(Writer/Photos: Valentin Villaluz)

On Saturday April 27th Dopapod brought their 1 year hiatus to a triumphant end. The show took place in Port Chester’s prestigious Capitol Theatre.Playing to a crowd of about 1,600 smiling faces Eli Winderman (Keyboards/Organ/Vocals), Rob Compa (Guitar/Vocals), Chuck Jones (Bass), Neal “Fro” Evans (Drums), and Luke Stratton (Sound & Lights) delivered a powerful, dynamic performance that reminded fans of everything they’d been missing over the last year.

The show started with a 14+ minute rendition of “Vol. 03 #86” that gave excited fans an opportunity to sing along. Evolving into a “shred-funk” jam that segued into fan favorite “Nuggy Jawson”. Eli made masterful use of his synthesizer in “Mucho” entrancing the crowd in an ambient chillstep that was only interrupted by the choreographed clapping sections.With the crowd primed and ready to get down, Dopapod broke out into a 12+ minute heavy space funk “French Bowling” that evolved into a prog-rock “Braindead.”

(Photo: Valentin Villaluz)

Following a powerful 11+ minute “My Elephant vs Your Elephant” the band unleashed an old fan favorite “Trapper Keeper”. Extending past 16 minutes, the band used spontaneous improvisation to drive the energy of the room into a ethereal mist featuring Rob’s use of a glass slide, building to a peak and then dropping back into the progressive rock “Trapper Keeper” ending the first set. The band began their second set by wishing Luke Stratton a happy birthday (lighting designer and audio engineer). After a round of applause for the 5th member of the band, Dopapod debuted a newly recorded “Numbers Need Humans”.

The crowd roared in excitement at the intro of “Faba”. The fan favorite extended past 17 minutes breaking off into a darker bass driven jam that evolved into Dopapod’s signature “Space Funk”. Around 13 minutes in, Rob started to build a powerful peaking tension that released back into the “Faba” composition. After giving fans a moment to collect themselves, Dopapod broke out an energetic electro-rock rendition of “Onionhead”. Taking another opportunity to bring honor to their 5th member; Chuck announced Luke Stratton’s achievement designing lights for “Smashing Pumpkins”. Dopapod commemorated this achievement by surprising Luke with a debut cover performance of Smashing Pumpkins’ “Bullet with Butterfly wings” sung by Eli Winderman.

(Photo: Valentin Villaluz)

Commanding the full attention of listeners with a rocking ballad known as “Super Bowl” featuring heavy tension building to peaks that dropped into ominous organ reminiscent of Phantom of the Opera. “Roid Rage” showcased Neal “Fro” Evans stopping on a dime, then breaking back into a rhythmic frenzy that provided fans with a danceable groove. Keeping the heavier progressive rock energy with “Plaese Haalp” fans enjoyed a brain massage coming from Chucks bass cabinet paired with the tickle of Winderman’s synthesizer.

Listeners were transported to another world filled with smooth galactic synth sounds and reggae bass aptly named “Cloud World.” Chuck took another a moment to encourage round of applause for his and Rob’s parents who were attending the show. Afterward announcing they would debut that night, rather than the following, a second “New” song. Never Odd or Even was the title of Dopapod’s 2014 album but was not included on the album itself. Featuring vocals from both Eli and Rob, “Never Odd Or Even” showcases the bands ability to smooth the energy of the room with a calm relaxing melody. The band ended their second set with a powerhouse rendition of “Bubblebrain” that showcased the talents of each member.

(Photo: Valentin Villaluz)

With all the energy left in the room as the band walked off the stage it was hard to imagine the absence of an encore song. Dopapod harnessed all this leftover energy into what became the longest song of the night, digging deep into their catalog for “Freight Train Filled With Dynamite”. Running just over 17 minutes “Freight Train” can be considered the quintessential pinnacle of “old school” Dopapod jams. Long time followers of the band celebrated hearing this magnificent rendition of a favored composition. Dopapod auctioned off Chucks bass used in recording 2012 album Redivider, Chucks cowboy hat, an original painting, 3 framed posters, and their dust covered sign from burning man to raise funds for “Little Kids Rock” a non-profit providing free instruments and lessons to children. Click Here to learn more.

Setlist:

Set 1:
Intro, Vol. 03 #86, Nuggy Jawson, Mucho, French Bowling, Braindead, My Elephant vs. Your Elephant, Trapper Keeper
Set 2:
Numbers Need Humans [1], FABA, Onionhead, Bullet With Butterfly Wings [2], Super Bowl, Roid Rage, Plaese Haalp, Cloud World, Never Odd Or Even [1], Bubblebrain
Encore:
Freight Train, Filled With Dynamite
[1] debut
[2] The Smashing Pumpkins

Live show audio taped by Moricle. Click Here to listen on archive.

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