Simply smashing – or just cashing in?

Ernest A. Jasmine, for the Northwest Guardian

In the song “Bullet with Butterfly Wings,” Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan ponders, “Can you fake it for just one more show?”

Apparently, he and his kinda-sorta reunited Pumpkins can fake it for at least one more tour. On Saturday, the band will headline Endfest, the annual summer rock gala put on by KNDD-FM (The End, 107.7), which will take place in Qwest Field’s north parking lot this year.

But it’s a somewhat controversial “reunion” since only Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlain remain from the multiplatinum-selling band’s original lineup. Guitarist James Iha and bassist Melissa Auf der Maur have been replaced by newcomers Ginger Reyes, Jeff Schroeder and Lisa Harriton. Original bassist D’Arcy Wretzky, replaced by Auf der Maur toward the end of the band’s initial run, will also likely be nowhere near Qwest Field.

And since we couldn’t get Mr. Corgan on the phone to answer any questions (it doesn’t appear he’s been especially chatty with anyone these days) we were left to weigh the pros and cons of the so-called “reunion” ourselves.

Pro

• Hey, it’s not like this is the new, Axl Rose-only Guns N’ Roses. Corgan was really the brains behind the Pumpkins, not to mention the band’s only household name. And the new tour lets aging Gen-Xers party like it’s 1999 as they rock out to old faves, “Siva,” “Today” and “1979.”

• Many of the new “Zeitgeist” songs are quite good, actually. “Doomsday Clock” and “Bleeding the Orchid,” among others, recall the arena-rocking sounds of the Pumpkin’s “Siamese Dream” heyday.

• Sure, you might have the urge to beat up Corgan and take his lunch money during whinier numbers like “Disarm.” But the Pumpkins heavier material is like a blast of testosterone compared to the wimpy, indie-pop that’s in style today. Pearl Jam, Nine Inch Nails and Queens of the Stone Age could use a little help keeping the alt-rock torch burning.

• Ginger Reyes looks infinitely more stylish in a dress than James Iha. (Or was that some kind of ironic hipster thing he was doing in the “Today” video? Whatever. Point still stands.)

Con

• In lieu of calling up all of his old bandmates, Corgan announced plans to reform the Pumpkins with a full-page newspaper ad that ran the same day that his ill-fated, solo, electro-pop album, “TheFutureEmbrace,” hit stores in 2005. Call it a slap in the face of Iha and Wretzky. Call it a cheap ploy to drum up album sales. Or just call it plain weak, weak, whack.

• Some of the new “Zeitgeist” tracks are of the mediocre variety that reminds us of Corgan’s post-Pumpkins flop, Zwan. But they’re easier to sell if you slap the Smashing Pumpkins moniker on them, right? (And what the heck is a Zwan, anyway?)

• With songs like “United States,” the new Pumpkins are dabbling in agitpop, something we prefer to get from bands like Rage Against the Machine and System of a Down who know what they’re doing, not from some insufferably whiny guy dressed in a “zero” shirt.

• Corgan’s adenoidal wail is still best enjoyed in small doses. After a while, it even makes us pine for the shrieky stylings of Rush’s Geddy Lee.

What: Endfest 16, featuring Smashing Pumpkins, Social Distortion, Bright Eyes, Satellite Party and more

When: Begins at noon Saturday

Where: Qwest Field’s north lot, Second Avenue and King Street, Seattle

Tickets: $39.50