Dogs In A Pile got some help from local favorite Mike Gantzer during the band’s weekend trip to Buffalo. The Aqueous guitarist joined the enterprising young New Jersey jam band for a take on Steely Dan classic “Green Earrings” on Saturday at Buffalo Iron Works.

Gantzer emerged midway through the second set, after Dogs In A Pile already chewed through most of the evening with staples “Look Johnny” and “Bent Strange”, newbie “Burning Daylight”, and a cover of The Kinks‘ “Apeman”. As Uncle Mike took the stage, the enthusiastic homegrown crowd took it upon themselves to start the “Let’s go Buffalo” chant.

Gantzer is no stranger to the work of Steely Dan, regularly performing “Peg” with Aqueous and even joining bandmates Dave Loss and Evan McPhaden for a Steely Dan tribute show at the same Buffalo venue in 2018. Keyboardist Jeremy Kaplan took vocals on the Royal Scam cut and even added Mike’s name to the lyrics (“Sorry Ganzter, I get hungry like a child”). While we don’t know for certain what famous jazz curmudgeon Donald Fagen might think of this cover, but for jam band enthusiasts, it was 16 minutes of deep improvisational bliss. Situated in the middle of the stage, Gantzer helmed some engaging back-and-forth with the guitarists as he pivoted from Jimmy Law to Brian Murray and took on all challengers.

“I dreamed of that happening for a long time,” Murray said as Gantzer left the stage following the cover. “Almost maybe ten years.”

Mike Gantzer has maintained a relatively low profile since Aqueous went on indefinite hiatus in the summer of 2023. Last March, he released the debut single for his new solo project GANTZER, “The Comeback Kids” featuring Zdenek Gubb (Twiddle) and Alex “Gator” Petropulos (Pigeons Playing Ping Pong). Though Gantzer told fans to stay tuned for more music and future collaborations, he has yet to follow up the standalone single.

In June of 2024, Gantzer temporarily joined Spafford as an interim replacement for guitarist Brian Moss as he recovered from injuries sustained in a serious car accident. Then last week, as internal conflicts within Spafford regarding the alleged departure of co-founding bassist Jordan Fairless bubbled to the surface, it was alleged that Fairless planned to start a band with Gantzer and reportedly asked Spafford drummer Nick Tkachyk and keyboardist Cory Schechtman to join. Neither Gantzer nor Fairless have made any official announcement about a future collaboration.

Watch Mike Gantzer join Dogs In A Pile for “Green Earrings” by Steely Dan, beginning around 2:18:15. Dogs In A Pile’s tour continues this week with stops in Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Find tickets and a full list of tour dates here.

Dogs In A Pile — Buffalo Iron Works — Buffalo, NY — 4/5/25 — Full Show

Setlist: Dogs In A Pile | Buffalo Iron Works | Buffalo, NY | 4/5/25

Set One: Didn’t You Know?, Look Johnny, Apeman[1], Hesitate, Burning Daylight, Earthbound Man, Bent Strange
Set Two: Go Set, Look Johnny II, Green Earrings[2], Chop Shop, Lazy Susan, Thomas Duncan, Pt. 3
Encore: Say Something

[1] The Kinks
[2] Steely Dan, with Mike Gantzer on guitar