On Dec. 31, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong played their first-ever arena gig at North Carolina’s Explore Asheville Arena, and celebrated by initiating their own “Electric Kool-Aid Asheville Test” with the help of the Here Come the Mummies horns, members of TAUK and the Merry Pranksters.

After an eventful set one – including the band’s live debut of Jimi Hendrix’s “Crosstown Traffic” – PPPP took their “Kool-Aid Acid Test” theme literally as brick walls were built and then smashed though by Kool-Aid men at the stroke of Midnight. (For good measure, the iconic spokesmen later threw Jell-O shots into the crowd.)

Not counting the appropriately trippy segue from “Auld Lang Syne” into “Puff The Magic Dragon,” the quartet’s first tunes of the new year were a trio of Kool & The Gang favorites featuring members of TAUK and Here Come the Mummies, namely, “Get Down On It,” “Jungle Boogie” and “Celebration.”

After a set-closing “Time to Ride,” the crowd witnessed an “on-stage Asheville Test graduation ceremony” featuring the Merry Pranksters themselves, and Pigeons Playing Ping Pong entered their third of three sets with and impressive “Walk Outside” sandwich that dipped into “Sir Real” as well as a mash-up of “All Along The Watchtower” and “Evil Woman.”

The final Hendrix tune of the night was the third-set “Fire” with Matt Jalbert and AC Carter of TAUK jumping onstage one last time.

Here Come The Mummies played their final notes on the set-closing “Dawn A New Day” and the first encore of “The Liquid.”

PPPP closed their “Electric Kool-Aid Asheville Test” solo with their own live favorite “Ocean Flows.”

For a full rundown of PPPP’s New Year’s Eve madness see below:

Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
Dec. 31, 2019
Explore Asheville Arena, Asheville, NC

Set I: High As Five, White Rabbit > Melting Lights > Avalanche > Crosstown Traffic^ > Avalanche, Fox And Toad, King Kong* > Purple Haze* > King Kong*, Poseidon > Eyes of World > Poseidon

Set II: Time^[1] > The Hop > F.U.*, Time To Ride[2] > Auld Lang Syne[3] > Puff The Magic Dragon[3] > Auld Lang Syne[3] > Get Down On It^*[4] > Jungle Boogie^*[4], Hollywood Swinging^*[5], Celebration^*[6] > Tomorrow Never Knows > Time To Ride

Set III: Walk Outside > Sir Real > All Along The Evil Woman^[7] > Walk Outside, Fire^[8], Horizon > Offshoot > Electric Slide Avenue^[9] > Offshoot, Dawn A New Day*

Enc: The Liquid*, Ocean Flows

Notes:
“The Electric Kool-Aid Asheville Test” NYE
^ First time played
* w/ Here Come the Mummies horns
[1] w/ AC (TAUK) on keys
[2] w/ Another Brick In The Wall tease, while costumed characters built brick walls on stage; NYE Countdown culminating with Kool-Aid Men breaking through the walls
[3] w/ “Furthur Bus” Chinese Dragon going through the crowd
[4] w/ TAUK (Kool & The Gang)
[5] w/ AC, Matt & Isaac (TAUK) (Kool & The Gang)
[6] w/ AC (TAUK) on keys (Kool & The Gang)
[7] All Along The Watchtower / Evil Woman mash-up
[8] w/ AC & Matt (TAUK), with “Rock and Roll” teases
[9] Electric Slide / Electric Avenue mash-up, with “Bawitdaba” teases
1st set break featured on-stage antics including pigeon skeleton dancers blowing up balloons, playing ping pong with an enormous balloon pulled over one’s head, eventually blown large enough to engulf their entire body until it popped, with comedic commentary over the sound system by Shane Nelson.
2nd set break featured an on-stage Asheville Test graduation ceremony with the Merry Pranksters.