Smashing Pumpkins and Jane’s Addiction embarked on their 32-city North American Spirits on Fire tour this fall, landing in St. Louis a little more than halfway through on November 1 at Enterprise Center.
The dynamic night full of moody music kicked off at 6:45 p.m. with opener Poppy performing to a growing crowd that held some die-hard fans. Poppy has reinvented her persona a few times over the years. Her early quirky, almost robot-like, computer-generated character on YouTube morphed into a bright-eyed, carefully choreographed singer of easy, bright, colorful tunes. These days, she’s a dark, waif-like goth/metal singer. Her song “BLOODMONEY,” from her 2020 I Disagree album, was nominated for a 2021 Grammy for Best Metal Performance.
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Pioneers of alt/nu metal Jane’s Addiction took the stage at about 7:30 amid blue hues. Avid fans quickly filled the rail and sang along to hits such as “Whore,” “Jane Says,” and closer “Been Caught Stealing.” The band has recently returned to the tour after a brief hiatus due to lead vocalist Perry Farrell needing some therapy after an injury. He looked and sounded 100 percent to us. On a railing high above the band, three burlesque dancers added to the atmosphere of metal, punk rock, funk rock, and psychedelic rock that only Jane’s Addiction can bring. Fans may have missed guitarist Dave Navarro, who had to sit this tour out due to a battle with long-COVID, but filling in for him was Queen of Stone Age’s Troy Van Leeuwen, who did fans proud over the course of the 10-song set.
Just after 9 p.m., Chicago-based alt-rockers Smashing Pumpkins sauntered onto a darkened stage. Fans packed the aisles for a better view of members Billy Corgan, James Iha, Jimmy Chamberlin, and Jeff Schroeder, who were often bathed in hazy, low blue lights. For nearly two hours, Smashing Pumpkins delivered a night of deep cuts, smash hits, and newer rock songs full of their guitar-heavy, layered brand of gothic rock, heavy metal, and dream pop. The band opened with “Empires” and treated fans to early performances of “Neophyte” and “Harmageddon from their forthcoming spring release, Atum: A Rock Opera in Three Acts. Other songs from the night included “Bullet With Butterfly Wings,” which has seen a resurgence on this tour, “Today,” a cover of The Talking Heads’ “Once in a Lifetime,” “Zero,” and “Disarm.”
Full setlists from Poppy, Jane’s Addiction, and Smashing Pumpkins are available on setlist.fm. For more images from the night, visit bit.ly/SmashPJaneA22cz
