Live music review: Pigeons Playing Ping Pong packed Mohawk last Friday
Baltimore funk jam outfit Pigeons Playing Ping Pong soared into Austin for another musical extravaganza, their third visit since 2022, in celebration of their eighth studio LP Feed The Fire. This time, the venue of choice came in the form of Mohawk in the Red River Cultural District on Friday night. Over the three-hour excursion, fans from all kinds of music spheres made their way to pack out the downtown Austin venue for two sets of pure joy. With loyalists being dubbed,”The Flock,” the level of fan inclusiveness was palpable throughout the packed venue for an episode of victorious energy.
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong is assembled by singer and guitarist Greg “Scrambled Greg” Ormont, bassist Ben Carrey, guitarist Jeremy Schon, and drummer Alex “Gator” Petropulus. With this solidified lineup reaching a decade in tenure, the Pigeons’ tour bus has been on a nonstop road-warrior streak, with numerous cross-country runs, residencies, and their own self-produced annual festival, Domefest. The last Austin appearance from PPPP featured a theme of “Talking Radioheads,” a special occasion revolving around the music of Radiohead and Talking Heads, further asserting an element of creative risk that works on an impossibly fun level. Friday’s performance at Mohawk was no exception.
Pigeons Playing Ping Ping came onstage in their usual jovial nature, announcing to the crowd that they visited various Austin institutions on their day off before taking the reins at Mohawk. Dirty Sixth Street’s world-famous bar and grill Casino El Camino made it into the fold, a proclamation that received audible praise from attendees who already know about the Casino kitchen’s mammoth burgers and zero fucks given vibe.
Starting the set was “Porcupine” off their fourth studio album, Pizazz. The funk commenced right at the kickoff in monumental fashion; the Maryland quartet came ready to feed their fans once again. The final leg of the first set manifested as fan favorite “Melting Lights,” along with a surprising cover of The Who’s “Eminence Front” featuring opening act Eddie 9V on guitar. Innovation through collaboration is the name of the game for the Pigeons crew, and it ritualistically results in shameless shred-o-ramas. Also, the slap-bass from Carrey makes him a focal point that’s way too easy to get entranced by, it’ll make some aspiring players want to go practice their chops.
After a brief setbreak, the Scrambled Greg-helmed ensemble didn’t miss a beat. Mega-jam behemoth “Poseidon” appeared, one that resonates with crowd ecstaticness, who return every bit of luminosity the band gives. Lead guitarist Jeremy Schon effortlessly plucked his way through each song, with every tune in the set seemingly building on the last. Drummer, Gator also had one hell of a gig. According to the diehards that’s always the inarguable case with their man on the kit. A nostalgic moment came with a singalong of NSYNC cover, “Bye Bye Bye,” which seemed to come out of nowhere within a mesmerizing jam, in the Northeasterner’s typical “Anything Goes” style. From someone whose mom had Justin Timberlake fever in the early 2000s, this one was a surprising treat.
The idea of these types of jam band of shows comes with an unrivaled sense of community. The setlists change from show to show, and there are surprises or some sort of nuance unique to each performance for the devotees to revel in. Whether you partake in the party favors or not, Pigeons want to keep you on your toes. 2020 saw the group performing in live-streamed studio environments as a form of solace as humans isolated during the Pandemic. If you drank the Kool-Aid back then, a lot of others in that vein followed suit. 2020 album Presto cut “Avalanche” served as the second set finale, a welcome last hurrah as the clock trotted across midnight.
The curfew is 1 a.m. on Friday on Red River, so the party could go far into the night. As is tradition for their frequent late-night excursions, which include after-parties for heavy-hitters like Goose and Phish. “Day In Time” gave one last serving of pure funk, before an adoring audience demonstrated their satisfied enthusiasm through an ovation that showed the people calling for as much as an additional set. We’ll all be back next time. That is certain.
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong continues down the road for the rest of 2025 with Spring dates lined up for 2026. Tickets can be found via the band’s website.
All photos by Drew Doggett
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