2021/10/16 Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Neighbor, & Dogs In A Pile @ The Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY
Cover photo: Andrew Blackstein; others: Kendall McCargo & Andrew Blackstein
The Capitol Theatre reopened in September 2012 as “Westchester’s new premier rock palace.” Truth be told, Peter Shapiro’s pet project is easily the best room in the Northeast and very likely far beyond. WIth a (finally!) updated security system that ensures a hands and hassle free entry, everything about this room is best in class, not least of all the incredibly friendly staff. And then there’s Garcia’s, the adjacent bar that connects to The Cap via the vestibule and is easily the most finely appointed bar I’ve ever been in with artifacts ranging from an actual Jerry Garcia banjo to ridiculous titular wall art all … just wow. Then consider Mr. Shapiro: business man, music lover, and supporter of the arts whose venue books opening bands for opening bands, all of the up and coming variety that several thousand patrons have no choice but to walk past on their way in, and every visit to The Cap is a mini-festival all its own. Seriously, the dude is just a master.
Dogs In A Pile played the opening set in Garcia’s, fresh on the heels of the previous night’s sellout at The Stone Pony. It’s so refreshing to watch a young band win over a room of unsuspecting skeptics in real time, and Dogs approached this set like seasoned veterans on a festival stage, rolling out heavy hitters from their own catalog alongside heady covers with mass appeal like Lorde’s “Royals” and Gorillaz’ “Clint Eastwood” that quite simply crushed a room full of noobs. A+ set that is sure to grow their fan base.
Keeping up the festy vibes–and the theme of winning over new fans–Neighbor began their opening set on the big stage within minutes of Dogs’ final note. A band I’ve been pining to see but refused to listen to until I saw them live, being surprised in person was worth every second of the wait. Five-string bass is my spirit animal and I could’ve easily lost myself in the low end for the duration, so captivated was I by Dan Kelly’s (also of the New Motif) Warwick bass and the soft timekeeping of rhythm partner Dean Johnston. But then guitarist Lyle Brewer let a few notes fly and Richard James (Pink Talking Fish) started tickling the ivories and their stage right brethren stole my attention, if not the show. With soaring peaks and big rolling bass lines dotting compositional landscapes, Neighbor checked all my boxes. A few nearby #Neighbors were more than happy to provide the names of a few tunes that particularly stuck with me, “Cucamonga Carl” and “Magic Marble Crew” rising to the top of the memory bank, both of which found themselves in the middle of a thirty-seven minute segment that consituted the lion’s share of the set. Neighbor showed look after look in their one hour slot, actually going a few minutes over before Ricky James hightailed it over to the Brooklyn Bowl to play a two-set show with Pink Talking Fish. Having never seen Neighbor anywhere else but familiar with the story of their young career and fiercely loyal local following, *this* band most definitely belongs on *that* stage.
https://archive.org/details/neighbor2021-10-16.litz.sbd.akg414.schoepsMK41v.flac24
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong doesn’t play gigs as much as they host parties, and fucking epic ones at that. The last show I saw of theirs was a poorly executed drive-in with no PA that just sputtered and fell flat and it kind of soured me, even if it wasn’t actually their fault. That being said, I was excited to give them a chance to win me over again and they Capitol-ized on that opportunity big time. This is a solid, fun band that best plies their trade in rooms exactly like this one and that starts with Manny Neumann, phenom lighting director who alone merits the price of admission. True to his IG handle (@pigeonfunk) Jeremy Schon puts the shine on this high end funk machine while drummer Alex “Gator” Petropulos provides the horsepower and the glossy GQ polish (seek out his drum solo around 14:00 in Set Two). Ben Carrey brings the low end growl and Greg Ormont, rhythm guitarist and lead singer, is the dude that revs the gas while he’s still sitting in the driveway. No one has more fun on stage than Pigeon Greg, though far less gimmicky than I remember which plays very much in Pigeon’s favor musically. Always good to their homies, Pigeons would invite Lyle Brewer for a guest spot on “Poseidon”, who clarified his earlier statement that this is most definitely a stage on which he belongs.
Long story short, on a night in which New York City offered endless options and I literally could’ve been anywhere, I’m very happy with my choices. Ultimately, we vote with our dollars and our presence. I was there. Now I’m here.
32,085 steps (5.5 hours of music!)
