Baltimore’s Pigeons Playing Ping Pong played before their biggest non-festival, headlining audience yet on New Year’s Eve at Stage AE in Pittsburgh. PPPP treated the capacity crowd to a New Year’s “stEVE” concert in which they worked in songs credited to artists named Steve throughout the night.
The quartet opened the first of two sets with “Burning Up My Time” before beginning one of many medleys they’d play. This one saw the group fit Aerosmith’s (Steven Tyler) “Sweet Emotion” within “Offshoot.” Pigeons then worked their own “Somethin’ For Ya” into a cover of Traffic’s (Steve Winwood) “Medicated Goo.” Next up was a “Whoopie” sandwich featuring takes on Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish” and “Master Blaster” within. “Whoopie” featured the talents of special guests the West End Blend Horns and Magic Beans keyboardist Casey Russell. Casey and the horns stuck around for “I Wish” and “Master Blaster.” After the newly debuted “Yo Soy Fiesta” came more Stevie with Russell and the horns in the form of “Boogie On Reggae Woman” and “Superstition” ahead of a set-closing “Poseidon.”
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong kicked off the second set with a “Porcupine” that contained Stevie Nicks‘ “Edge Of Seventeen” in the middle. The horns then emerged to help out on the band’s first cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Sir Duke” since July 6, 2011. Next up was a “Drunk People” medley that included turns into Deep Purple’s (Steve Morse) “Smoke On The Water,” Steve Miller Band’s “Abracadabra” and the outro of Fleetwood Mac’s (Stevie Nicks) “The Chain” before concluding. The quartet went on to use “Ocean Flows” for their countdown into 2019.
The traditional “Auld Lang Syne” followed the countdown and included an instrumental take on Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely.” More Stevie Wonder came in the middle of a “King Kong” featuring “Signed, Sealed, Delivered.” The horns added to the “King Kong” medley as well as the “Fortress” and “Living For The City” that followed. Pigeons Playing Ping Pong had one more medley and cover debut in store to end the second set. “Horizon” led into Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Lenny” and back again. For the encore, PPPP and the horns treated fans to “Schwanthem.”
Setlist
Set One: Burning Up My Time > Offshoot > Sweet Emotion^ [1] > Offshoot, Somethin’ For Ya > Medicated Goo^ [2], Whoopie*~ > I Wish^*~# [3] > Master Blaster^*~ [3] > Whoopie*~, Yo Soy Fiesta, Boogie On Reggae Woman*~” [3] > Superstition*~” [3] > Poseidon
Set Two: Porcupine > Edge of Seventeen^ [4] > Porcupine, Sir Duke*& [3], Drunk People > Smoke On The Water^@ [5] > Abracadabra^ [6] > The Chain^ [7] > Drunk People, Ocean Flows% > Auld Lang Syne > Isn’t She Lovely^@ [3] > Auld Lang Syne > King Kong* > Signed, Sealed, Delivered* [3] > King Kong*, Fortress*, Living For The City^* [3] > Horizon > Lenny^ [8] > Horizon
Encore: Schwanthem*
- “New Year’s stEve”
- ^ First time played
- [1] Aerosmith (Steven Tyler)
- [2] Traffic (Steve Winwood)
- * w/ West End Blend horns
- ~ w/ Casey Russell (Magic Beans) on keys
- # w/ Wild Wild West tease
- [3] Stevie Wonder
- “ Last time played 9/05/2015
- [4] Stevie Nicks
- & Last time played 7/06/2011
- [5] Deep Purple (Steve Morse)
- @ Instrumental
- [6] Steve Miller Band
- [7] Fleetwood Mac (Stevie Nicks), Outro only
- % w/ NYE countdown
- [8] Stevie Ray Vaughan
