Dopapod crushed the second night of their late fall two night run at the recently renovated Ardmore Music Hall in Ardmore, Pa with a signature blend of balance, symmetry and musical exploration. The band was in rare form, and treated the crowd to beloved originals, new covers, and teases from multiple genres. Solar Circuit was on hand for support.
Ardmore Music Hall has been hosting concerts for over Forty years, and continues to keep the vibe fresh. The establishment has hosted the likes of Phish, Dave Matthews Band, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, under the name 23 East Cabaret. This storied venue updated the interior during the covid-19 pandemic, which included an expansion of the second floor balcony, providing more seating and better views of the stage. The venue also notably reduced the size of the first floor bar, which created more space. Ardmore Music Hall should be on every jam band fan's list of venues to visit.
Philly based jamtronica artist Solar Circuit started the festivities for the evening. Led by keyboardist Becca LeVan, this band had a very pleasing trance fusion sound that is reminiscent of Sound Tribe Sector 9. LeVan contributed her outstanding vocals for a spot on cover of "Hella Good" by No Doubt.
Dopapod's first set kicked off with "Trickery," and included some actual trickery as the music started before the band was on stage. Two fan favorites, "Plaese Haalp," from the album Megagem, and "Picture in Picture, " from Never Odd or Even, were up next. Guitarist Rob Compa took a moment to say hello to his niece Mae, who was dancing in the audience with her mom. The band delivered two tasty jam sandwiches, the first being "My Elephant vs Your Elephant" > "Hi Doggie." The set wrapped up with more of an open face sandwich, starting with set list staple "Trapper Keeper" > "Happy Colored Marbles," which was a first time played cover by Ween. Ween happened to be playing in Philadelphia at The Met on this same evening. After this heater, the band took a much deserved break.
The band returned with "Happy Colored Marbles" on their mind, and started the second set by continuing this song. This eventually transitioned into "Onionhead" and back into "Trapper Keeper," closing the open face jam sandwich from the first set. "Sleeping Giants" preceded the jam sequence of the night, "Present Ghosts" > "Bats in the Cave" > "Off The Cuff" > "Psycho Nature." "Bats in the Cave" included a "Ruff Ryder's Anthem" tease and "Hottentot" jam. The "Ruff Ryder's Anthem" was part of the band's recent four night Woodstock Halloween cover theme, and fans were enamored to see this again. The set closed out with "Landmines," while fans were on their feet intensely shouting for "one more set."
The band was far from done, and headed back to the stage with videographer/youtuber Dave Peck, also known as MKDevo. Peck contributed his vocals and stage presence for the flawlessly executed Red Hot Chili Pepper's cover, "Around the World." While the band could have stopped here, bassist Chuck Jones grabbed the mic and decided to sing one final song called "23 Forever." This included a "Squadlive" tease from fellow Berklee School of Music alumni Lettuce, and segued into "Enter Sandman" jam. Both "Enter Sandman" and "Around the World" were from the aforementioned Woodstock Halloween themed run, and showed this talented band's true versatility. Fans can only hope more of these songs will transition into future set lists.
Dopapod is back in action tonight at the Broadberry in Richmond, Va. They have a few dates left on the ledger in the Southeast, before an exciting New Years run through Texas. Hop on over to their website for more details.
Check out more photos from the show!
Set One
Trickery, Plaese Haalp, Picture In Picture ¹, My Elephant vs. Your Elephant > Hi Doggie, Trapper Keeper -> Happy Colored Marbles ²
Set Two
Happy Colored Marbles > Onionhead ³ > Trapper Keeper, Sleeping Giant, Present Ghosts > Bats in the Cave ⁴ > Off The Cuff ³ > Psycho Nature, Landmines
Encore
Around The World ⁵, 23 Forever ⁶ > Enter Sandman jam > 23 Forever
Notes
1. Included "Hi, Mae!!" from crowd for Rob's niece in audience
2. First time played, Ween cover
3. Unfinished
4. Ruff Ryders' Anthem (DMX) tease and Hottentot (John Scofield) jam, unfinished
5. RHCP cover, with Dave Peck (MKDevo) on vocals
6. Squadlive (Lettuce) tease
