Billy Corgan, owner of Madame ZuZu’s Tea Shop in Highland Park, Illinois, made a special appearance at his café for a local lad’s Bar Mitzvah, joining the teenager onstage to play The Smashing Pumpkins’ “Today.”
The teen, named Matthew, celebrated his Bar Mitzvah at Madame ZuZu’s over the weekend, with the local ’90s cover band the Buzz Worthys playing a set. Afterwards, Corgan took the stage, thanking everyone for coming to Matthew’s special day. “This is my first Bar Mitzvah,” Corgan told the crowd. “Maybe my last.”
Matthew then proceeded to hop behind the drum kit and jam with Corgan and the Buzz Worthys, performing a pared-down rendition of The Smashing Pumpkins’ “Today.” The event’s organizer, Events By Tess, offered a brief clip of the jam on Instagram, but it’s only a few seconds; judging by the caption, though, apparently Matthew killed it: “Matthew absolutely SMASHED it playing the drums with THE @billycorgan at his Bar Mitzvah! What an amazing night 🤘🎸🥁🎃” Check out the clip below.
Corgan originally opened Madame ZuZu’s Tea Shop in 2012; the shop relocated to a larger space in 2020, and as of last year, it now hosts corporate events and private parties. Most of the time, Madame ZuZu’s is an ordinary tea shop, though two separate cars have crashed into the Highland Park storefront in the past two years. At least this time, the only thing getting smashed was Matthew’s drum performance.
