Two of the fastest rising acts in the East Coast jam scene, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong and Dopapod, ventured West for a co-headlining performance at the Boulder Theater last Saturday night, January 28th.
The two bands toured together throughout the fall, and reunited for a two night run in Colorado. Since Dopapod got to close out the show Friday night at Denver’s Ogden Theatre, they were first on stage Saturday at the Boulder.
Born in the halls of Boston’s famed Berklee College of Music, the band is a true powerhouse of prog-rock chops. Led by the searing guitar work of Rob Compa and the stylized synths of Eli Winderman, Dopapod brought the heat from start to finish in a metal-inspired set that left you little time to catch your breath. The complex compositions were followed almost note for note by lighting director Luke Stratton, who is quickly proving himself to be one of the best on the market.
Next up was Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, who packed in a fourteen song set of high-energy dance music. While the band’s whimsical attitude and frontman Greg Ormont’s comical facial expressions have always made Pigeons a fun party band, the addition of drummer Alex Petropulos has taken their musicianship and precision to new heights. The set focused largely on material from their 2014 release Psychology, with sandwiched teases of the Allman Brothers’ “Jessica” and the Star Wars Cantina music.
Check out the setlists from both sets, below.
Setlist: Dopapod | Boulder Theater | Boulder, CO | 1/28/17
Set: STADA, Plaese Haalp, Bluetooth, Upside of Down> Weird Charlie> Present Ghosts, Freight Train> Ya’ll Ready For This> Freight Train> Groundhog Day, Vol. 3 #86> Black and White
Setlist: Pigeons Playing Ping Pong | Boulder Theater | Boulder, CO | 1/28/17
Set: Burning Up My Time, Sunny Day, Poseidon> Jessica> Poseidon> Horizons> Poseidon, Something For Ya, Stay, Whirled, Julia, Time To Ride> Cantina Band> Time To Ride, Ocean Flows
Encore: Bad For You, Fun In Funk
[Image via Phierce Photo // December 14th, 2016]