On July 17, 1998, the Smashing Pumpkins rolled into Minneapolis on tour supporting their recent album Adore. Roughly 125,000 fans flooded downtown Minneapolis for the free show on Block E, making it the biggest concert crowd in the city’s history. Frontman Billy Corgan has often estimated the crowd was closer to 200,000. Either way, the show made Minneapolis history.
According to a 2022 retrospective from FOX9 out of Minneapolis, the downtown block where the Smashing Pumpkins took the stage is now home to a Mayo Clinic and a hotel. But more than 20 years ago, it was the site of the Hennepin Avenue Block Party, a free concert in the heart of downtown. The Smashing Pumpkins were headlining and put on an unbelievable show during an allegedly turbulent tour.
Although recollections are mixed about the chaos of the Adore tour. Some say the band was at the height of its career. But other reviews note that infighting and instability regarding their drummer created some choppy waters for the Smashing Pumpkins.
What’s important is that fan recollections of that tour seem to be overwhelmingly positive, even reverent. Despite any perceived turbulence within the band, this was a tour that fans remember with fondness and praise.
The Smashing Pumpkins Made Minneapolis History in 1998 With City’s Biggest Concert Crowd To Date
As for the legendary Minneapolis show, it happened partially because the Smashing Pumpkins wanted to play a free show on this tour. Minneapolis was the only city that agreed to the wild idea.
“I give a lot of credit to the mayor at the time, Sharon Sayles Belton, who said ‘let’s do this’,” Jill Evenocheck, former Director of Special Events for the Minneapolis Downtown Council, told FOX9. “We had a very vibrant music scene during that time. We were doing outdoor concerts every night over by Orchestra Hall and Nicollet Mall, and it was just another thing to add to get people to come downtown.”
The crowd was so big that many fans had to watch from an adjacent parking lot. Some climbed light poles, trees, or parking ramps. Allegedly, a woman arrested for second-degree murder escaped a minimum security prison nearby to see the Smashing Pumpkins. It seems that the police were lenient enough to allow her to see the entire set. They picked her up again after the show.
“I think a lot of the people there, they didn’t know who Smashing Pumpkins were. They knew it was popular. It was free. It was rock and roll. It was a nice sunny night. Let’s go party in downtown Minneapolis,” said Jon Bream, who reviewed the show in the statewide paper at the time.
“It’s one of those concerts that people talk about, want to say I was there,” Bream added. “No one knows how big it was, but it was huge. It was massive, and it’s part of Minneapolis’ music history.”
The post Today in 1998, More Than 100,000 Fans Gathered in Minneapolis for a Free Show on Beloved Indie Band’s Chaotic Tour appeared first on VICE.
