Smashing Pumpkins announce anniversary shows in (the city limits of) Chicago

Smashing Pumpkins fans got rankled when Billy Corgan finally brought his (sorta) reunited group back to his hometown of Chicago last month…with a show in Hammond, Indiana. In a casino. Despite the fact that the venue—The, er, Venue—is a mere 20 minute free shuttle ride away and that the brand new theater has state-of-the-art sound, some felt slighted. I went to the gig, and the band sounded better than ever, honestly, tearing through "Siva" and tossing in a trippy cover of Pink Floyd. Now Corgan is fulfilling his promise of coming back to Daley's jurisdiction with a slate of November shows.

He hinted to us in our recent TOC Heroes interview that the gigs might come to the Allstate Arena or United Center. Fortunately, we received a much better result than those two cavernous arenas. On November 18 and 19 the Siamese Dreamers will play the Chicago Theatre, followed on the 21 and 22 with two shows at the Auditorium Theatre. The band promises that the two-night runs will feature no overlapping of setlists, with one night dubbed “Black Sunshine” and the second night called “White Crosses.” It's unknown whether the four shows in Chicago mean four setlists, with two further Goth Lucky Charms titles.

Stay tuned for ticket sale information. Currently only the NYC leg of the group's 20th Anniversary Tour is listed, with prices running from $49 to $89. The Pumpkins' new single, "G.L.O.W.," "comes out" October 26 as part of Guitar Hero World Tour.