Pigeon John reviewed
Pigeon John
And The Summertime Pool Party
(Quannum)
Pigeon John was the perfect opening act for Matisyahu last fall because he actually is what people initially expected the headliner to be: a joker.
The product of the same SoCal scene that brought us Black Eyed Peas and Pharcyde, PJ has invented his own flailing dance (“Do The Pigeon” — the new “Humpty Hump”?) and would just assume drop a fat beat as some change on the floor to peek up your girl’s skirt. But the reason to come back to Summertime Pool Party is his backing tracks. Pigeon John himself slows and puts a backbeat behind the Pixies’ “Hey” on “Money Back Guarantee” and slips a cinematic, post-Wu urbanism into “One For The . . .” while he and Brother Ali battle. A cast of guest producers do right by Pool Party as well, with Great Jason saving the otherwise unsalvagable “Do The Pigeon” with a backwards sample just as Buchman gets all Kanye on “Weight Of The World.”
— Kevin Keegan
Appearing: October 2nd at Abbey Pub in Chicago.
