Preview: Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Sassafraz / October 19 / The Union
By Ethan Forness, Contributor
The Union / Sunday, October 19, 2014
Every now and then a combination arises that sounds as if its individual components were meant to be together. Something about funk bands and the city of Athens just seem to fit hand in hand. Especially when those funk bands are Athens’ own funky Sassafraz and Baltimore, Maryland’s psychedelic Pigeons Playing Ping Pong.
Playing a hometown show holds a special place in any musician’s heart. Speaking to Sassafraz’s saxophone and keyboardist Jack Gould, he reminded ACRN just what kind of sentimentality is attached to Athens. “We love coming back to Athens. It’s a great town and it’s where it all began,” he said, which must be a great feeling considering Sassafraz hasn’t been able to play as much as they would like due to the member’s other jobs.
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong will be the headliner on Sunday, making a very rare appearance in Athens, all the way from Baltimore, Maryland on a stretch of 10 shows in 11 days. The band has no shortage of love for the city, however. “It’s been too long,” says the members of Pigeons, “We met some very cool and interesting people last time, so we’re definitely looking forward to hanging out and throwing the funk down again.”
Despite having never played together before, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong and Sassafraz share a certain level of excitement about sharing a stage. “We’re big fans of their funky, jazzy, afro-beat fusion,” said Pigeons Playing Ping Pong in regard to Sassafraz. “They’re great songwriters and high quality dudes.”
Jack Gould doesn’t shy away from the opportunity to play with Pigeons, either. “On Sunday we’ll be a man down so we’ll probably play a pretty loose set and have Pigeons up with us,” comments Gould. Two high-energy funk bands sharing the same stage in Athens just feeds back into the idea of combinations that are meant to happen.
Pigeons have been touring pretty heavily lately, including their current stretch. “We love touring and we’ve been all over the place these past few days,” says Pigeons. The group has had shows in New York, Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky. They make the most of their travels with shows as well as experiences, including an off-day hiking trip at Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, TN.
The Union is going to house an obscene, but not offensively so, amount of funk on Sunday. Pigeons Playing Ping Pong and Sassafraz is a can’t-miss opportunity.
