Acoustic majesty

Rocking out with Pigeon Park

By Sterling Hillman, Contributor

“Hard-hitting, booze-driven rock.” Those were the words lead singer Nick Weber used to describe the sound of Pigeon Park. After hearing them perform at The Roxy during the Toddcast Podcast’s Cheap Thrills Volume 3, I couldn’t agree more. It was a special night for the band, as it was the release party for their album Stripes.

Pigeon Park won the FOX Seeds award back in 2013, which truly launched the band into the music industry.

Pigeon Park’s performance was very unique, since it was an all acoustic special. Acoustic is a very different direction for the band, softer and smoother than their usual sound. Gnarly guitar riffs filled the venue and sent chills down the audience’s collective spines.

It was a treat hearing Pigeon Park belt out acoustic versions of their most popular songs. The sound of the band that night was completely different than anything they’ve published online or on CD. The song “High to Get By” was a crowd favourite. The band was even selling rolling papers to go along with it.

In between songs, Internet podcaster and former CFOX radio host Todd Hancock took questions from the crowd, and asked some of his own. Much juicy gossip was discussed during the question period, including a story about Weber’s first kiss.

Pigeon Park was bold enough to cover one of the greatest rock ’n roll bands of all time, Led Zeppelin. “Going to California” was their song of choice, dedicated to a close friend of the band who had recently passed away. The audience was blown away by the cover. Like Led Zeppelin said, “You gotta risk it to get the biscuit.” Pigeon Park most certainly got the “biscuit,” considering the pressure of covering such an iconic song and the huge applause from the audience aferward.

Rock ’n Roll is still alive in the 21st century, and Pigeon Park is a testament to that. Although seeing the band perform live is undoubtedly better than listening to recordings, Pigeon Park is definitely worth checking out online if seeing them live is not in your future.