On Saturday, November 25, the Taft Theater in Cincinnati was graced with an unforgettable and impactful Papadosio concert. The five-member psychedelic 'jamtronic' band delivered an impressive two-hour performance filled with non-stop music. The night began with Pittsburgh-based Chalk Dinosaur, followed by the highly energetic set of one of Bloomington's rapidly rising artists, Dizgo.
While the concert was part of a larger Papadosio tour in support of their newest album, "To Live a Making," the night was filled with songs spanning the band’s entire catalog, stretching back more than fifteen years. Papadosio, currently based in Asheville, North Carolina, was originally formed in Ohio. They always treat their Cincinnati shows as a bit of a homecoming, filled with rare bust-outs and special musical treats for their longtime fans.
Although they have strayed from the tradition recently, for years Papadosio would always return to Ohio for a Thanksgiving run. This year, their dedicated fanbase was thrilled to see the tradition reignited in a new, larger venue - the Taft Theater. This marks a significant milestone in the band's increasing influence in the music scene and their ticket-selling prowess. It was also a first for the band to play in such a large venue in Cincinnati, showcasing the growth of both their fanbase and their professionalism on stage.
Papadosio took the stage around 9 p.m. and, after an ambiguous electronic introduction, quickly dove into their first song of the night, “Everyone Is Cool,” from their new album. The happy melody and bouncing bass lines quickly spread a wave of smiles throughout the seats of the venue as the audience began to groove and wiggle along. The band was locked into each other's playing as they embarked on the first jam of the night. Taking advantage of the enormous stage at the Taft Theater, Papadosio’s visual director, Dustin Klein (VIDEOmeTRY), was projecting beautiful crisp lysergic visuals onto the nearly thirty-foot-tall screen behind the band. This, combined with 5 vertical LED screens behind each band member, created a visual element to the show that made the live experience notably more interesting.
As the first song began to wind down, the beginnings of a rare and highly coveted song began to emerge. “Ritual,” from the 2015 album "Extras in a Movie," is a seldom-heard gem and was the next song on the lineup. The extended dream-like introduction laid the foundation for a truly ethereal and emotionally charged second half of the song. Papadosio was only two songs into their set and tears could be seen flowing down the cheeks of passionate fans who were moved by the beautiful performance.
Keeping the dreamy vibes going, they transitioned seamlessly into “Dream Estate,” from their album "Night and Day." With colorful oil-spill visuals surrounding them, keyboardist Billy Brouse broke into a jazzy keyboard solo that pushed the song’s structure deep into unfamiliar territories before plunging the music heavily back into the familiar “Dream Estate” melody.
The band briefly stopped the music for the first time all night before moving right into another favorite from "Extras in a Movie" - “Glimpse of Light.” Singer and guitarist Anthony Thogmartin’s vocals shone bright during the song’s verses while Dustin Klein’s visuals took a break from the abstract psychedelic designs seen all night, replaced with video footage of people exploring nature. The five-piece carried the song along nicely until the energy erupted into a musical explosion as the song climaxed.
“Glimpse of Light” blended itself naturally into one of the oldest songs they played that night - “You and Yourself.” This song was used as a vehicle for exploration, as keyboard brothers Sam and Billy Brouse traded bouncy synthesized musical segments back and forth. With bassist Rob McConnell hammering out a thumpy bassline and drummer Mike Healy laying down intense trance-like drums, Thogmartin was able to provide subtle but tasteful guitar shredding among the musical chaos.
Without deviating from their "Observations" album, a palpable wave of enthusiasm could be felt as the opening notes of “Night Colors” began to emerge from the stage. For the next ten or so minutes, the Taft Theater was a nonstop dance party as the band delivered a passionate and spirited version of one of their most popular instrumental tracks to date.
After “Night Colors,” Thogmartin addressed the audience for the first time that evening, thanking them and sharing the band’s excitement about returning to Cincinnati and being able to play the Taft Theater.
Although the crowd was enjoying the nostalgic journey through Papadosio’s discography, they decided to shake things up and play the second new song of the night - “Fate.” The juxtaposition of “Fate” next to the two previous songs displayed the growth and musical progress that Papadosio has undergone in the nearly fourteen years between the releases of the albums "Observations" and "To Live a Making." One notable difference is the inclusion of more vocals by Sam Brouse, something that fans have heard more of in the band’s recent releases.
As their set progressed deep into the second half, another new song was up next - “Dare You.” Having been released ahead of the new album as a single, most of the crowd was already familiar with this song, but as many of their songs do, it took on a new life when played live. Taking the listener through a wide range of emotions, the entire experience was cathartic, to say the least. The song is very musically dynamic to begin with, but each band member added a bold and creative twist to the amorphous improvised portions. The playful lyrics called for a whimsical group singalong as the song climaxed into an emotional finish.
As “Dare You” concluded, one of Papadosio’s songs that only ever appears during live shows was up next. “Paradigm Shift,” which does not appear on any studio albums, started off slow, noodling around as if searching for the main song structure, before purposefully forming the basis for the song’s eventual buildup to an intense crescendo.
As the time neared 11 o’clock, many fans were excited as the band did not leave the stage as expected. Instead, they moved right along into their song “Shiitake,” from the 2020 album "Microdosio." The visualizer behind the band began displaying vibrant colorful mushroom graphics as the band managed to push their playing into an even higher tier than they had all night. Yet somehow, after “Shiitake,” they still weren’t finished.
“We’ve been doing this thing recently where we just sort of play as long as we possibly can,” Thogmartin stated as he addressed the crowd. It was obvious that the end of the show was nearing, and he wanted to make it clear what to expect. “Screw an encore, let’s just keep jamming until we can’t anymore.” The eruption of cheers from the theater indicated that the crowd supported this decision.
Diving deep into their catalog to their 2007 debut album, "Magreenery," the band treated the crowd to one final jaw-dropping song - “Polygons.” Mike Healy’s drums nearly brought down the theater in the first half of “Polygons,” and Sam Brouse stood out during the latter half as he led a jazzy yet honky-tonk sounding jam that left the venue glowing with enthusiasm.
Setlist:
Everyone Is Cool >
Ritual >
Dream Estate
Glimpse of Light
You and Yourself
Night Colors
Fate
Dare You
Paradigm Shift
Shiitake
Polygons
