The Smashing Pumpkins at FivePoint Amphitheatre – Live Review and Photo Gallery

The Smashing Pumpkins, FivePoint Amphitheatre, Irvine, CA., August 9, 2023

The Smashing Pumpkins made their way to the FivePoint Amphitheatre in Irvine to unleash an exhilarating show encapsulating an absolutely brilliant career in music.  In the midst of The World Is A Vampire North American Tour dates, the much-revered collective brought along Stone Temple Pilots and Rival Sons to their gig behind the Orange Curtain, and for fans of 90’s music, this was an event for the ages!  As dusk settled upon the FivePoint Amphitheatre, Rival Sons and Stone Temple Pilots would warm up the crowd with rock solid performances!  And once night enveloped the grounds of FivePoint, The Smashing Pumpkins took to the stage and slammed out a set of stunning auditory artistry.

Opening with the dazzling one-two punch of The Everlasting Gaze and Doomsday Clock, The Smashing Pumpkins launched into a dynamic performance presenting an iconic band in their finest hour.  It is always interesting to hear what covers a band chooses to place within their set – and The Smashing Pumpkins placed their own indelible stamp upon Once In A Lifetime by The Talking Heads and Hubble Bubble (Toil and Trouble) by Manfred Mann.

Atum: A Rock Opera in Three Acts is the latest magnum opus from The Smashing Pumpkins – the band just released a music video for Spellbinding found in Act Three, and within a live setting, the song was nothing short of mesmerizing.  And the band certainly did not disappoint when it came time to unveil the classics, with selections such as Bullet With Butterfly Wings, Tonight Tonight, 1979, Cherub Rock and Zero sounding as epic as ever!

Containing the sense of imagination and urgency they’ve maintained since the onset of their musical journey, The Smashing Pumpkins legacy lives on!  And their live shows remain a sonic adventure not to be missed!

(Review by Ken Morton – Photos by Jack Lue)

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Check out The Smashing Pumpkins Photo Gallery by Jack Lue here!