New Smashing Pumpkins guitarist Kiki Wong – who was – played her first show with the alt-rock heroes on Friday (June 7) in Birmingham, UK, and fan footage showcases how she fits into the lineup. Throughout a two-hour set that spanned tracks from the Pumpkins’ 1991 debut right up to last year’s triple-album rock opera , Wong slots right in with fellow guitarists Billy Corgan and James Iha, deploying blazing guitar harmony lines, chunking up riffs and lending texture to the Pumpkins’ multi-layered six-string approach. And she is clearly loving every moment of it – you can even catch her grinning throughout , whose lyrics must have taken on a new meaning that night.
“What an absolute mind-blowing experience it was for @smashingpumpkins first show of the tour at the @utilitaarenabirmingham,” Wong wrote on Instagram after the show. “I am so overwhelmed with excitement. It was such an honor to play my first arena on guitar with such an incredible group of musicians.
Someone pinch me, actually don’t because I want to keep living this dream.” The Instagram shredder employed a number of metal-leaning throughout the show, including two Jackson MJ Series Rhoads models, a PRS Custom, Yamaha Revstar and Zemaitis IGF AC 24 – the same guitar she used for her audition with the band. Wong also gets her own solo spot during the two-hour performance.
As 2023 riff-rocker comes to a close, Corgan yells his bandmate’s name – in response, she fires off a series of whipla.
