Crisp autumn sunlight is catching on Kryal Castle’s stone parapets on Sunday as I arrive at regional Victoria’s replica medieval castle to see the Smashing Pumpkins – one of the 90s biggest, multi-platinum-selling alt-rock bands. Fellow 90s icons Jane’s Addiction are here too, as are Australian acts Amyl and the Sniffers, RedHook and Battlesnake. And a troupe of pro wrestlers. Things are primed to get weird.
Believe it or not, the Smashing Pumpkins’ frontman, Billy Corgan, owns a pro-wrestling league, the National Wrestling Alliance, a few of whom he’s flown over to Australia to fight local wrestlers between the early bands’ sets. It took time for the crowd to warm to the spectacle, but they got there in the end.
