Dopapod closed the book on its 16-year career last night in Columbus, OH with the band’s final show before going on indefinite hiatus. The four-hour, three-set, two-encore engagement at Woodlands Tavern celebrated one of the contemporary jam scene’s most fiercely original bands and the underlying friendship that has made it all possible.
When making goodbyes, there’s an urge to try and say something profound, to try and sum up your feelings and experiences in a few choice, sentimental words. But the reality is that those words and special moments aren’t found in airport drop-off lanes or at the farewell concert. They’re in all the memories you’ve shared throughout the years, building a loving relationship that makes those goodbyes all the tougher. Even at this final show, Dopapod mostly saved the speeches for another time. Instead, the band delivered an authentic goodbye in a style that only Dopapod can, one that was—for reasons that may never become clear—highlighted by a ball drop cover of Deep Purple‘s “Highway Star”.
For the foreseeable future’s last four Dopapod shows, Eli Winderman (keys), Rob Compa (guitar), Chuck Jones (bass), and Neal “Fro” Evans have barreled down the intro to the proto-metal classic “Highway Star” at some point in the second set. After chugging through the instrumental introduction, however, the band pulls the plug and switches to an entirely different, original song. The tradition began on December 28th in Kalamazoo, MI and continued the following evening in Cleveland when Jones introduced the song as “Dark Star” by the Grateful Dead. Whether the second “Highway Star” fakeout was pre-ordained or was an organic response to Compa breaking Dopapod’s rule of not covering Phish that night, we don’t know. But, never one to let a good bit pass them by, Dopapod ran with the theme and “Highway Star” fakeouts kicked off the second sets on December 30th and 31st in Columbus. Then, when the ball dropped and the calendar flipped to 2025, there was only one way to ring in the new year: with Deep Purple’s “Highway Star”.
So, why spend 200 words explaining a jam band’s cover of a classic rock radio staple? Because Dopapod’s weeklong teasing and ultimate delivery of “Highway Star” epitomized the band’s career-long message to fans: don’t take us too seriously. Dopapod wouldn’t try to sum up the sentimentality with a speech. Instead, the band will make you laugh and smile, and send you on your way. That’s what made Dopapod’s farewell so authentic and heartfelt. That, and the intense friendship running through this band, its crew, and its community.
“We’ve seen friends’ bands, bands we don’t know, just sort of explode,” Jones told Live For Live Music prior to Sunday’s show in Cleveland. “We realized that that was gonna happen at some point. And we wanted to be in control of not having that happen, because for me personally, the most important thing about this is friends. And the Best Friends Tour happened like that. Friendship and keeping our relationships as close as possible, that’s what I care about.”
All evening long, an atmosphere of love and camaraderie emanated from the stage and the crowd. Jones and Evans’ grins at each other were visible from the back bar of the sold-out club, especially when Jones told the story of when he met Fro. Following “Off the Cuff”—the first song the band ever wrote together—in the first set, Compa informed the crowd that he originally intended to segue the ending into another song. But as he was playing, Compa remembered the ending of “Off the Cuff” is one of Fro’s favorites, and decided to instead ride out the track to its conclusion.
“And that’s what friendship’s all about,” Winderman quipped before the band teased “Best Friends”. There’ll be plenty more on that later.
There was also, of course, the music itself. From the stand-out opening “Mucho”, Tuesday’s final Dopapod show was a greatest hits showcase of the band’s most well-written songs played well. “Blast” and “Nuggy Jawson” highlighted old-school riffy Dopapod, with the former first set-closer featuring former lighting director Luke Stratton back on lights. “Give It A Name” emphasized the ’90s pop-punk side of Dopapod and introduced this writer to a new live favorite he can no longer chase, and “Numbers Need Humans” opened into a reggae melodica jam because who else but Dopapod would? A bust-out of “Confabulation” threw things back to December 13th, 2017, the last time the MEGAGEM song appeared live and also the show following Dopapod’s last pre-hiatus concert at Woodlands Tavern. A cover of the Donkey Kong Country theme developed into one of the most exciting and exploratory jams of the evening, while “Vol. 3 #86” and “Starfish” opened up into seas of aquatic improvisation.
After the ball drop and the cathartic release of finally hearing Compa sing “Highway Star” (“We’re sorry we played that intro so many times,” Winderman apologized before Compa broke in, “No we’re not.”) the ticking clock made each passing song choice all the more significant. “Bubble Brain” proved an emotional instrumental, as Winderman’s organ swells caused a few eyes to well with tears. Anticipation continued to mount through an elongated intro to “Onionhead”, only for the band to stop playing and break for the encore mid-song just before the track’s pressure valve release. As the audience fluctuated between hysterical laughter and boisterous cheering, the band shuffled back onstage for the encore. Jones seemed to take particular delight in his lengthy band introductions and thank yous to the crew and fans, before the band finally dropped back into “Onionhead” right at the main hook as rainbow lights immediately began flashing. The band managed to sneak in one more fakeout and another reminder to fans: don’t take us too seriously.
“Mucho” appeared yet again at the tail end of the show, this time at double the speed of the original and once again containing the warning, “At the blink of an eye, we’ll have to say goodbye.” After another classic with “Indian Grits”, there was no better way to instrumentally close out a career than with the crushing ending salvo of “FABA”. The prog-rock devastation was the perfect ending for the band’s musical legacy, but there’s so much more to Dopapod than just the music it plays, as Luke Stratton came onstage to remind us.
“What’s the name of this tour,” the former LD and longtime best friend of the band asked the still-roaring crowd, leading them in cheers of “Best friends! Best friends! Best friends!”
Beckoning the band’s crew to come onstage, the last Dopapod show ended with the last song on the band’s last album: “Best Friends”. There was no better hype man to deliver the message of camaraderie than Stratton, as he told everyone onstage and in the front row that they were his best friend—even if he didn’t know their name. We all turned to our best friends, looked them in the eyes, and shouted into their souls, “You’re my best friend!” Onstage, the intoxicating buzz of doom metal coalesced with the sentimentality of soul bonding to create a moment as touchingly beautiful as it was stupefyingly chaotic.
This was the only way for Dopapod to end its career because, at its core, Dopapod is a group of four best friends. Everything the band has ever accomplished is an extension of that. And as long as the four of them are best friends, Dopapod isn’t going anywhere.
Relive the final Dopapod show below with photos and a full video stream of the performance. Tell your best friend you love them. At the blink of an eye, we’ll have to say goodbye.
Dopapod — Woodlands Tavern — Columbus, OH — 12/31/24 — Full Show
Setlist: Dopapod | Woodlands Tavern | Columbus, OH | 12/31/24
Set One (9:00 – 10:09): Mucho, Braindead, Clouds, Off The Cuff [1], Give It A Name [2], Blast [3]
Set Two (10:31 – 11:36): Confabulation [4], Donkey Kong Country Theme -> Jam > Nuggy Jawson [5] -> Numbers Need Humans [5] -> Vol. 3 #86
Set Three (11:50 – 12:41): Luke Stratton thanks Dopapod, Bats in the Cave [5] -> Auld Lang Syne (Robert Burns) > Highway Star (Deep Purple), Starfish, Bubble Brain, French Bowling, Onionhead [6]
Encore (12:42 – 1:30): Onionhead [7] > Zonk > Mucho [5] [8] -> Indian Grits [5] -> FABA
Encore Two (1:32 – 1:43): Best Friends [9]
[1] One of Fro’s favorite endings, so Rob nixed his idea of transitioning out of the song into something else so that Fro could play the ending
[2] Best Friends tease
[3] Luke Stratton on lights
[4] LTP 12/13/17, Highway Star (Deep Purple) fakeout
[5] Unfinished
[6] Intro only, then the band abruptly left the stage for the encore break
[7] Resumed at the main riff, contained Whale (I Am) jam
[8] Yes, again. Double time this time
[9] Friends on stage included Luke Stratton, Wes Røberge, Nathan Teikari, Mike Jaws, Ernesto Hernandez, Allison Friedman, and probably some other folks I’m forgetting right now
View this post on Instagram