Pigeons Playing Ping Pong Welcome Tim Palmieri for “Eminence Front” in Ft. Lauderdale
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, photo by Dino Perrucci
Over the weekend, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong and Lotus joined forces for a three-show coheadline run in Florida, taking the stage for alternating sets at Sanford, Fla.’s Tuffy’s Bottle Shop, St. Petersburg, Fla.’s Jannus Live and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.’s Culture Room from March 6-8. To distinguish the special occasion, the Baltimore-based jam-funk quartet and longtime livetronica pioneers offered inventive setlists, and Pigeons amplified the evenings’ excitement with two sit-ins from Lotus’ Tim Palmieri.
On Friday night, March 6, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong kicked off the triple-header with “Porcupine,” drawn from their third studio album Pizazz. After “Fortress,” the group raced into a sprawling six-track medley, grounded in two sections of “Ocean Flows” and featuring a cover of The Police’s “Walking On The Moon” and their third treatment to date of the new original “Polaroid,” debuted in December during their Festival of Melting Lights holiday series at The Capitol Theatre. To close out the main portion of their performance, the quartet welcomed Palmieri to add lead guitar to a ripping cover of Blue Öyster Cult’s “Godzilla,” then returned for an encore of “Henrietta” and “Live It Up.”
After a night with no impromptu collaboration, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong began their third and final show in the series on Sunday night with “Go with It” another original that only recently entered their repertoire. From the in-your-face funk of the Pizazz cut “Somethin’ for Ya,” the band merged into a roaring rendition of “Feed the Fire,” the title track from their 2025 studio album. The fan-favorite singalong of “Water” landed at the mid-set and flowed into “My Own Way,” then other core cuts like “Offshoot” and Julia” built to a smashing set closer of “King Kong.” Pigeons began their encore with “Dawn of a New Day,” then capped off the co-headline run by hosting Palmieri on a hypnotic cover of The Who’s “Eminence Front.”
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong’s spring tour continues tonight with a stand at Birmingham, Ala.’s Workplay Theatre. Find tickets and more information at pigeonsplayingpingpong.com. Find the full setlists from Friday and Sunday at phantasytour.com.
