This holiday season has been rife with Christmas celebrations, from Warren Haynes’ Christmas Jam and Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Christmas to Dogs In A Pile‘s festive Ardmore Music Hall run and Kevin Scott’s Allstar Holiday Revival, but Pigeons Playing Ping Pong were one of the few bands to get in the Hanukkah spirit. The band’s two-night stand at The Capitol Theatre on Friday and Saturday—dubbed the “The Festival of Melting Lights”—delivered a weekend of electrifying jams, unforgettable collaborations, and a new jam-band parody of Adam Sandler‘s “The Chanukah Song”.
Friday’s show opened with a career-spanning first set highlighted by original songs “The Town”, “Henrietta”, and “Twitch”, plus covers of Hot Chocolate‘s “You Sexy Thing” and the Temptations‘ “My Girl”, revived by Pigeons for the first time in more than four years. Extended jams “Wireless” and “Beneath The Surface”, meanwhile, showcased the band’s improvisational finesse.
Things ramped up as Pigeons welcomed members of Spafford during the second set, with keyboardist Cory Schechtman adding texture to “Beneath The Surface” and guitarist Brian Moss contributing his fiery fretwork to “Lightning”.
Photo: Andrew Blackstein – Pigeons Playing Ping Pong at The Capitol Theatre, 12/19/25
The festivities continued on Saturday, as Great Blue (featuring Goose’s Peter Anspach) opened the show. Anspach later returned to the stage to join Pigeons on keys for “Show Me” and “Sunny Day”, and on guitar for “Poseidon”.
The weekend’s jubilance reached its peak during the encore when “Scrambled Greg” Ormont debuted “The Jamtronica Song”, a hilarious parody of Adam Sandler’s “The Chanukah Song” about jews in the jam band scene, performed solo on acoustic guitar, before transitioning into “Hava Nagila”. A refreshing “Water” capped the Hanukkah celebration.
Both shows will be rebroadcast back-to-back on Christmas day via Pigeons’ YouTube during the band’s “Wonton Watch Party” (a play on the unofficial tradition of jews patronizing Chinese restaurants on Christmas since neither community celebrates the holiday and most restaurants are closed). In the meantime, check out pro-shot video of “The Jamtronica Song” and “Show Me” featuring Peter Anspach on keys.
“Scrambled Greg” Ormont – “The Jamtronica Song” – 12/20/25
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong With Peter Anspach – “Show Me” – 12/20/25
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong – 12/19/25 – The Capitol Theatre – Full Show [Pro-Shot]
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong – 12/20/25 – The Capitol Theatre – Full Show [Pro-Shot]