On Thursday night, prog-jam quartet Dopapod arrived at Brooklyn Bowl for their first of three nights at the Brooklyn, NY venue this weekend. While the room was well below capacity for the weeknight set, the band delivered handily, tackling a selection of their technically complex, mind-bending compositions. After opening the show with “Turn by Turn” and “Cloud World,” the and kicked into a particularly funky take on “Black and White,” followed by “Sleeping Giant,” of 2014’s Never Odd Or Even.

The segment that followed would prove to be the highlight of the show: First, the band launched into a super “Sonic,” which they took for a 20+ minute ride before bleeding into “Give It A Name.” After starting into the “Give It A Name” structure the band took the opportunity to pay tribute to the late Chuck Berry, segueing into and back out of an appropriately rocking rendition of “Johnny B. Goode.” Technical composition “Trickery” came next, building slowly to a raucous peak before giving way to Drawn Onward track “Flipped.”

The “Onionhead” that followed was packed full of surprises, as the band teased Pink Floyd‘s “Set Controls For The Heard of the Sun” and quoted “Johnny B. Goode” during an Eastern-inflected jam, substitution the line “play the sitar like ringing a bell” for “play the guitar like ringing a bell.” The jam even included a pronounced tease of Israeli Folk song “Hava Naglia,” a tune ubiquitous at Bar Mitzvahs, but not so often rock concerts. Finally, Dopapod closed the set with fan-favorite “Present Ghosts.”

When the band returned for their encore, they congratulated a fan in the front row on his 30th Dopapod show last night, and helped the ecstatic fan celebrate the milestone by letting him decide the encore. The fan went with “Turning Knobs,” which the band performed with gusto before thanking the crowd and taking their bows

Check out a gallery of photos from Dopapod’s Thursday night show at Brooklyn Bowl below, courtesy of photographer Andrew O’Brien.

You can also stream full audio of the show below, thanks to taper Matt Moricle via archive.org:

 

Dopapod returns tonight for their second of three nights at Brooklyn Bowl this weekend. To purchase tickets to either of this weekend’s upcoming shows, head to the band’s website.

Setlist: Dopapod | Brooklyn Bowl | Brooklyn, NY | 3/23/17 (setlist via Phantasy Tour)

Set 1: Turn by Turn, Cloud World*, Black and White, Sleeping Giant, Sonic** > Give It A Name> Johnny B. Goode**> Give it a Name, Trickery, Flipped, Onionhead3, Present Ghosts

Encore: Turnin’ Knobs4

* contained Bluetooth tease

** unfinished
^ contained teases of Set Controls For the Heart of the Sun, Johnny B. Goode (Indian-style jam, substituted “play the sitar like ringing a bell” for “play the guitar like ringing a bell”), and Hava Nagila
^^by request from the audience for a fan’s 30th show