Pigeons Playing Ping Pong Mesmerized St. Louis Fans
— by Carrie Zukoski
The flock gathered from all around on this gloomy, damp November Friday night in St. Louis. Some came from a four-hour drive away, while others a mere four miles. They greeted others in line, chattering with anticipation for what they knew was to soon unfold, while waiting for the doors to open at The Sovereign.
Since 2009, the Baltimore-based quartet, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, has been bringing unbridled, joy-filled concerts to their flock city after city. Touring more and more, PPPP has anchored itself as a jam-worthy band that is best experienced live. Nearing the end of their fall 2025 tour, PPPP brought their swirling, funk jams of rhythmic grooving bass, guitar, and drums to die-hard fans. Not only did frontman Greg Ormont’s generous smile light up the room, the spectacular lighting ebbed, flowed, and exploded throughout their nearly 3-hour show that began with “Porcupine” and ended with a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Have a Cigar” with all members from the opening band, Dogs in a Pile, joining them, that was “absolutely bonkers” according to at least one fan.
The 2019-formed, Dogs in a Pile, who also hail from the East Coast, opened the night with an hour of their mixture of funk, jazz, rock and roll, psychedelia sounds, which helped set the tone for the night. From the easy-going “lite” funk of “Didn’t Ya Know” to the dreamy “Earthbound Man,” this quintet has quickly solidified themselves within the jam-band genre.
Sated with nearly four hours of energetic, grooving jams, the flock and the dog pound left the warm confines of The Sovereign to find themselves floating on misty air as they made their way to their next destination.
Find all photos: https://bit.ly/PPPP25cz
