Photo Credit: Dino Perrucci
Over the holiday weekend, The Capitol Theatre gave thanks to the jam community with a top-tier pair of co-headline performances from Eggy and Dogs In A Pile. The rising scene stars took the storied Port Chester, N.Y. stage on Friday, Nov. 19 and Saturday, Nov. 30, alternating the set order with Eggy closing night one and Dogs closing night two. After both shows, the bands joined forces for electrifying collaborative encores, which saw the jam torchbearers cover classics from predecessors like Jerry Garcia, Steely Dan and more.
On Friday, the celebration began with a staging from Asbury Park, N.J.’s signature jam quintet Dogs In A Pile, who warmed the stage and welcomed the audience with the first of four 90-minute sets in the series. The band began by tearing into “Look Johnny II,” then raced off to the spaced-out jam vehicle “Nicolette.” After eliciting cheers with its well-traveled cover of The Kinks’ “Apeman,” the group dashed on through “Today,” “Ugly Song” and “G Song” before sumoning holday memories of A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving with the Vince Guaraldi Trio’s “Linus and Lucy,” which has been a staple of Dogs’ repertoire since 2019. With a springy, plush “Lazy Susan,” DIAP returned to the fan favorite “Look Johnny” and closed out the set with “Bubble”
Eggy stepped up next, building on the opener’s momentum with a lush eight-track set. The New Haven, Conn. foursome commenced with the longtime standard “Here and Now,” then launched into “A Moment’s Notice” from their 2024 album Waiting Game and a medley of “Sweaters for Strawmen” and John Brown’s Body’s “Searchlight,” covered for the first time since Nov. 3, 2019. The thumping “12 Pounds of Pain” led the band into “Eggy Birthday Song,” dedicated to guitarist and vocalist Jake Brownstein, who celebrated a holiday of his own on Friday. Eggy went acoustic for its second-ever presentation of new original “Thorns,” then remained in an acoustic guitar-upright bass-cajon trio formation for the thrilling cover of Elton John’s “Thorns” that closed the second set.
After Eggy concluded the main portion of its performance, the band welcomed Dogs In A Pile back to the stage for a jam-forward encore. To wrap night one, the combined ensemble opened with an appropriate debut cover of Steely Dan’s “Black Friday,” then merged seamlessly into Garcia’s high-flying original “Bird Song,” weaving in and out of these two beloved tracks as they launched off into transcendent improvisation in bold new configurations. When the lights went down, the energy still ringing out from the first combo encore of the weekend solidified the run as a worthy successor to The Cap’s Friendsgiving tradition, which was formerly led by Twiddle.
“This two-night run is the culmination of what both bands have been working towards for a long time,” Dogs In A Pile keyboardist Jeremy Kaplan shared in a release. “We are lucky to share it with each other and even luckier to share it with the folks that frequent a first-class venue like The Capitol Theatre.”
“It’s not often that a place lives up to its hype, even more rare to exceed expectations. The Cap is one of those special places that words never quite do justice,” Eggy drummer Alex Bailey concurred. “We’ve had the opportunity to experience the magic as fans and have now gotten to share the stage in support of Twiddle, The Disco Biscuits, and Umphrey’s McGee. To be able to deliver a show as a headlining band (alongside our good friends, Dogs In A Pile, no less!) is an absolute dream come true. We can’t wait to celebrate this weekend with everyone.”
On Saturday, the bands rotated their placements and Eggy initiated the evening with a blazing “Shadow” and hard-stomping “Shallow Rivers,” the shapeshifting Waiting Game cut that has proven to be a go-to jam vehicle. After going big early, the quartet eased back down with “All Wheels Turnin’,” then came to another series highlight as they welcomed Melt’s guitarist Marlo Shankweiler and vocalist Veronica Stewart-Frommer for their own “Plant The Garden.” the longstanding collaborators remained onstage for the live debut of Eggy’s Waiting Game cut “So Long,” which features vocals from Stewart-Frommer and saw the Dogs’ Joe Babick cycle in on the drums. Eggy finally brought on a transcendent closing jam on “Woah There” and “Smile,” letting more friends file in from the wings and dance onstage to amplify the mood.
Dogs In A Pile returned with a set that balanced treasured essentials with new additions, proceeding from “Little Things” into “You Didn’t Hear It From Me” and “Bent Strange.” Following further originals, including the second-ever instance of “The Chop Shop,” the quintet dropped into its second cover of Rage Against The Machine’s “Bulls On Parade,” which presented an opportunity to flex their hard-rock capabilities. After closing with a medley of “Rinky Dink Rag” and “Say Something,” Dogs welcomed Eggy once more and ended the weekend of music with tributes to the Grateful Dead, dropping “One More Saturday Night” and “The Music Never Stopped.”
Get an inside look at the Friendsgiving festivities in the gallery below, courtesy of photographer Dino Perrucci. For more information on the bands, visit dogsinapileofficial.com and https://eggymusic.com.
Find setlists at setlist.fm.
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