On Feb. 6, the night before the Super Bowl, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong performed a livestreamed show from a crowdless Brooklyn Bowl in New York City. The show was streamed on the novel Relix Channel on Twitch. It was dubbed the ‘Super Bowl PPPPre-Party: Halftime Hall of Fame;’ the band performed covers of artists who had performed at the Super Bowl halftime show, in addition to beloved originals.
Ahead of the show itself, the band also took to The Relix Channel to stream a game of Madden between the members to stoke excitement for the livestream. Guitarist Jeremy Schon and guitarist/vocalist Greg Ormont took on drummer Alex Petropulos and bassit Ben Carrey.
For the show itself, the band performed wearing black and white striped shirts, evoking referees. The show kicked off (pun intended) with PPPP’s take on “Wide Receiver,” the official title of the Sunday Night Football theme song. During the first set, they performed “I Got You (I Feel Good)” by James Brown, who was featured during the Super Bowl XXXI halftime show (which occurred in 1997). Later, they performed tracks by Bruce Springsteen and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, each of whom have performed at the halftime show. Finally, to close the set, the band debuted a mashup dubbed “Signed, Sealed, Satisfaction,” blending Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” and The Rolling Stones “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” Wonder was featured during the Super Bowl XXXIII halftime show, while the Stones took the stage at Super Bowl XL.
Set two featured more halftime performer covers, including *NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye,” Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way” and “Sweet Emotion” and Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.” Pigeons even performed “Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd, who then played the song during his halftime show at Super Bowl LV the very next night. The encore began with “Walk Outside,” but rather than finishing the song, the band opted for one final halftime show cover, Prince’s “Purple Rain.”
Check out the opening section of the show below, as well as the full setlist!
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
Feb. 6, 2020
Brooklyn Bowl, New York, N.Y.
Set I: Wide Receiver (Sunday Night Football Theme)* > F.U. > I Got You (I Feel Food) [1], Overrun, Poseidon > Born To Run* [2] > Poseidon, Lightning > Give It Away [3] > Lightning, King Kong > Signed, Sealed, Satisfaction* [4] > King Kong
Set II: Sports Theme > Move Like That > Yo Soy Fiesta > Couldn’t We All > Bye Bye Bye* [5] > Blinding Lights* [6] > Couldn’t We All > The Liquid, Twitch*^, Treasure* [7], Feelin’ Fine, Ocean Flows > Walk This Way* [8] > Sweet Emotion [8] > Billie Jean [9] > Ocean Flows
Encore: Walk Outside# > Purple Rain* [10] > Fun In Funk
* First time played
[1] James Brown
[2] Bruce Springsteen
[3] Red Hot Chili Peppers
[4] Signed, Sealed, Delivered [Stevie Wonder] / (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction [The Rolling Stones]
[5] *NSYNC
[6] The Weeknd
^ Original debut
[7] Bruno Mars
[8] Aerosmith
[9] Michael Jackson
# Unfinished, w/ “wardrobe malfunction”
[10] Prince (ending only)
