Pigeons Playing Ping Pong‘s “The Flock” filled up The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York on Saturday night for a concert that featured support from Twiddle frontman Mihali Savoulidis. Many in the crowd sang along with every word of every PPPP song to the delight of a band that was beaming from first note to last. Pigeons are a band on the rise and Saturday night was a major step up on the music industry ladder.
Mihali loaded his opening set with original material. The guitarist performed a pair of brand new tunes, threw in staples from his recent solo shows and played a few Twiddle classics. While Savoulidis sounded fantastic, it wasn’t a great setting for his set as The Flock was overflowing with energy waiting for PPPP to take the stage. As such, it seemed more were chatting with their friends than paying attention to Mihali. The highlights were a version of Twiddle’s “Every Soul” featuring Pigeons bassist Ben Carrey on a pair of penny whistles and a beautiful tune titled “River Drift.” Mihali utilized a looper ala Keller Williams throughout the performance.
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong took the stage to a hero’s welcome. Guitarist Greg Ormont expressed how incredible he and his band mates were feeling at that moment and showed off some of his dance moves as part of the fitting “Time To Ride” opener. The quartet’s jams ran the gamut from untzy to rock-heavy to disco-fied. PPPP’s light show was impressive for the creativity displayed by LD Manny Newman. He used the venue’s projectors sparingly and at just the right moments. He also created looks featuring a dripping effect I had never seen before. He has his own style, which fits the foursome’s music perfectly. “Melting Lights” was a particular standout when it came to the light show.
Greg Ormont has a strong and powerful voice and knows how to involve the crowd in each show. Ormont was in fine form on Saturday and cracked jokes throughout the night. Lead guitarist Jeremy Schon can shred when needed and can fit in tasteful leads when the music calls for it. The rhythm section of Carrey and drummer Alex Petropulos provided a groovy base that gave Schon plenty of room to maneuver. Pigeons’ music benefits from the addition of horns. On Saturday, the quartet recruited the West End Blend Horns for portions of both sets.
The horns added to the extended “Live It Up” and Graceland-esque “Fortress” in the first set. Greg then welcomed Mihali to the stage for the livetronica-heavy “Too Long.” Both Schon and Savoulidis made the most of their chances to shine before engaging in a bit of a duel. Pigeons Playing Ping Pong ended their first set at The Cap with one of their most beloved songs, “Poseidon.” The chorus of “Wind me up ’cause we’re all just fishing line” is catchy as fuck and will stay with you for days. Ormont’s excited and emotional vocal delivery was contagious. On Saturday, the Baltimore-based band honored the history of the venue by working a cover of the Grateful Dead’s “Eyes Of The World” into “Poseidon.” Greg changed one of the lyrics to “Wake up to find out that you are the size of a squirrel,” to pay tribute to The Cap’s mascot. The crowd went wild when PPPP segued back into the conclusion of “Poseidon” to end the set.
Saturday’s closing stanza began with old favorite “Kiwi” and one of the group’s newest tunes, “Yo So Fiesta.” The latter was based on a line spoken by New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski during a 2012 interview with ESPN Desportes. “Yo So Fiesta” featured the horns as did the stellar “Burning Up My Time” that followed. The “Burning Up My Time” started a seamless segment that also included “Spacejam,” “The Hop” and funk workout “F.U.” Up next was the high-octane “Upfunk,” which gave way to a fun drums/bass session before ending. “Dawn A New Day” concluded the frame. Ormont told the crowd they would play as long as possible before an encore that featured the horns on “Doc” and a version of “Schwanthem” that contained an amazing rendition of “Colors Of The Wind” from Disney’s Pocahontas film within. The future is bright for Pigeons Playing Ping Pong and it will be exciting to see what’s next for the powerhouse quartet. Watch pro-shot video of the entire concert thanks to The Relix Channel:
https://livestream.com/TheRelixChannel/events/8526109/videos/186389040
Setlists
Mihali
Set: New Song, Every Soul, Carved Line, Soldier, Lost, New Song, River Drift, Stubborn Smile, The Box
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
Set One: Time To Ride, Totally, Melting Lights > Live It Up*, Fortress*, Too Long^, Poseidon > Eyes Of The World > Poseidon
Set Two: Kiwi > Yo Soy Fiesta*, Burning Up My Time* > Spacejam > The Hop > F.U.*, Upfunk > Drums > Upfunk, Dawn A New Day, Avalanche
Encore: Doc*, Schwanthem* > Colors of The Wind* > Schwanthem*
- * w/ West End Blend horns
- ^ w/ Mihali (Twiddle)
