Farewell Frends: Twiddle Plays Final Shows Before Hiatus

Twiddle’s Frendsgiving run at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York over the weekend marked the band’s final shows ahead of their indefinite hiatus, concluding nearly two decades of touring. The group’s three career-spanning performances took place Friday, November 24, Saturday, November 25 and Sunday, November 26 and saw support/guest spots from “frends” Kitchen Dwellers the first two nights.

Twiddle — guitarist Mihali, keyboardist Ryan Dempsey, bassist Zdenek Gubb and newest member drummer Adrian Tramontano — got Friday underway with the instrumental “Stroganoff” ahead of staples “Syncopated Healing” and “Daydream Farmer.” Kitchen Dwellers banjo player Torrin Daniels then joined the band for a bluegrassy jam on “Cabbage Face.” Twiddle wrapped the first set with “Brown Chicken Brown Cow.”

Set two launched with “Collective Pulse” ahead of a jazz-tinged jam on “Brick of Barley” featuring the keyboard stylings of frequent Twiddle collaborator Scott Hannay and a drum excursion from Tramontano. Mihali and Dempsey showed off their chemistry as the “Brick of Barley” jam unfolded.

The band then turned to their latest studio album, 2022’s Every Last Leaf, with a pair of songs: “The Devil” and “River Drift.” Next, Twiddle fit “Hedwig’s Theme” teases into favorite “Amydst the Myst” before a sequence of “Mushrooms of the Sea” and “Dr. Remidi’s Melodium” — featuring more drum explorations from Adrian and Zdenek’s signature “Gubb Dump” bass looping.

“Hattie’s Jam” and “When It Rains It Poors” came next. Forgoing an encore pause due to time constraints, all four members of Kitchen Dwellers — Daniels, mandolinist Shawn Swain, bassist Joe Funk and guitarist Max Davies — emerged to help Twiddle conclude night one with their cover-filled “Glycerine Medley,” a sequence of Bush’s “Glycerine,” Bob Marley’s “No Woman No Cry,” Bob Dylan/Old Crow Medicine Show’s “Wagon Wheel,” Phish’s “Farmhouse” and Matisyahu’s “One Day.”

Night two began with a set full of Twiddle classics including a centerpiece of “Every Soul” > “Mamunes The Faun” > “Every Soul.” Set two kicked off with “White Light” in which the band fit a cover of ALO’s “Barbeque.” KD’s Daniels and Swain then joined in for The Beatles’ “Rocky Racoon” before frequent Twiddle collaborator Mike Oehmen added saxophone to “Lost in the Cold.” The band wrapped the second set with “Slippin’ In The Kitchen.” Saturday’s encore saw another superjam once again featuring all four members of Kitchen Dwellers, Hannay and Oehmen for Talking Heads’ “Burning Down The House.”

Sunday marked Twiddle’s final show ahead of their hiatus and saw the band delivering three sets and also featuring fan photo memories projected on the walls of The Cap. Set one boasted several beloved songs including “Be There,” “Bronze Fingers,” “Fighting For” and “Five,” the latter not played since March.

“The Frends Theme,” from which the annual run draws its name, launched the second set highlighted by a “Latin Tang” with bass and drum explorations along with an inserted a cover of Vulfpeck’s bass opus “Dean Town” as well as Mihali performing from one of The Cap’s balconies. Set two concluded with the band toggling between “Apples” and Doinkinbonk!!!” with a cover of Primus’ “Too Many Puppies” thrown in for good measure.

Twiddle’s final full set was full of favorites including “Orlando’s,” “Jamflowman,” “Frankenfoote” and “Gatsby The Great.” After a rocking “The Box,” the set came to a close with “Beautiful.” The band returned for an encore with a fitting reprise of “When It Rains It Poors” with “Over The Rainbow” sandwiched in. The final song Twiddle played ahead of their indefinite hiatus was “Every Last Leaf II.”

November 24 Setlist

Set 1: Stroganoff, Syncopated Healing, Daydream Farmer, Cabbage Face [1], The Mission, Brown Chicken Brown Cow

Set 2: Collective Pulse, Brick of Barley [2], The Devil, River Drift, Amydst the Myst [3], Mushrooms of the Sea > Dr. Remidi’s Melodium [4], Hattie’s Jam > When It Rains It Poors

E: Glycerine Medley [5]

• [1] with Torrin Daniels (Kitchen Dwellers) on Banjo
• [2] with Scott Hannay on Keys
• [3] with Hedwig’s Theme teases
• [4] with Drums and Gubb Dump section
• [5] Bush; with Kitchen Dwellers; with “No Woman No Cry” (Bob Marley), “Wagon Wheel” (Old Crow Medicine Show), “Farmhouse” (Phish), and “One Day” (Matisyahu) teases; No stage break before encore

November 25 Setlist

Set 1: Nicodemus Portulay > Indigo Trigger, The Fantastic Tale of Ricky Snickle, Every Soul > Mamunes the Faun > Every Soul, Beethoven and Greene

Set 2: White Light > BBQ [1] > White Light, Rocky Raccoon [2], Subconscious Prelude [3], Polluted Beauty [4], Lost in the Cold [4], Slippin in the Kitchen

E: Burning Down The House [5]

• [1] ALO
• [2] The Beatles; with Torrin Daniels on Banjo, and Shawn Swain on Mandolin (Kitchen Dwellers)
• [3] with Torrin Daniels on Banjo
• [4] with Mike Oehmen on Saxophone
• [5] Talking Heads superjam; with Torrin Daniels on Banjo, Shawn Swain on Mandolin, Joe Funk (Kitchen Dwellers) on Upright Bass, Scott Hannay on Keys, and Mike Oehmen on Saxophone

November 26 Setlist

Set 1: Be There, Moments, Bronze Fingers, Fighting For, Hattibagen McRat, Five, Earth Mama

Set 2: Frends Theme, Latin Tang > Dean Town [1] > Latin Tang, Apples > Doinkinbonk!!! > Apples > Doinkinbonk!!! > Too Many Puppies [2] > Doinkinbonk!!!

Set 3: Orlando’s, Jamflowman [3] > Frankenfoote, Zazu’s Flight, Gatsby the Great > The Box, Beautiful

E: When it Rains it Poors [4] > Every Last Leaf II [5]

• [1] Vulfpeck; with Scott Hannay on Keys
• [2] Primus
• [3] with Layla tease
• [4] with Somewhere Over the Rainbow tease
• [5] with Scott Hannay on Keys