Seminal New York jamband the Ominous Seapods reunited for a performance at Troy, NYs Revolution Hall on Saturday to celebrate the 40th birthday of longtime Seapods bassist/vocalist Tom Pirozzi. The show was organized by the bassist himself and also featured performances by Raisinhead, the Attack Theatre Orchestra and former God Street Wine guitarist/vocalist Lo Faber, all of whom Pirozzi has played with over the years.

The night opened with a set by Raisinhead that featured Ominous Seapods guitarist Todd Pasternack. Pirozzi joined the band for several songs throughout their set, including a cover of the Seapods’ ‘Good to Be Alive for a Change’ that also found area-resident, and moe. drummer, Vinnie Amico taking over behind the kit. The set also included a version of God Street Wine’s ‘Driving West’ which boasted an appearance by Lo Faber and a cover of James Brown’s ‘Sex Machine’ that featured members of the Albany-based band Good For the Soul (Pirozzis most recent project).
Soon after, Raisinhead’s set morphed into a short performance by the Attack Theatre Orchestra, which is lead by cellist Dave Eggar. Over the years Eggar has toured with a number of influential acts, including The Who, Ray LaMontagne and Coldplay. Following a short intermission, Lo Faber hosted a special friends set that drew in Pirozzi, Pasternack, Eggar, Seapods’ drummer Ted Marotta and al. & the Transamericans keyboardist Kirk Juhas. Fabers set revolved around a number of God Street Wine favorites, including the set opening ‘Hellfire,’ ‘Goodnight Gretchen,’ ‘Nightingale,’ and the set closing ‘Get On the Train’ (as well as a cover of Neil Young’s ‘After the Gold Rush).

The Ominous Seapods took the stage shortly after midnight to a packed house and, following an introduction by longtime Albany promoter Greg Bell, immediately launched into a cover of Kingfish’s ‘Jump For Joy (a longtime staple in the Seapods’ repertoire). Early in their set, Pasternack and drummer Chad Ploss left the stage so that the groups ‘core lineup’ could run through ‘That’s How They Got Along. Shortly after, Amico returned to play drums on ‘Waiting 4 Da Bomb 2 Drop,’ which eventually segued into the Seapods’ classic ‘The Pull From Adirondack Blue. Amico appeared again a couple of tunes later for a lengthy version of ‘Bong Hits and Porn’ that featured Dave Eggar on cello.

After one long set, that lasted almost two and a half hours, the band returned to stage for a four song encore, which included a Faber-bolstered version of the Pirozzi original ‘Branch’s House’ and ‘Jet Smooth Ride,’ which saw Raisinhead percussionist Dave Macejka joining the group on congas.

The entire event was recorded and filmed. Look for updates on a possible release through the Ominous Seapods official MySpace page.