Social media lit up yesterday with news of a surprise show: Billy Corgan, frontman of The Smashing Pumpkins, performing a solo acoustic set at The Gem Bar in Melbourne.
For just twenty bucks, fans were treated to an unforgettable night featuring intimate performances and a lively Q&A. Here’s the kicker—the Gem only holds 80 people. This wasn’t just a gig; it was a rare, once-in-a-lifetime experience.
A Night to Remember at The Gem
Corgan delivered a six-song set that was as eclectic as it was nostalgic. Opening with Dancehall from his 2019 solo album Cotillions, he later revisited The Smashing Pumpkins’ discography, performing The Age of Innocence from Machina/The Machines of God and two tracks from the iconic Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness: Stumbleine and the fan-favourite 1979.
Adding to the mix, Corgan pulled out two unexpected covers: The Bee Gees’ To Love Somebody and the vaudeville classic Shine On, Harvest Moon. The stripped-back setting and Corgan’s heartfelt delivery made these songs resonate deeply with the intimate crowd.
The Age of Innocence (Machina/The Machines of God, 2000)
Corgan revisits The Age of Innocence, the poignant closer from Machina/The Machines of God.
Stumbleine (Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, 1995)
A rare treat for fans, Stumbleine from Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness is performed acoustically, stripping the song back to its wistful, storytelling core.
1979 (Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, 1995)
Billy Corgan’s acoustic rendition of 1979 brings out the song’s nostalgic essence. The stripped-back performance highlights the timeless charm of The Smashing Pumpkins’ biggest single.
*Photos by CarbieWarbie
The Q&A: Chaos and Candour
Before the show, fans scribbled questions on scraps of paper for the post-set Q&A. Corgan, ever the wildcard, ditched the notes and instead opened the floor directly to the audience. The result? A half-hour of unfiltered insight, sharp humour, and memorable moments.
Q: How did you come up with the band name?
A: It’s a funny story, actually. We were brainstorming ridiculous names, and someone threw it out as a joke. But the more we thought about it, the more it stuck. It just felt right—it’s weird, but it’s us.
Q: What inspired your latest album?
A: Life, mostly. We all went through a lot of changes—breakups, losing people, figuring out who we are—and we poured all of that into the music. It’s raw and real because it comes straight from what we’ve been feeling.
Q: What’s your songwriting process like?
A: It’s chaotic, honestly. One of us will come in with a riff or a melody, and we’ll just jam on it until something clicks. Other times, it starts with lyrics or even just a vibe we’re chasing. It’s all about experimenting until it feels right.
Q: Any standout moments from the recording sessions?
A: Well I wanted to play with The Riggs, because tomorrow they are very much their own band. So I wanted to see if my music could fit with theirs and so far with rehearsals, that’s been the case. We play really well, as we said in rehearsal, nobody wants to hear sub-Smashing Pumpkins. You know what I mean. It’s not going to do anybody any good. We want to reinterpret the songs. So hopefully with some of the songs I’ve played tonight, hopefully you going to hear what they have done to spin. I feel it going to be quite nice. A bit more mellow but I didn’t want it to be bad boy rock.
Q: If you could do your whole career again, would you do anything differently?
A: The music business is ultimately about exploitation. Even if you convince yourself, you’re not being exploited you are. As I say, it’s a pimp-ho business. So I think what I would change, would be more covetous about what made us unique. I think we did a good job about that but not always. That’s the thing that keeps people interested in us because you are unique. When you’re in the music business, you’re in the middle of it, it’s like being behind the wizard’s curtain. They constantly tell you that being unique is a negative. Again, pop and it’s contrivance is much more transparent today than back then. So everybody can see it with American Idol and all of these type of things. But we didn’t know that. We thought we knew but we didn’t know how deep the whole system ran. Even when we were successful, I talked to executives and they basically admitted they didn’t think any artist was going to last. So the business was based upon exploitation and if you happen to survive that, then suddenly you were in this other club. You were supposed to keep your mouth shut because you’re in the other club and you don’t want to tell all of the other people coming up that they about to be exploited.
Q: What’s your favourite song to cover?
A: Tomorrow we’re covering an INXS song. We just played The Bee Gees, so we’ll play that tomorrow too. I just love songs, you know. Speaking to Courtney Love, when we going to do a BBC Session in 1994 and we had done one but somehow Courtney suggested doing a cover. So I remember going through my record collection and picking out the song ‘Landslide’ by Fleetwood Mac, which had never been a single.
(Someone in the crowd interjects): Yeah that’s the best one!
Billy: I really don’t need your opinion of the best fucken anything is! (much laughter from the crowd).
Q: Australia is known as the lucky country…
A: You’re known as the lucky country? Who made up that name? Australians?
Q: So we obviously feel lucky that come and visit us so many times, so what are some of your favourite things about Australia? Why are we so lucky to have you?
A: I just love that Australia is Australia. I know that sounds overly simplistic but you guys don’t give a fuck. I think that’s great. It shows in your rock’n’roll. Your great rock’n’roll bands, whether it’s AC/DC or Midnight Oil or even Amyl & The Sniffers. That’s what makes it great. You’re bringing Australia to the world. I respect it. I can remember being a kid and reading articles in Rolling Stone, when INXS first came out. Can an Australian band make it in the world? Same shit with AC/DC in the beginning. Obviously all of these things look dumb now. At the time it was actually news. Can Australian rock make it in an American market? It was the same for Canadian band when they would come down. Like Rush and Triumph and bands like that. They would write articles like Canadian bands can’t make it in America. It was kind of a weird thing.
Q: What can do with the younger fans with the 90’s revival?
A: I’ve been hearing about the 90’s revival for about twenty years! The 80’s revival lasted a lot longer that I thought it would last. People are talking about the 90’s a lot right now because young people are interested. Great. Also young people are interested because they are so sick of pop. They want to actually have bands that can actually play and field that music. Even the success of The Sniffers over in the US is because they want to see people that can really bring that feeling on stage. The fact that there is still some bands from that era that can still do that and have great songs too, is the easy part of the equation. But you have got to remember, as I will say this as an overall comment….mainstream media don’t give a fuck about rock’n’roll. At all. They just don’t. If you look at how much money on how much rock’n’roll generates for the music business, in terms of ticket sales, merchandise and stuff like that. Somebody said the other day, some big publication released the Top 100 Records and there was only just one metal record in that Top 100. So rock is kind of the whore they will fuck at 2 o’clock of the morning when they can’t find anybody else at the pub but the next morning it’s all about the pop world.
Billy Corgan’s night at The Gem wasn’t just a gig—it was a reminder of why artists like him endure. Whether he’s stripping back Pumpkins classics or riffing on the state of the industry, Corgan brings a raw honesty that fans—new and old—can’t resist.
Written, filmed and photographed by CarbieWarbie
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