A little over 14 years ago the Smashing Pumpkins started their Adore Tour in the United States after over a month of tours in the Europe, Australia, and Japan. Their first stop on the US leg of the tour was at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, CA on June 30th 1998. In front of cheering fans and girls screaming “I LOVE YOU!” Billy noted before Annie Dog (see video below) that the band had planed to play the Adore album in full.
During the US Adore Tour the Smashing Pumpkins would donate the proceeds to a local charity. On this night the charity was the East Bay Agency for Children who were given a check for $170,590. The mayor of San Francisco took note of this charitable contribution and before the encore a city official read a proclamation, proclaiming June 30th 1998 Smashing Pumpkins day and gave the band the key to the city!
14 years later today, the Smashing Pumpkins return to the Bill Graham for the first time since then, and once again the Pumpkins are planning on playing their latest album in full. And although it is unlikely that there will be any city officials at this event, Billy will probably still have girls screaming “I LOVE YOU!” once again just as President Obama did on this same stage on Monday.
