The Smashing Pumpkins Opened the New 9:30 Club

The 9:30 Club’s move to V Street began with a band that had outgrown small rooms. On January 5, 1996, The Smashing Pumpkins opened the club’s new home at 815 V Street NW. The venue’s history records two sold-out shows for the opening.

The distinction is important: this was the beginning of the V Street room, not the founding of the original club on F Street. The name carried its history across Washington, while the new address gave the operation a different scale.

Those Pumpkins concerts provide a clear starting point for the venue people visit today. For the band, they were two Washington dates. For the club, they marked the first shows of its second life.

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Sources: 930.com; washington.org.