It felt surreal being back at Columbus’ Woodlands Tavern on Monday for another pre-hiatus Dopapod run. Seven years ago, the band set up shop in the Ohio state capital’s then-de facto house of jams for three nights before going on a planned one-year hiatus. Fast forward to the present, and Dopapod returned to its Midwest stronghold for its final two shows before going on indefinite hiatus. Unlike that 2017 run, the future remains uncertain (or indefinite) for Dopapod, but what is known is that the band will not be touring, writing, or recording once the calendar flips to 2025. Much has changed since that stretch of shows seven years ago, but what has remained a constant is the commitment by fans from far and wide to come and support the band as it takes its final bows…again.
“Dopapod is a book, The Lord of the Rings, an epic: three of them, one book, a massive thing,” bassist Chuck Jones told Live For Live Music of the group’s decision to hang up Dopapod. “I want us to be able to close this book [and] put it on our mental life shelf. I want to look at it and go, ‘Fuck yeah. I want to open that back up. I want to look at it. I want to read it.’ … I want it to be there for the rest of my life. It’s something I’m proud of sitting up there. Rather than the other option where things sort of just explode and it’s sitting on that shelf, it gathers dust. … Right now I think that I’m so proud of us because we took charge and we’re gonna put this book up there and always be proud of everything we did from the start to the middle to the end. We have this fucking awesome story that’s ours to put away.”
To borrow Chuck’s metaphor, the book of Sunday’s show in Cleveland introduced the character Dopapod: a band that defies classification by blending prog-rock force with technical instrumental mastery, embedded with video game coding plus elements of electronica and constantly pushing into uncharted territory with boundless improvisation. For book two of the epic three-night saga, Dopapod leaned into the improvisational prowess that has made it one of the most consistent acts in the jam scene for the past decade and a half. The opening ten-minute “Black Holes” immediately established the tone for a mellow, introspective evening of deep improv.
By the time “Peter Banning” came around, it was clear that this was a much different show than the previous night in Cleveland, both onstage and in the crowd. This was a much chiller affair, with guitarist Rob Compa‘s Floydian David Gilmour licks serving as a guiding beacon throughout the band’s journey into the deep end. Between that, his fretboard exploration, great tone, and the ear-to-ear smile he wore for most of the show, Compa earned himself the team’s gold star for the evening.
Despite the chillness of the funky “Bluetooth” and tranquil “Sleeping Giant”, Compa’s guitar hero spotlight solo into “Black and White” was enough to wake up the workday crowd. Nearly an hour into the show, the intensity ramped up as drummer Neal “Fro” Evans‘ beats hit harder, Rob’s notes cut deeper, Eli Winderman‘s clavinet bounced harder, and Chuck’s bass did the same. At 10 p.m., the switch had been flipped and things got heavy, leading to a “Trapper Keeper” where the band found its equilibrium. The shimmery psychedelic jam instilled the evening’s emphasis on the groove before “Trapper Keeper” was left unfinished (for now) for a reprisal of the “Black Holes” that started the set to end it now.
Following a brief onstage cameo by former Dopapod lighting director Luke Stratton (an integral part of the band’s history and a candidate for a “Best Friends” guest spot on New Year’s Eve), the band followed the motto of “If it ain’t broke,” by starting the second set with a “Highway Star” (Deep Purple) fakeout for the third night in a row. Sure, Dopapod’s music may be a fiercely original blend of hard rock, electronica, 8-bit funk, and much more, but what will be missed just as much as their music will be the palpable comradery between these four men who will forever encourage each other’s eccentricities—whether that’s from across the stage or across the country.
The opening “Dracula’s Monk” provided some much-needed red-light Dopapod and “Present Ghosts” made a home in the pocket, but “Eight Years Ended” is where the band hit its stride and did not let up until the encore ended at quarter to 1 a.m. “Eight Years Ended” (well, more like seven) springboarded into psychedelic blues after about ten minutes, with a squally jam defined by “Riders on the Storm”-esque keys from Eli and Fro’s thunderous drums. The raunchy Primus-like bass buzz of “Weird Charlie” delivered a jolt of electricity before Jones—ever the perfectionist—paused the band so he could adjust his distortion levels to his liking since this would be his last time playing the song’s outro. In his defense, the adjustment was well worth the break in the action which only built anticipation. Yet another tough composition was turned on its head into a delicate and soothing jam, then ultimately back again to razer-edged distortion.
Next to “Eight Years Ended,” “Let It All Out” was the pinnacle of the second set—ney, the entire show. Rob’s perfect tone formed the foundation for this acid rock jam and cemented him as the evening’s star as this song will be required relistening once the dust of the final run settles and all we have are the memories (and full-show free streams on YouTube thanks to the band). To put an emphatic exclamation mark on the second set, quintessential Dopapod song “Freight Train” lightly dipped its toe into jamtronic untz before a huge “Trapper Keeper” reprise sent the place into hysterics for the encore break.
“I don’t have much to say, so I’ll just say thanks for coming out,” Jones said before introducing the band. Throughout these final shows, Dopapod has sidestepped sentimentality in the interest of letting the music do the talking. The final song of the evening, “Superbowl”, said all that needed to be said.
Thеre’s got to be a thing that’s worth keeping
Should I keep it all inside?
I could go back to thе beginning
But I’ll enjoy the ride.
Check out a full-show stream of Dopapod in Columbus, with “Eight Years Ended” starting at 2:18:00. That’s a great place to start. Dopapod returns to Woodlands Tavern tonight, December 31st, for its final show before going on indefinite hiatus. Tickets are very sold out, but you can shoot your shot on CashOrTrade or Dopapod’s Facebook fan page. The band will stream the show for free on its YouTube channel.
Dopapod — Woodlands Tavern — Columbus, OH — 12/30/24 — Full Show
Setlist: Dopapod | Woodlands Tavern | Columbus, OH | 12/30/24
Set One (9:13 – 10:24): Black Holes -> Bluetooth, Peter Banning, Sleeping Giant, Black and White, Trapper Keeper -> Black Holes
Set Two (11:06 – 12:33): Dracula’s Monk [1] > Present Ghosts > Eight Years Ended > Jam > Weird Charlie [2], Let It All Out -> Freight Train [3] -> Trapper Keeper
Encore (12:35 – 12:44): Superbowl
[1] Highway Star (Deep Purple) fakeout
[2] Chuck stopped the song near the end to properly adjust his distortion levels
[3] Unfinished