Pigeons Playing Ping Pong hosted and headlined the 10th annual Domefest at Marvin’s Mountaintop in Masontown, West Virginia this past weekend. The quartet played a total of five sets filled with debuts and bust outs over the course of the event.
On Thursday, May 16 the band celebrated guitarist Jeremy Schon’s birthday with a performance featuring the theme “Domecoming Weekend.” After opening with “Too Long,” Pigeons played “Sports Theme” for just the second time this year. A “Wireless” performed soon thereafter featured the first covers of Hot Chocolate’s “You Sexy Thing” and The Temptations’ “My Girl” since February 2, 2018 within. Next came “Melting Lights,” which PPPP transitioned into their debut version of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.” Drummer Alex “Gator” Petropulos handled lead vocals on the cover.
The headliner’s first set of the weekend continued with “Whoopie” featuring Casey Russell of Magic Beans on keys. Classic “Couldn’t We All” was followed by the debut of a new original titled “Paperboy” and a “Schwanthem” finale.” For the encore, the four-piece fit John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” within “Su Casa.”
Pigeons went with “Magic Kingdome” as the theme on Friday, May 17 and revisited a number of songs from Disney movies. The band opened with “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King” from The Lion King and swerved into and out of their own “Burning Up My Time” complete with a “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” jam. “Offshoot” ended the first seamless segment of the night and was followed by a cover of the Grateful Dead’s “King Solomon’s Marbles.” Then, the West End Blend Horns emerged for a sequence of “F.U.” into “Colors Of The Wind” into “F.U.,” “Fortress” and “King Kong.”
Friday’s second set featured songs from The Jungle Book in the midst of “Fade Fast” and a debut cover of “In The Hall Of The Mountain King” within “Sunny Day.” The beloved “Poseidon” also included a number of tangents as Pigeons played covers of “A Whole New World,” “Magic Carpet Ride” and “Abracadabra” between the beginning and end of the song. PPPP unveiled the new original “Water” as the encore.
“Dome For The Holidays” served as the theme for Pigeons’ two sets on Saturday, May 18. Pigeons Playing Ping Pong stuck with more frequently played fare over the final day of the event such as “Julia,” “Fun In Funk,” “Avalanche,” “Whirled,” “Horizon” and “Dawn A New Day.” The quartet did include a mashup of “Jingle Bells” and the “Dreidel Song” within “Zydeko” and ended the encore with “Auld Lang Syne.” PPPP now heads to the Summer Camp Music Festival.
Setlists (via PT PPPP)
May 16
Set: Too Long, Sports Theme, Somethin For Ya > Wireless > You Sexy Thing > My Girl > Wireless, Melting Lights > Enter Sandman1 > Live It Up, Whoopie2, Couldn’t We All, Paperboy3 > Schwanthem
Encore: Su Casa > Take Me Home, Country Roads > Su Casa
- 1 – w/Gator On Vocals
- 2 – w/Casey Russell On Keys (Magic Beans)
- 3 – First Time Played
May 17
Set One: I Just Can’t Wait To Be King > Burning Up My Time > I Just Can’t Wait To Be King > Burning Up My Time > The Lion Sleeps Tonight > Burning Up My Time > Offshoot, King Solomon’s Marbles > F.U. > Colors of the Wind > F.U. > Fortress, King Kong, Dome People, Time to Ride, Doc
Set Two: Henrietta, Porcupine, Fade Fast > Bare Necessities > Fade Fast, Sunny Day > In The Hall Of The Mountain King > Sunny Day, Poseidon > A Whole New World > Magic Carpet Ride > Abracadabra > Poseidon
Encore: Water
May 18
Set One: Pop Off, Hava Nagila > Julia > Beanstalk > Julia, French Café, Fun in Funk, Avalanche, Distant Times, Lightning > Moonwalk > Lightning > Moonwalk > E Funk
Set Two: Whirled, Landing > Zydeko > Sir Real > Dreidel Bells > Sir Real > Zydeko, Horizon > The Liquid, Upfunk, Dawn A New Day
Encore: Ocean Flows > Auld Lang Syne
