"Pumpkins Add History to Jane's Reunion"
The Chicago Tribune
November 5, 1997
by Greg Kot
Thanks to Jason Briggeman for typing this up for us.
It was 1988 all over again. Nine years ago, a couple of relatively unknown bands -- Jane's Addiction and Smashing Pumpkins -- shared a bill at Metro and helped usher in the future of hard rock. At the Aragon on Monday the same two bands performed, only now the stakes were different. Instead of two bands with something to prove, the concert was a celebration that at times resembled a bacchanal.
The show marked the reunion...
Pumpkins singer Billy Corgan said as much in his gracious welcoming remarks during a terrific opening set by his band. "It's a real honor and pleasure to open for them again," said the singer, dressed in drag as a drop-dead redhead with a form-fitting black and red dress.
Farrell entered...
Whereas Jane's likes to meander its way toward inspiration, the Smashing Pumpkins prefer to seize the moment. That they did on a pulverizing "Thru the Eyes of Ruby," with James Iha ripping out a pair of furious guitar solos, and a furious "Zero."
The band performed six songs from its 1995 "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" album, and rarely have the Pumpkins or the Aragon's much-maligned acoustics sounded better.