As the clock winds down on Dopapod‘s final month of touring for the foreseeable future, the band members returned to their former home turf to give Brooklyn Bowl something to remember them by. On Saturday, Dopapod staged a three-set, four-hour marathon concert at the iconic Williamsburg bowling alley/concert venue as the band continues its march toward an indefinite hiatus.

Days ahead of the show, Dopapod let fans know that Saturday’s Brooklyn Bowl show would be a little something special, posting “When [Brooklyn Bowl owner] Pete [Shapiro] tells you to play late, ya play late!” In a subsequent post, the band reflected on its former days living in New York, “Feels like coming home. We used to live a few blocks from the venue and would hang here every week.”

Dopapod certainly made itself at home on Saturday following an opening set from Chalk Dinosaur. Across three sets, the band celebrated its 17-year history with a deep dive that included reaching back to its 2009 studio debut Radar and its roots at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Kicking off the show with longtime favorite “Trapper Keeper”, Dopapod got the opportunity to explore its vast catalog with Redivider (2012)’s “Weird Charlie”, Aiboh (2024)’s “Everybody is a Baby”, Drawn Onward (2011)’s “Flipped”, and Megagem (2017)’s “Mucho” all appearing in the first set.

For set two, Dopapod brought in some outside help as Pigeons Playing Ping Pong drummer Alex “Gator” Petropulos relieved Neal “Fro” Evans behind the kit on “Dracula’s Monk” as a heartfelt hat-tip between two bands that shared many lineups together over the years. By the time set three rolled around at midnight, Dopapod was feeling loose as evidenced in the opening Terminator theme into “Little Drummer Boy”. Dopapod’s fanciful antics of musical mastery progressed through the third set, with a rare uptempo “Turnin’ Knobs”, a “Blast” jam that teased Phish‘s “I Am Hydrogen”, and the pummeling syncopation of “Stada” to close the frame.

Before saying goodbye to Brooklyn Bowl, guitarist Rob Compa shared some fond memories of when the band lived in Brooklyn. Well, they were more fond in hindsight, like the time Chuck Jones‘ bass was stolen out of their van which was then tagged with a large phallus, or the time a pair of short shorts may have saved Chuck’s life during a road rage incident. Despite the less-than-flattering reflections on Brooklyn, Compa’s voice cracked with sentiment—and likely the wear and tear of playing for four hours—as he reminisced on the group’s early days cutting their teeth in the big city. To end on a high note, Dopapod breathed plenty of joy into a certainly melancholy event with a jolly “Happy Song” encore before “Faba 2” (the sequel) put a cap on the marathon performance.

Watch Dopapod say goodbye to New York City with a full-show stream from Brooklyn Bowl, and check out some photos by photographer Ken Spielman. Up next for the band is a show in Rochester, NY on Tuesday ahead of a three-night stay at Soundcheck Studios in Pembroke, MA. Find tickets and tour dates on the group’s website.

Dopapod — Brooklyn Bowl — New York, NY — 11/30/24 — Set One [Pro-Shot]

Dopapod — Brooklyn Bowl — New York, NY — 11/30/24 — Set Two [Pro-Shot]

Dopapod — Brooklyn Bowl — New York, NY — 11/30/24 — Set Three [Pro-Shot]

Setlist: Dopapod | Brooklyn Bowl | New York, NY | 11/30/24

Set One: Trapper Keeper, Weird Charlie > Everybody is a Baby, Flipped, Mucho
Set Two: Fannie, Dracula’s Monk [1], Piazole, Bats in the Cave, Black and White, Black Holes
Set Three: Terminator Theme (Brad Fiedel) > Little Drummer Boy (Katherine Kennicott Davis) > Building A Time Machine, Turnin Knobs [2], Numbers Need Humans, Blast [3], Arnold, PLSS, Stada
Encore: Rob story time, Happy Song, Faba 2

[1] w/ Alex “Gator” Petropulos on drums
[2] Uptempo version
[3] “I Am Hydrogen” (Phish) teases