One of our favorite best friend duos in rock music, Billy Corgan and Perry Farrell, performed together once again at Lollapalooza on Sunday. During his performance with Porno for Pyros, Farrell brought out the Smashing Pumpkins frontman for a cover of Led Zeppelin’s 1971 track “When the Levee Breaks.”
Porno for Pyros quietly replaced Farrell’s other band Jane’s Addiction on this year’s Lolla lineup due to Dave Navarro’s ongoing battle with long COVID. Thankfully, Porno for Pyros had some opportunities to warm up before the big fest, having performed their first full set in 26 years just weeks ago. And with Corgan backing them up on guitar, that time off feels even more indistinguishable.
“I love y’all, Chicago, we love coming every year,” Farrell told the crowd. “[We love to] party with you all. Eat the great steaks. Everything else, man, the bars. The nightclubs. And our friendship. We have a very dear friend, Billy Corgan, that we got together — reunited — this time out. We wanna do a proper Chicago song for you together.”
First recorded by blues legends Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy in 1929, “When the Levee Breaks” was re-worked for Led Zeppelin’s untitled 1971 album. The band put their own spin on the country classic with thrash drums and slick guitar shredding, which Porno for Pyros and Corgan definitely do justice in their own cover.
You can watch Porno for Pyros’ full Lollapalooza set below; Corgan comes onstage around the 37-minute mark.
Porno for Pyros have played a handful of reunion shows so far this year. Assuming things look good COVID-wise, Corgan and Farrell will hit the road together this fall on Smashing Pumpkins and Jane’s Addiction’s co-headlining tour; get tickets to see both bands over at Ticketmaster. Until then, you can watch them team up for a performance of “Jane Says” on Howard Stern.
