Smashing Pumpkins Agent Michael Arfin Talks ‘Pumpkinpalooza’

The Smashing Pumpkins celebrated its grand return to Lollapalooza – the Grammy-winning alternative rock band’s first appearance at the famed festival since it was a touring entity in 1994 – with a week of festivities in their Chicago hometown dubbed “Pumpkinpalooza.” The Windy City fun included a July 29 underplay show at the historic Riviera Theatre, the 2,500-capacity venue that was the site of their release party for 1995’s Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.

“As a Chicagoan, born and raised, I take great pride in contributing to our city’s immense and colorful cultural fabric,” Billy Corgan said in a statement. “And so this year’s already historic Lollapalooza is that chance to make new memories, new friends, and have a bit of Midwest fun, too as only we might.”

The band hosted a merchandise pop-up on Wabash Ave, a few blocks from Lollapalooza’s home at Grant Park, “selling crossover designs merging the Pumpkins and the Chicago Cubs,” according to the Chicago Sun Times.

F&B offerings at the Lolla festival grounds included Madame Zuzu’s Celestial Lounge, which gave fans the experience of visiting Billy Corgan and Chloé Mendel Corgan’s Highland Park teahouse, with a menu featuring matcha, vinyl and exclusive merchandise.

And over at Chicago cocktail lounge The Aviary, the good times continued with the debut of a limited-edition speciality cocktail Infinite Mellons, inspired by the band’s Lolla homecoming.

A review of The Smashing Pumpkins’ Lollapalooza set on July 31 by the Chicago Sun Times proclaimed that “The Smashing Pumpkins came to shakedown 1994 … Headlining the festival again 32 years later was about recognizing that past while moving into a new era and a new audience for the band — and proving they very much still had a place on the lineup.” The headline set boasted appearances by Yungblud (who joined the band for a rendition of the tune “Luna”), Olivia Rodrigo (an acoustic duet of “Thirty-Three”) and the band’s former bassist Melissa Auf der Maur (“The Everlasting Gaze”).

The Pumpkins will be back on stage this fall for “The Rats In A Cage Tour,” launching Sept. 30 in Columbus, Ohio, at the Schottenstein Center. Arena dates are booked through November including stops at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, Chicago’s United Center, Austin’s Moody Center and the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California. The band – which features original members Billy Corgan, Jimmy Chamberlin, and James Iha, along with Jack Bates on bass and Kiki Wong on guitar – will be playing a set celebrating Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness, along with additional hits, deep cuts, and fan-favorites.

Pollstar caught up with IAG’s Michael Arfin, who serves as Executive Vice President, Global Touring at the agency and has directed Pumpkins’ touring for the last several years, to learn more about “Pumpkinpalooza.”

Pollstar: How did the idea for “Pumpkinpalooza” come about?  

Michael Arfin: Most things start with the band and Billy coming up with these incredible ideas and these branding opportunities. That’s where it usually begins and there’s a great team surrounding them including Red Light Management, the agency, publicist, everybody really helps bring all of these things to fruition from the booking to the special guests and the pop-ups and everything.  

It feels like this was a wonderful love letter to the city and the fans. Can you talk about choosing the Riviera Theatre as the venue for the underplay show?

The Riv has a sentimental place and history with the band. … They have a ton of history in Chicago and the Riviera’s been there forever. So it made sense for a lot of reasons.

How did the show go?

The show was not only special for the fans but was also a warm up for the Lolla set. So they used that as a rehearsal as well.

One of the highlights of the Riviera show was when Barry Williams from the Brady Bunch came out and they did a cover (“It’s a Sunshine Day”) with The Pumpkins. That was, I think, a really unique, odd, but very special moment that fans really enjoyed.  Everyone was ecstatic and really content with the results.

Anything you can share about the fall tour?

The fall tour is a continuation of the celebration of the 30th anniversary of their Mellon Collie album in addition to playing some amazing other tracks that people know and love. We’re very excited about the result thus far. The demand has been the strongest to date for The Pumpkins since we’ve had the three original members back … The amount of work and effort and focus that they’ve put into rebuilding this amazing brand with an incredible catalog, it’s all coming together and the results are showing themselves. The fruits of the labor are showing. So, it’s great to be rolling into this next tour with momentum and the band just playing at the top of their game.

What’s been one of the highlights of working with the band the past decade?

As far as highlights, I think working with the band overall is a highlight. They’re an artist that I’m a massive fan of, that I grew up listening to. So for me it’s just a full circle, incredible experience – from the underplay stuff that we put together to Billy’s solo career to Pumpkins on the grandest stage. It’s really a pleasure to work with the team and how committed and creative they still are.

FALL TOUR ROUTING 

Wed, Sep 30 — Columbus, OH — Schottenstein Center 

Fri, Oct 2 — Boston, MA — TD Garden 

Sat, Oct 3 — Baltimore, MD — CFG Bank Arena 

Sun, Oct 4 — Brooklyn, NY — Barclays Center 

Tue, Oct 6 — Pittsburgh, PA — PPG Paints Arena 

Wed, Oct 7 — Hamilton, ON — TD Coliseum 

Fri, Oct 9 — Montreal, QC — Bell Centre 

Sun, Oct 11 — Madison, WI — Kohl Center 

Tue, Oct 13 — St. Paul, MN — Grand Casino Arena 

Wed, Oct 14 — Chicago, IL — United Center 

Fri, Oct 16 — Charlotte, NC — Spectrum Center 

Sat, Oct 17 — Jacksonville, FL — VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena 

Sun, Oct 18 — Tampa, FL — Benchmark International Arena 

Tue, Oct 20 — Indianapolis, IN — Gainbridge Fieldhouse 

Wed, Oct 22 — Nashville, TN — The Truth 

Sat, Oct 24 — Oklahoma City, OK — Paycom Center 

Sun, Oct 25 — Austin, TX — Moody Center 

Tue, Oct 27 — Denver, CO — Ball Arena 

Thu, Oct 29 — Salt Lake City, UT — Delta Center

Fri, Oct 30 — Las Vegas, NV — MGM Grand Garden Arena 

Sun, Nov 1 — Portland, OR — Moda Center 

Tue, Nov 3 — Calgary, AB — Scotiabank Saddledome 

Thu, Nov 5 — Vancouver, BC — Rogers Arena 

Fri, Nov 6 — Seattle, WA — Climate Pledge Arena 

Sun, Nov 8 — San Jose, CA — SAP Center 

Wed, Nov 11 — Phoenix, AZ — Mortgage Matchup Center 

Thu, Nov 12 — Los Angeles, CA — Kia Forum 

Sat, Nov 14 – Huntington Beach, CA – Darker Waves Festival