Take a Walk in the PPPPark with Pigeons Playing Ping Pong and Let the Birds Feed Your Soul

by Aaron Gilliam

Photos by Adam Berta Photography

Have you ever felt the rush of dropping everything, hopping on the road and living life like a band on the run? The self-described psychedelic funk band Pigeons Playing Ping Pong gave a numerous amount of their cult like following, members of The Flock, an opportunity to do just so. This band was on fire in 2018 kicking it off with their sold out DisNYE eve show in Covington, Kentucky, treating the crowd to a slew of nostalgic jams that took us all back to simpler times. From there they rolled through their next few tours selling out almost every show all across the U.S. while maintaining the momentum going into festival season. This year was one of massive growth for the band simply known as “Pigeons” as they drew massive crowds and expanded The Flock with sets at highly regarded fests such as The Peach, Bonaroo, SummerCamp, and High Sierra. With all that growth and success it was only fitting that their year would culminate with a 4 night run, Dec 27-29th with a New Years eve bash, spanning across 3 states over 5 nights.

The Basement East a 400 capacity venue on the east side of the magical music city called Nashville was host to the opening throw down of the run. An intimate venue that upon entering almost immediately felt like home, had its sound quality put on display by night one opener Midnight North who brought their southern twang and songwriting to Nashville and fit right in. Midnight North definitely turned some heads in Nashville that night and got the ball rolling for one hell of a night to come. As the venue filled, you could feel the energy of the crowd building just waiting to explode once Greg Ormont and the rest of the pigeon boys took the stage. Indeed the crowd erupted as the four gentleman stepped on stage to begin their last run of shows in 2018, some didn’t even fully prepare for what they were about to witness. Night one opened with a bang as the band proceeded to take their explosive song “Upfunk” for a ride. A high paced & wonderfully executed jam highlighted the abilities of young drummer Alex “Gator” Petropulous who never seems to disappoint when they decide to throw this on the set list. Pigeons then continued to barrage their fans with intermittent songs from their 2016 studio album “Pleasure” and the 2017 compilation of live shows “The Great Outdoors Jam” with an “Offshoot” jam that seamlessly transitioned into a unique cover of Henry Mancinis, “The Pink Panther.” The set was high energy from start to finish, highlighted by an extended jam from “Landing” to “Burning Up My Time” that left every audience member speechless. Just a glimpse into how deep this band can dig into their bag of tricks to astonish even the most seasoned of pigeons fans. The set ended in typical pigeon fashion, a barn burning rendition of “The Liquid” that had sweat dripping all over the dance floor. We were indeed in for a treat on this run and the boys were coming out hot.
Set two continued the high energy train with an incredible dance off from the fist note of “Whoopie”, into the highs and lows that is the hit song, “F.U.” and came to a climactic finale with a nostalgic “Julia”/”Doug-rats” sandwich that has become a pigeon staple in recent years. The bands ability to seamlessly transition into covers allows them to surprise their fans with a hit throwback while most are in a state of daze from what they’re witnessing. Night one ended with a bust out off of their first album “Funk EP,” a track called “French Café” that had not been played since February of this year and less than five times over the course of the past two years, a real treat for the die-hard fans that flocked from across the country to catch the bird band in the music city. “French Café” flowed into an extremely funky rendition of “Doc” and the band exited the stage to an uproar from the crowd who were chomping at the bit for another night of music.
Less than 24 hours later as the crowd gathered again to enjoy another night of Pigeons, a foursome from Colorado took the stage to set the tone. The Magic Beans, an up and coming band that was billed to open the next 3 nights, set the dance floor on fire with songs like “Here On Out.” A psychedelic dance party ensued that amped the crowd up for the headlining show to come. The Magic Beans and Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, a match made in jam-heaven, this was just the start of what could go down as a historic run between two up and coming acts. An hour and a half later the boys from P4 took the stage to once again set the town on fire. Flashing lights and psychedelic lights, the next few hours were filled with both as the band opened up with the instrumental “Whirled” a song they truly know how to take for a walk through the park. Flockers flashed back to mid-May when the band took “Whirled” on a walk and them some as they jammed it for an entire set start to finish, an example of just how deep this band can dig into jams. They did not disappoint again as it was a perfect way to start the night. The night continued as the bands funky jams and hilarious antics fueled the party taking place on the dancefloor up until the boys decided to throw it back to Halloween when they performed “Red Hot Sgt. Peppers“ themed set lists. Bass player Ben Carrey sent the crowd into a straight frenzy from the first bass bomb that left his amp as he began a cover of The Red Hot Chili Peppers “Around The World.” The band proceeded to take it around the corner and back again surprising everyone with their abilities to get rowdy. Set one ended in style with a ”Funk E Zekiel”/”Fade Fast” sandwich reminding all in attendance how far the band has come and that this is indeed our time.

Patrons filled back into the staging area as Jeremy Schons guitar filled the air seemingly bending time and space with their head numbing tune “Kiwi.” A true love song, the boys from pigeons continued the love affair with one of their newer ones “Fortress” a love song between a boy named Roy and a girl named Pearl. Feeling the flow, they jammed these seamlessly into the bass heavy instrumental “Skipjack” that was crushed and sent into the next stratosphere by the bass master himself Ben Carrey. Over the course of the next hour, the crowd was treated to a “Ghostbusters” cover, the funkiest of monkeys in “King Kong”, a brand-new hit in “Overrun” and an extremely extended version of “Sunny Day” that left most weak in the knees. Never a disappointment P4 resumed the stage to ring out their time in Nashville with an “Ocean Flows” giving thanks to all those who work their 9-5 to be able to join them in the crowd that night.
The following morning the numerous amounts of fans and the band members themselves arose from their slumber earlier than wanted and made the trip up to Covington, Kentucky, where the boys were billed to triple the size of the crowd from the night before at the Madison Theatre, home of last year’s DisNYE. The Magic Beans were again slated to open the show and did not disappoint as they flew through their hour set barely stopping to breathe with songs like “Hanky Panky” and “Offleash.” The theatre was packed and the line to get in around the block by the time The Beans exited the stage. The Magic Beans were again slated to open the show and did not disappoint as they flew through their hour set barely stopping to breathe with songs like “Hanky Panky” and “Offleash.” The crowd was electrified by the sight of the foursome, and the energy in the building began to build just ready to erupt at the first note. Greg then took the mic, thanking the crowd for selling out the massive venue for the 2nd year in a row and proclaimed it was “Time To Ride.” The opener was exactly that as they burst into the song and took it for a ride stopping only for a moment to highlight Greg’s incredible ability to bring humor to the stage and get the crowd laughing. A stereotypical banter led right into “Peguins” a song with childlike wonder that had the entire theatre singing along. The band then had “Something For Ya” and took us on a ride through their “Havanna” leading into their new psychedelic down tune “Snake Eyes.”Just recently debuted in September, “Snake Eyes” is the perfect blend of Greg Ormont’s mind warping rhythm and Jeremey Schon’s noodling lead guitar that is most certainly destined for greatness. The set concluded with a version of “High As Five” that included a slice of Michael Jacksons “PYT” and The Who’s “Pinball Wizard.”

A little after the clock struck midnight, the band took the stage again for a very special rendition of “Too Long” including a sit in from the man behind the sound boards, Erich Miller. Seemingly out of nowhere ripping out a trumpet solo from the middle of the crowd to get them amped up. The band then again showcased the drumming skills of Alex “Gator” Petropulous as he absolutely ripped a drum solo in the middle of “Upfunk.”Once again the band threw it back to Halloween with a hallowing cover of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”, leaving fans weeping in the theatre on every floor, that transitioned into their original “Lightning” highlighted by Greg Ormont stepping out and showcasing his abilities to solo. Their recent sit in with Berkley Professor, Tomo Fujita, has seemed to have rubbed off on the front man. As an encore the band decided to melting lights and minds with their anthem “Melting Lights”, leaving every audience member in a puddle wanting more. A truly magical night capped off by the feeling of love and joy projected from the band to their fans. As the New Year’s run was coming to an end, a much needed break for the band and their devoted followers came on the 30th with a travel day in between cities.
New Years stEVE 2018, The Flock was converging onto the city of Pittsburgh, Pa. In the shadows of Heinz Field is the massive 2400 capacity venue, Stage AE, the sight for this year’s party into the future. P4 known for their amazingly clever themed shows had decided to celebrate the life of all Steves past and present. The Magic Beans once again opened the show and set the tone for the dance party that is a Pigeons Playing Ping Pong show with songs like “Mission”, “Contraband,” and a delightful cover of the Talking Heads “Life During Wartime.” At around 9:30, the last night of 2018, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong took the stage dressed from head to toe in a gold vest and suits honoring the magic that is Stevie Wonder. Set one started with a “Burning Up My Time” transitioning into an “Offshoot” that sandwiched a wonderfully performed cover of Steven Tyler & Aerosmith’s “Sweet Emotion” and just like that New Years stEVE was off and running. Keeping the ball rolling the band settled in for the funkiest rendition of Steve Winwood & Traffics “Medicated Goo.”The band then invited 3 temporary pigeons onstage, the horns from West End Blend and Casey Russel, keyboardist of the Magic Beans, for the first taste of some Stevie Wonder with “I Wish” with a “Wild Wild West” tease thrown in for any Will Smith fans. They threw down a healthy “Whoopie” sandwich with a “Master Blaster.” The party kicked into the high groove with the newest of new “Yo Soy Fiesta” which lead the way to more Wonder with “Boogie On Reggae Woman” & “Superstition” that flowed effortlessly into the set closing “Poseidon”.
After a wild set break, “Porcupine” brought the crowd back to the dancefloor as they yet again sandwiched a Steve with Stevie Nicks “Edge of Seventeen” only to bring it back to Stevie Wonder with the most brilliant rendition of “Sir Duke.” The fattest sandwich yet, topped and finished with “Drunk People” and filled with Steve Morse & Deep Purples “Smoke on the Water” Steve Miller Bands “Abracadabra” and Fleetwood Macs “The Chain” came next. It was around 1150 when the crowd realized this was going to be the jam into the future as P4 flowed the ocean of people in to 2019 with “Ocean Flows” peaking right at midnight with a balloon drop to match ringing in the new year with an “Auld Lang Syne” teasing a little bit of “Isn’t She Lovely” all the while. With the permission of an extended set, they continued to rip into the New Year with a powerful “King Kong” coming to a peak in the middle with another Stevie Wonder classic, “Signed, Sealed, Delivered.” The final tribute to Wonder came with a “Living For The City” which lead into the most beautiful moment of the night. “Horizon”, a song that may be one of the most recognizable tunes for P4 seemed to tail off from the intro into a magical moment, seamlessly slipped in was a crowd quieting “Lenny” by Stevie Ray Vaughn that brought tears to eyes moments before the waterworks that is “Horizon”. The crowd roared with emotion when the band returned to the stage for an encore and thanked the crowd for their biggest headlining show to date. Starting the run at 400, they finished at a venue filled with 2400 a truly an amazing feat. “Schwanthem” was the chosen tune to celebrate the first memories of 2019, and it was truly one for the books as they took it for a roller coaster ride.

Four shows in five nights, some may call it crazy but with a band as talented as Pigeons Playing Ping Pong it only makes sense to jump on tour after you catch your first show in a while. Traveling the country following the music that you’re passionate about and makes you a better person is what the culture of the 60’s and 70’s was about and this band is bringing it back with a funky new breath of life into a scene of die-hard music lovers. I thank the band and all in attendance for making the run so special. The love the band exerts at every show is received and reciprocated in life by all of their fans. It’s a truly magical experience and if you have not had the privilege yet, please bless your ears and soul in the future by attending a show.