The Smashing Pumpkins are coming!

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When the Smashing Pumpkins announced a very short two week, twelve show tour for July, who would've thought Charleston would be one of their stops? Charleston misses out on plenty of major concerts mainly due to geography, where being too far from I-95 makes it more convenient for acts to hit Charlotte or Columbia and then head on down to Jacksonville or Orlando. Nevertheless, when it was announced last week that the Smashing Pumpkins would be at the Music Farm on Saturday, July 17, local fans were thrilled. One of the most popular bands of the 1990s, this version of the group features frontman Billy Corgan as the only original member, but I expect this show will be a quick sell out when tickets go on sale Friday. Corgan has been most famous these days for dating pop star Jessica Simpson, but something tells me those who attend this concert next month will be quickly reminded of what made the hit-laden Smashing Pumpkins one of the most successful bands to come out of what used to be called "alternative" music.

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Also a treat for local fans was the scheduled Music Farm appearance of popular indie band Interpol on July 10th, which was canceled last week. As the opening act for U2 on their summer tour, the group had planned a number of solo shows, and once again Charleston--lo and behold--was to be a lucky beneficiary. Those plans changed when U2 canceled much of their tour due to frontman Bono's recent back surgery. Often compared to post-punk legends Joy Division or even their contemporaries The Strokes, Interpol was one of the more popular indie or alt-rock acts of the 2000s and the New York City group's Charleston appearance would have no doubt been a concert to remember. The band now promises to make it up to those cities and venues they had to cancel on and here's to hoping they do.