The Chicago alt-rock quartet Smashing Pumpkins [ tickets ] called it a career on Saturday (12/2) with a 37-song, hometown performance that clocked in at more than 4 1/2 hours. The show at Metro--a club the Pumpkins first played in 1988--reportedly touched on material from each of the band’s six studio albums, and also delved into some B-sides.

"Welcome to the last gasp of the Smashing Pumpkins," lead singer Billy Corgan said at the opening of the show. He reportedly broke down in tears at the end of the epic performance.

The set was divided into three "acts"--two electric sets sandwiching an acoustic set--and concluded with a 25-minute encore rendition of "Silverf---." According to the Chicago Tribune's Greg Kot, "There was no final unison bow, no crowd-pandering displays of back-slapping or glad-handing, no last-minute appearance by recently departed bassist D’Arcy Wretzky to bring the moment full circle. Instead, there were the three remaining founders of this city's dominant rock band pulling in different directions."

There were a few low-key cameos: Corgan was joined on vocals by his father during the Pumpkins’ song "For Martha" and a cover of the blues classic "Born Under a Bad Sign." Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick and Matt Walker, a former touring drummer for the Pumpkins, also got some stage time.

The 1,100 fans in attendance were sent home with a CD containing the first concert that Smashing Pumpkins played at the Metro, on Oct. 5, 1988. Of that show, Metro owner Joe Shanahan told the Associated Press, "They brought me a demo tape with four songs and it was like nothing else out there--it was heavy metal, Goth, pop--and it all came from a tall, lanky, artsy guy whose voice was angelic and kind of like a banshee at the same time, a mellow Japanese guy on guitar and this hippie-type girl. I told them if they could find a drummer, they could really make it in the Chicago scene. Pretty funny, huh?"

More than 22 million Smashing Pumpkins albums sold worldwide during the band’s 12-year run. In May, Corgan announced in an interview on Los Angeles radio station KROQ that Smashing Pumpkins would break up at the end of 2000. In September, the band released what is being billed as its final album for free on the Internet. The album, "Machina II/The Friends and Enemies of Modern Music," is currently available on Napster and other MP3-trading websites.

Corgan is expected to take a year-long break before working on a new musical project.