Pigeons Playing Ping Pong Turns Seattle Into A High-Flying Funk Circus For Their Fall Tour Opener

Seattle has been spoiled with a rare stretch of crisp, golden weather lately, and when Pigeons Playing Ping Pong rolled into The Showbox on September 23rd to kick off their fall tour, the entire city felt ready for a party.

Step outside the historic Pike Street venue before doors open, and you’re immediately met with a vibrant Day of the Dead celebration in the street. Step inside, and you were surrounded by a flock of fans in full costumes, including an entire crew dressed head-to-toe as actual pigeons.

Because the Baltimore funk powerhouse doesn’t make it out to the Pacific Northwest nearly enough, so there was a lot of anticipation in the room. Early arrivals had plenty of space to move while rising Denver jam act Sqwerv tore through an hour-long opening set that immediately woke the crowd up.

By the time the lights dropped for Pigeons, every tier of The Showbox was packed tight. From the opening notes, the energy coming off the stage was relentless. Frontman “Scrambled Greg” Ormont is like a ringleader at a funk circus; He sings and plays guitar, sure, but he also treats the stage like a trampoline, bouncing across the monitors and launching himself completely airborne off the drum riser mid-jam while the lighting rig painted the room.

The biggest X-factor of the night was keyboardist Jon Brady, whose addition to the lineup completely supercharged their sound. Brady’s extra textures and synth layers let the band push their improvisational peaks into new territory all night long.

Diehards sang along to every word of fan-favorite originals like a massive “Henrietta,” and a pair of wild left-field covers blew the roof off the building. First, they flipped Seal’s 90s classic “Crazy” into a bouncy, high-octane funk workout. Then, deep in the second set, they launched into an upbeat, fast-paced arrangement of Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” that had the entire room losing its mind.

You can always judge a tour opener by what happens on the sidewalk after the house lights come up. One group of fans was so wired from the second set that they called an audible right there on the pavement, sending it down I-5 to Portland for the very next night.

If Night One at The Showbox is any indication, this run is not one to sleep on. Catch Pigeons Playing Ping Pong as they keep the tour rolling across the country this fall.