Twiddle returned to The Capitol Theatre on Saturday night for the second and final night of the band’s annual Frendsgiving run. After a Friday show featuring sit-ins from supporting act Keller Williams and surprise guest Brandon “Taz” Niederauer, fast-rising Connecticut jam quartet Eggy served as the “frends” du jour for the engagement’s second show.
Eggy has had a big year of growth in 2021, performing successively larger shows, winning new fans in scores, and debuting new material at a prolific rate. While the band has performed at the Cap’s adjoining bar, Garcia’s, on various occasions—including a Frendsgiving pre-show in 2019—Saturday’s opening set marked Eggy’s graduation to the main theater’s hallowed stage.
Never content to rest on their creative laurels, Eggy’s Jake Brownstein (guitar/vocals), Dani Battat (keyboards/vocals), Mike Goodman (bass/vocals), and Alex Bailey (drums/vocals) used their hour-long set at the Cap to continue expanding their sound and repertoire. In addition to starting off the set with the back-to-back debuts of two new originals featuring Brownstein on pedal steel (“Beaver Creek” and “Nearly Always Late”) and working in just their second-ever rendition of “Sweaters For Strawmen”, the foursome wrapped up the set with a thrilling, first-time-played cover of Big Thief‘s “Time Escaping”—the title track of a new album that came out just two weeks ago.
Eggy – “Beaver Creek” > “Nearly Always Late” > “One Stop Shop” [Pro-Shot] – 11/28/21
Eggy – “Time Escaping” (Big Thief) – Frendsgiving “ReCAP” Video – 11/27/21
Ahead of Twiddle’s headlining performance, manager Kevin Rondeau addressed the crowd about Frendsgiving‘s various charitable elements, which included partnering with the band’s White Light Foundation to donate $1 from every ticket sold to Meals on Main Street by Caritas and a successful food drive hosted at the shows to help feed Port Chester families in need.
That notion of community, of family, was apparent everywhere you looked inside the Cap on Saturday evening. Everyone seemed to have brought a new friend frend, a brother, a sister, a parent. More than just a chance to give thanks and give back, Frendsgiving once again allowed the roots of Twiddle’s community to grow deeper, for new branches to sprout.
Twiddle – “Blueberry Tumble” > “GooBerry Jelly” > “Stand By Me” (Ben E. King) > “GooBerry Jelly” > “Blueberry Tumble” [Pro-Shot] – 11/27/21
Late in Saturday’s second Twiddle set at the Capitol Theatre, guitarist/vocalist Mihali welcomed Eggy’s Jake Brownstein to the stage to lend some fiery licks to go-to improv vehicle “Latin Tang”. Scott Hannay then joined the fray on keys with Ryan Dempsey as Mihali dropped his guitar and unshackled his microphone. Brownstein remained onstage, as well, moving back over to his pedal steel guitar. Seizing the opportunity to make use of the added twang, Mihali led the augmented outfit through a debut cover of Elton John‘s “Tiny Dancer”, fans throughout the Cap holding each other closer as they sang along. “I’ve always wanted to do that,” Mihali gushed as the guests departed the stage.
Twiddle – 11/27/21 – Set Two
[Video: Beats & Streams]
With time for one more, Twiddle moved into a set-closing “Brown Chicken Brown Cow” imbued with a reprise of the “Zazu’s Flight” that had kicked off the run on Friday. A “Beethoven and Greene” encore sent fans home relaxed and dreaming, hearts glowing just a little bit more warmly than the frigid, late-November evening should have allowed.
Twiddle will wrap up 2021 with a New Year’s Eve performance at Worcester, MA’s The Palladium. For more information, head here.
Next up for Eggy is a special CSNY tribute show on 12/4 at Broad Brook Opera House in East Windsor, CT on Saturday, 12/4. The band will close out the year with a Phish late-night in NYC on 12/30 and a set opening for Aqueous in Buffalo on 12/31. For a full list of upcoming Eggy tour dates, head here.
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Setlist [via The Carton]: Eggy | The Capitol Theatre | Port Chester, NY | 11/27/21
Set 1: Beaver Creek[1] > Nearly Always Late[1] > One Stop Shop > Sweaters for Strawmen > Today and Tomorrow, Time Escaping[2]
Footnotes:
[1] Debut, Jake on pedal steel
[2] FTP, Big Thief cover
Show Notes: Supporting Twiddle
Setlist [via Phantasy Tour]: Twiddle | The Capitol Theatre | Port Chester, NY | 11/27/21
Set One: Blueberry Tumble > GooBerry Jelly > Blueberry Tumble > Hattie’s Jam > When It Rains It Pours, Daydream Farmer[1], Earned To Keep, Mildew Man, Stroganoff
Set 2: Complacent Race, Collective Pulse, The FRENDS Theme, Latin Tang, Tiny Dancer[2], Brown Chicken Brown Cow, Zazu’s Flight Reprise
Encore: Beethoven and Greene
[1] Find Your Cloud tease
[2] w/ Scott Hannay & Jake Brownstein (Eggy)