Today” and “Tonight, Tonight” to “Mayonaise” and “Bullet With Butterfly Wings,” this Chicago-based band that helped shape the alt-rock scene had fans hooting and hollering and singing along to every song they solidly performed.
Midway through the concert, equipment malfunctioned. During the repair, James Iha and William (as he now prefers) Corgan entertained the crowd with friendly banter, shared the story of their lives, sort of, riffed on St. Louis, introduced the band, and more. They eventually performed an acoustic version of “Rocket” to appease the crowd.
After the glitch was fixed, they pumped back up to full sound and lights and continued with more fan favorites and some deep cuts including “Beguiled,” “1979,” and “Gossamer.” The night ended with the harder, heavier “Zero.”
Those in attendance were treated to a stellar night of solid performances from every band member and should go down in their books as one of the best concerts they’ve seen this summer.
Just a small handful of cities had the honor of hosting the Grammy-winning alt/goth/punk/heavy/rock band on an offshoot of their summer tour with Green Day (who performed in St. Louis just 6 days prior). Some people assumed it was because these weren’t stadium shows and were held in amphitheaters, but this concert photographer’s guess is because Corgan wanted to promote his National Wrestling Alliance which he’s owned since 2017. It doesn’t really matter why. The fact is, St. Louis was treated to more than 2 hours of The Pumpkins vs. the one hour they would have had on the other tour. Before and after PVRIS performed, fans were invited to the north section to view a little wrestling courtesy of the World League Wrestling, based in Troy, Missouri, and the National Wrestling Alliance.
Lastly, thoughts of Nosferatu entered this concert photographer’s head as I reviewed the photos of Corgan I’d taken. Apparently, I’m not the only one who thinks this about Corgan’s signature long black cassock with red buttons, combat boots, and shaved head. Being the North American leg of their The World Is A Vampire tour may have helped prompt this thought.
See all the photos we captured here https://bit.ly/Pumpkins24cz
The Smashing Pumpkins setlist https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-smashing-pumpkins/2024/hollywood-casino-amphitheatre-maryland-heights-mo-1babc134.html
PVRIS setlist https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/pvris/2024/hollywood-casino-amphitheatre-maryland-heights-mo-2b529c1a.html
In my work life, I help nonprofits and small businesses with media and public relations. In my what I love to do life, you can typically find me photographing either wild horses or concerts.
