Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, a four-piece Baltimore-based jam-funk band formed in 2009 delivered a nearly two-and-a-half hour dance party Nov. 20 at the Majestic Theatre, unleashing endless waves of funky grooves to a crowd that couldn’t get enough.
Playing a fast-paced, dance-centric style of psychedelic jam music, the band’s energy-level was at full throttle nearly all night, turning a packed Majestic Theatre into a ball of bouncing energy.
Anchored by the core element of funk, PPPP peppered in a variety of genres throughout the night, including hard-rock, blues and even a hip-hop drum beat. Through it all, a layer of positive vibrancy engulfed the Majestic, carrying the listener along through a bevy of jams.
After a magnificent opening from Dizgo, a jamtronica band from Indiana, PPPP stumbled on stage with a mischievous look. Ormont addressed the crowd, expressing the band’s excitement to be back in Madison for the first time since 2017, and got right into it.
All it took was Ormont’s first few chords for the mood of the night to be set, as the crowd went into a simultaneous head-bob upon hearing the first sounds of “Bad For You.” After a long and groovy buildup, PPPP would suddenly etch back into Ormont’s isolated guitar riff before getting right back into their jam. Bolstered by bassists, particularly Ben Carrey’s repeating bassline, “Bad For You” was a well-executed opener.
PPPP’s next song was “Dawn A New Day,” a happy-go-lucky pop song that evoked visions of summer. Guitarist Jeremy Schon fixated on jumping between three-chords before the band pranced into a jam that would last into “Hell Yeah.”
Off of PPPP’s 2025 album “Feed The Fire,” “Hell Yeah” started slow before the melody quickly ramped up. With each member of the band delivering their own version of funkiness, drummer Alex Petropulos’ occasional outbursts were signals for the group to unlock a new threshold. They were promoted to keep moving up in pitch to an eventual climax.
PPPP kept the summer vibes going by abruptly transitioning into Caribbean-mode with “Yo Soy Fiesta,” a darting Latin song punctuated by a steel drum drumbeat.
The band then delivered a wrinkle that kept fans on their toes. In the midst of a cycling rendition of “Offshoot,” PPPP seamlessly segued into Daft Punk’s iconic, “One More Time,” before getting back into “Offshoot.”
With PPPP now in the meat of their show, their boundless joy was contagious. Ormont and Schon, who formed the band after dorm room jam sessions, wore smiles on their faces throughout the entire set. As one would expect out of a duo that has played over a thousand shows together, the two guitarists' chemistry was evident, and multiple times throughout the night the two locked eyes, connecting their two guitars into one cohesive groove-unit.
As Schon took the lead on a bounding guitar solo on “Whoopie,” he was backed up by Petropulos on the drums. The band repeatedly built toward a signature drumbeat from Petropulos, resetting and building back up each him the momentous peak hit
Next the band brought on Dizgo lead guitarist Andrew Pickel for an epic “Lightning.” Playing off a bouncy guitar reverb and boogying baseline, Pickel guided the band, scaling his way up and down his guitar towards an ecstatic finish.
Later on, PPPP brought out Dizgo keyboardist Jake Evett for “Sunny Day,” for the most loaded song of the night. The song started with a rock-and-roll riff before Evett dug into a techno sound that sent waves over his rollicking keys and Schon’s bluesy guitar runs. Eventually, the group crescendoed into the melody, with Ormont eerily singing "It's a sunny day, sunny day, and my life has gone astray” in a way that evoked Led Zeppelin.
Just a few minutes later that vision was fulfilled as Ormont belted out the lyrics to Zeppelin’s famous “Immigrant Song” in the midst of the concert’s closing song “Fun In Funk.” As he did so, he seemed to be letting off the steam that comes with hours of intense performance.
