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At the Montréal stop of Billy Corgan and the Machines of God’s “A Return to Zero Tour,” Corgan brought out former Smashing Pumpkins touring bassist Melissa Auf der Maur to perform “The Everlasting Gaze.” Watch the replay below.
Auf der Maur’s entrance at Théâtre Beanfield was met with a roar of applause from her hometown crowd. Before playing the concert’s final song, she launched into a story (telling it in both French and English) about her first encounter with Corgan: “Billy, do you remember the first words we ever exchanged, on July 23rd, 1991? I walk to the side of the stage, after you played ‘I Am One.’ And you were packing up your gear, and do you remember what I said?” she asked.
Get Billy Corgan and the Machines of God Tickets Here
She continued, “I said, ‘On behalf of Montreal, Canada, I apologize for the broken beer bottle that was thrown at him, and I am Melissa from Montreal and I will follow you ‘til the end of time.’” They then ripped into “The Everlasting Gaze” to close out the show. Auf der Maur joined the Smashing Pumpkins in 1999 and remained with the band until their breakup in late 2000, performing at their farewell show at Chicago’s Cabaret Metro. Before that, she was the bassist for Hole, including on 1994’s Celebrity Skin.
Throughout this tour, Corgan has been playing tracks from Smashing Pumpkins albums Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Machina/The Machines of God, plus their most recent album, Aghori Mhori Mei. Back in May, Corgan revealed to Rolling Stone that the Machines of God band were assembled specifically for this tour, describing a creative compromise reached between him and fellow bandmates James Iha and Jimmy Chamberlin.
“We weren’t in agreement about what the purpose of such a thing might be for,” Corgan stated. “And we have this agreement, which has been really helpful over the pasts seven or eight years, that says if we’re not in alignment about something like that, nobody is going to pull rank and say it has to be done.”
He continued, “That was very much the way the business worked back in the day, and solved a lot of problems. So, I’m going out and doing these shows the way I want to do them, in the manner I want to do them, and in July I’ll be out with the band in Europe.”
Billy Corgan and the Machines of God will appear at a handful of US shows this summer through June 29th (get tickets here). Later in July, the Smashing Pumpkins will embark on a massive tour through Europe, the UK, Asia, the Middle East (get tickets here).
Billy Corgan and the Machines of God 2025 Tour Dates:
06/16 — Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
06/17 — Allentown, PA @ Archer Music Hall
06/19 — Detroit, MI @ St. Andrew’s Hall
06/20 — Joliet, IL @ Joliet Memorial Stadium
06/21 — Grand Rapids, MI @ The Intersection
06/23 — Mckees Rocks, PA @ Roxian Theatre
06/25 — Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues Cleveland
06/26 — Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart’s
06/27 — Milwaukee, WI @ Summerfest 2025
06/29 — Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theatre
The Smashing Pumpkins 2025 Tour Dates:
07/27 — Plovdiv, BG @ Hills Of Rock 2025
07/30 — Segrate, IT @ Parco Della Musica Di Milano
08/01 — Rome, IT @ Rock In Roma
08/03 — Ludwigsburg, DE @ Ludwigsburg Residential Palace
08/05 — Bonn, DE @ Kunst!Rasen
08/06 — Berlin, DE @ Zitadelle Spandau
08/08 — Lokeren, BE @ Lokerse Feesten 2025
08/10 — London, UK @ Gunnersbury Park And Playground
08/12 — Halifax, UK @ The Piece Hall
08/13 — Scarborough, UK @ Scarborough Open Air Theatre
08/14 — Colchester, UK @ Colchester Castle Park
08/16 — Trondheim, NO @ Pstereo 2025
08/18 — København, DK @ Vega
08/19 — København, DK @ Vega
08/20 — Stockholm, SE @ Gröna Lund
08/22 — Göteborg, SE @ Liseberg
08/24 — Helsinki, FI @ Helsinki Ice Hall
08/26 — Reykjavík, IS @ Laugardalsholl Sport Center
09/15 — Nagoya, JP @ Comtec Portbase
09/17 — Tokyo, JP @ Nippon Budokan
09/21 — Osaka, JP @ Zepp Namba
09/24 — Fukuoka, JP @ Zepp Fukuoka
09/25 — Hiroshima, JP @ Hiroshima Bunka Gakuen Hbg Hall
09/26-28 — Sasang-Gu, SK @ Busan International Rock Festival 2025
09/29 — Quezon City, PH @ Araneta Coliseum
10/01 — Khet Chatuchak, TH @ Union Hall
10/03 — Kota Jakarta Pusat, ID @ Tennis Indoor Stadium
10/05 — Singapore, SG @ Marina Bay Street Circuit
10/07 — Zallaq, BH @ Beyon Al Dana Amphitheatre
10/09 — Abu Dhabi, AE @ Etihad Arena, Yas Bay
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