Melissa Auf der Maur joins Smashing Pumpkins

Melissa Auf der Maur’s surprise return to the Smashing Pumpkins at Lollapalooza was a one-song cameo with a longer backstory. The former Pumpkins bassist came onstage during the band’s July 31 headline set in Grant Park, Chicago, and played “The Everlasting Gaze,” according to festival coverage and setlist records. The appearance put Auf der Maur back with Billy Corgan’s band at the close of a set that also featured Yungblud and Olivia Rodrigo as guests. (yahoo.com) The Chicago show was the Smashing Pumpkins’ first appearance at Lollapalooza since 1994, according to the Chicago Sun-Times and other post-festival coverage. Auf der Maur said in an interview published Wednesday that the invitation came shortly before the band took the stage. (chicago.suntimes.com) ### How did Melissa Auf der Maur end up onstage that night? Auf der Maur said the chain of events began with her memoir, *Even the Good Girls Will Cry*, which she said reopened contact with Corgan. (chicago.suntimes.com) In an interview carried by Yahoo from Bass Player, she described “a natural, healing and gorgeous reconnection” around the book’s release. Billy Corgan, according to Auf der Maur, was due to support her at a Los Angeles memoir event this spring after Jennifer Finch, who had been scheduled to appear with her, called in sick that morning. (yahoo.com) Auf der Maur said she asked Corgan to step in as her conversation partner, and that exchange led to further contact. ### What exactly did she play with the band? Setlist records and multiple concert reports say Auf der Maur joined the band for the final song, “The Everlasting Gaze.” The track appeared on 2000’s *Machina/The Machines of God*, the album cycle during which she toured with the Pumpkins after D’arcy Wretzky’s departure. (yahoo.com) The Chicago Sun-Times said Auf der Maur was the final guest of the night and “ripped through” the song at the end of the 17-song set. SPCodex, a Smashing Pumpkins setlist archive, lists her on bass for that closer and names the other guests as Yungblud on “Luna” and Olivia Rodrigo on “Thirty-three.” (yahoo.com) ### What did Auf der Maur say Billy Corgan told her? Auf der Maur said Corgan raised the possibility just before the performance. “Just before we went on stage, he shared with me that the Pumpkins had confirmed headlining Lollapalooza in their hometown and said sweetly, ‘If you wanna join us for a song, please do,’” she said in the interview published Wednesday. (yahoo.com) That account matches the public record of the show. Festival coverage from NME, BrooklynVegan and JamBase all reported that Auf der Maur appeared late in the set and played the closing song. (chicago.suntimes.com) ### Why did the cameo draw attention beyond a single festival set? July 31 was a hometown-headline booking for a Chicago band that had not played the festival in decades, and the set was built around guest appearances and catalog staples. The Sun-Times said the Pumpkins opened with “1979,” “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” and “Today” before bringing out guests across the set. (yahoo.com) Auf der Maur’s appearance also linked directly to the Pumpkins’ 2000 lineup. Yahoo’s Bass Player item said “The Everlasting Gaze” was the first song to feature her in a Pumpkins video after Wretzky’s exit, and JamBase noted that she toured with the band in the *Machina* era. (nme.com) ### What comes next after the Lollapalooza appearance? Wednesday’s interview did not announce additional Smashing Pumpkins performances with Auf der Maur. The most concrete next marker is the published account itself: Bass Player’s interview, syndicated by Yahoo on August 5, laid out how the reunion happened, while concert archives and festival reports preserve the July 31 Chicago setlist and guest lineup. (chicago.suntimes.com) (yahoo.com)