Since returning from self-imposed exile in 2019, Dopapod has played with a newfound vigor. Rather than pushing themselves to the limit with relentless touring trying to be the next big thing, the members of Berklee College of Music-bred four-piece have instead fully embraced being themselves. A level of onstage stoicism has been replaced by silliness, random, wacky covers, and playful banter that comes from the inherent ease of a band with nothing left to prove, be it to the audience or themselves. All of those qualities were on display when Dopapod returned to the Asheville, NC area on Sunday for a show at Pisgah Brewing Company in Black Mountain, joined by a couple of “Best Friends” from the community.
Intermittent rain throughout the afternoon cast ominous dark clouds over the bucolic Pisgah Brewing about 20 minutes outside of downtown Asheville. The raincoat-clad audience came prepared, however, for Dopapod’s annual (sometimes bi-annual) trip to Western North Carolina. A light sprinkling of precipitation dampened the outdoor venue as Dopapod took the permanent wooden stage, opening with “Arnold” from part one of the band’s new double LP—Aiboh and Phobia—which would be in heavy rotation throughout the evening.
After about five minutes of instrumental jamming, guitarist Rob Compa cut the song short to inform the audience that—per venue instructions—everyone had to leave the grassy concert field and shelter-in-place in their vehicles. The need to vacate was underscored by a flash of lightning that streaked across the sky immediately following Rob’s announcement.
Luckily, the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains cut through the approaching storm system, and after about 20 minutes everyone was back inside the concert grounds ready for the music to resume beneath the amber-colored sky. Though the band originally intended for this to be a two-set performance, Dopapod, ever the improvisers, called an audible and instead presented a nearly non-stop three-hour show.
First up when the band returned to the stage, the ending of “Arnold” which the band picked up midway, another example of the technical mastery smartassery of Dopapod. The quartet’s post-hiatus maturity was emphasized by patient jams throughout the show, including in the relevant “Clouds” that immediately followed the second half of “Arnold”. Old-school classic “Trapper Keeper” took its time as Compa and keyboardist Eli Winderman locked into an instrumental improvisational conversation, Eli speaking through his B3 organ and Rob via impressively sustained notes.
The band affirmed its commitment to taking its time during the first of several guest sit-ins, this one by Asheville vocalist Rebekah Todd, who lent her pipes to Radiohead‘s “Nude”. Dopapod has previously covered the In Rainbows slow jam as an instrumental, with Sunday’s rendition benefitting greatly from the subdued beauty of Todd’s singing. This would not be the last the audience would see of Todd that night.
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More cuts from Phobia followed with “Let It All Out” and “Mitochondria”, the former giving Compa a chance to show off some Judas Priest-inspired two-handed tapping (per bassist Chuck Jones) and the latter teaching about cell structure as it coalesced with green stage lights and the blooming greenery of Pisgah Brewing aroun us. Those earthly elements were juxtaposed by the “Black Holes” that came next, the spacey composition giving room for Winderman to put his hands to use on a variety of percussive instruments including his trusty bongos.
Another friend soon emerged from the wings as Papadosio keyboardist Sam Brouse waltzed onstage in a Dopapod hoodie to join on “Best Friends”. Surprisingly, Sam did not sit down next to Eli at the keyboards but instead took the mic center stage to lead vocals on the spoken word piece, also from Phobia. As the band vamped a rising instrumental, Brouse expounded on his friendship with the members of Dopapod—including getting smoked in ping-pong with Eli on a day off in Columbus, OH years ago. In addition to improvisational prowess and legions of fans, Dopapod’s 15-plus years of prodigious touring have earned them a stable of talented best friends throughout the jam scene. Papadosio singer-guitarist Anthony Thogmartin and drummer Mike Healy were also spotted in the crowd at Pisgah, though they did not take the stage, choosing instead just to support their friends.
Related: Did You Know: Goose’s Peter Anspach Once Got “Fired” From The Dopapod Road Crew [Videos]
As the sun went down, Dopapod’s persistent patience gave way to hard-hitting jams centered around the band’s classic prog-rock compositions. A continuous three-song movement of “French Bowling > Onionhead > Superbowl” built with intensity like a pressure cooker, frequently boiling over with heavy-psych-inspired playing from Compa as Neal “Fro” Evans‘ cymbals came crashing down. The songs were often connected by ambient, experimental passages that could just as easily spin into electronica-inspired dance music as they could hard-hitting rock n’ roll, particularly on a digital feedback loop jam at the end of “French Bowling” that was easily a highlight of the show. This set-closing 30-ish minutes saw the Dopapod from days of old emerge once again.
Returning to the stage for the encore, Dopapod brought Rebekah Todd back out for a cover of Aerosmith‘s “Sweet Emotion”. The song, which debuted at D-pod’s Woodstock ’94-themed Halloween show in Columbus, OH had not been seen on the band’s setlists since December 15th, 2021. Just like “Nude”, it greatly benefitted from Todd’s serene vocals—much more intense in this instance than the Radiohead cover.
Those thinking that this was a one-and-done encore had their fears assuaged by Rob Compa who declared, “We’re gonna keep playing for a while.” The guitarist and his band certainly made good on that promise, dishing out the recently debuted sequel to the classic “Faba”, titled “Faba 2”. The heavy prog rock of “Faba 2” was emphasized by intense red lights that gave the inherently evil jams an increasingly devilish tone, juxtaposed with intermittent rays of white light and heavenly jamming. Ascending from the bowels of hell, Dopapod closed out the show with a speed run through the Donkey Kong theme, coming to one glorious final crescendo as the clock struck the venue’s curfew of 11 p.m.
Dopapod is back on the road next month for a summer tour beginning with a set at Northlands Music & Arts Festival in Swanzey, NH on June 15th. Visit the band’s website for tickets and a full list of tour dates. Check out some photos and videos from the Pisgah show below.
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Setlist: Dopapod | Pisgah Brewing Company | Black Mountain, NC | 5/26/24
Set One: Arnold [1]
Set Two: Arnold [2], Clouds, Trapper Keeper, Nude (Radiohead) [3], Let It All Out, Fannie, Mitochondria, Black Holes, Best Friends [4], Turn By Turn, French Bowling > Onionhead > Superbowl
Encore: Sweet Emotion (Aerosmith) [3], Faba 2 > Donkey Kong Theme
[1] Song was cut short after about 5 minutes when band instructed audience to shelter in place in their cars and wait out the lightning storm for about 15 minutes
[2] Ending only
[3] w/ Rebekah Todd on vocals
[4] w/ Sam Brouse on vocals
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