Everyone had a story Saturday night at the United Center. In the merch line, some were reminiscing about their first time seeing Smashing Pumpkins play the Metro in ’92. In the women’s bathroom, there was a mini high school reunion where old friends recalled wearing out their cassettes of Jane’s Addiction’s debut, “Nothing’s Shocking.”
Since it kicked off in early October, the Spirits on Fire Tour featuring the two ’90s mainstays has become a music fan’s scrapbook pasted together with decades of sentimental glue, perhaps to the chagrin of Billy Corgan, who has often vocalized his thoughts on dreaded nostalgia. But he tapped into his memory bank on this night, asking bandmate James Iha if he remembered the early “Gish” days, with Corgan then sharing he could recall “every moment” over the past three decades of the band.
