When Egg brought his Waiting Game Tour in Atlanta, Georgia West Terminal On Halloween night, the quartet marked the occasion with an evening of friendly competition dubbed “The Waiting Game Show.” The performance culled elements from a long list of board games, playground fights, and childhood competitions to engage the crowd and dictate the direction of the group’s improvisational activities in real time.

While guitarist/singer Jake Brownstein (dressed as Mr. Mint from Candyland), bassist/vocalist Mike Goodman (dressed as King Candy from Candyland), keyboardist/vocalist Dani Battat (dressed as Colonel Mustard from Clue) and drummer/singer Alex Bailey (disguised as Twister) played only eight songs total over the course of two sets and an encore, the setlist primarily serving as a rough framework for their gamified jam throughout the night.

Throughout the night, Sean, a crew member dressed as a referee, played a character named Mr. Silly Putty, the official proctor of The Waiting Game Show. As the performance progressed, Mr. Silly Putty would join the group on stage to help guide the direction of the music, either by drawing from a deck of personalized cards depicting classic childhood games, or by spinning a wheel labeled with various abstract phrases like “Riot Skank,” “Major Metal,” “Island Time” and “K-Hole.” Themes on the wheel come from both the band/crew and fans, making it an engaging and collaborative improv experience.

After opening the show with “One Stop Shop” and “A Moment’s Notice,” Eggy delved into the concept of the “game show” during a 25-minute “Smile” with a series of Simon Says directed by Battat (with musical and physical controls for the band and crowd) and a musical chairs segment during which the band members spun the instruments several times. An early game-night cover, The Who’s “Pinball Wizard,” closed out the first set with the help of a wheel-driven “Major Metal” jam.

The lengthy “Wayless” that opened the second set featured a Pin the Tail on the Donkey jam during which the band members improvised blindfolded for 15 minutes. The nearly 30-minute extrapolation of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s “Southern Cross” that followed was accompanied by a Bop It jam (during which Bailey guided the band through a series of commands from the popular portable game) and a “K-Segment Hole” caused by the spinning wheel in the center of the stage.

Related: On Tour with Eggy: Waiting Game (Feature Film)

During the closing performance of Eggy’s recent original, “Woah There,” the band opened the Waiting Game Show floodgates with a Staring Contest between Brownstein and Mr. Silly Putty (Brownstein won), part of the Silent Game between the band and the crowd (the band won), a Freeze Gopher competition (during which the band and crowd had to freeze when asked), and an on-stage Truth or Dare session (including a challenge completed for Bailey to play the drums with his feet). The meandering jam also touched on the footsteps of the Grateful Dead’s “China Cat Tournesol” and tested a “Zoo On Acid” sound pattern at the behest of the wheel.

For the show’s grand finale — a cover of “12 Pounds of Pain,” a bowling-focused Eggy classic — Battat challenged Mr. Silly Putty to a game of giant Jenga while Goodman, Bailey and Brownstein provided a suspenseful soundtrack. Battat emerged victorious, eventually changing the song’s lyrical refrain (“Nobody’s been better at this game”) to “No Putty’s been better at Jenga”.

Watch a full crowd-shot video of Eggy’s “The Waiting Game Show” Halloween performance in Atlanta below. Listen to a soundboard recording of the performance via nugs.net here. Scroll down to see the full, annotated setlist and a selection of photos from the evening.

After completing the Waiting Game Tour to support the band’s new album a few nights after the Halloween Showdown in Atlanta, Eggy will now look forward to his two-night headlining debut in Port Chester, NY. The Capitol Theater alongside Dogs in a pile November 29 and 30. For a complete list of Eggy’s upcoming tour dates, head to here.

Eggy – “The Waiting Game Show” Halloween – Atlanta, GA – Full Show – 10/31/24

(Video: Cosmic Hippopotamus)

Setlist (via lecarton.net): Egg | West Terminal | Atlanta, Georgia | 10/31/24
Define a: One-stop shop > A Moments Notice, Smile (1), Pinball Wizard (2)
Set two: Wayless (3), Southern Cross (4), Woah there (5)
Bis: 12 pounds of pain (6)

Footnotes:
(1) With introduction to Mr. Silly Putty on the Smile Swing groove; Simon Says and Musical Chairs were performed
(2) Beginning, cover of The Who; Major rotation of the metal wheel
(3) with pin, blindfold stuffing of tail; unfinished
(4) Coverage of Crosby, Stills and Nash; with K Hole Wheel Spin and Bop It Jam
(5) With Staring Contest, Silent Game, Freeze Gopher, Truth or Dare, Zoo On Acid Wheel Spin and China Cat Tournesol (Grateful Dead) teases
(6) with Jenga Jam, This Is Halloween and China Cat Tournesol teases; lyrics changed to “No Putty was better at Jenga”

Notes on “The Game Show on Hold”:
For their Halloween show, Eggy adopted a theme called “The Waiting Game Show”. Crew member Sean took on the role of a character named “Mr. Silly Putty”, dressed in a referee outfit. Throughout the evening, Mr. Silly Putty would join the band on stage to help decide the next childhood game or theme for each jam. The selection process involved either drawing from a deck of cards featuring classic childhood games or spinning a wheel with various keywords that guided the jam’s theme. These themes were collected by the band/crew and fans, creating an engaging collaborative experience that kept everyone guessing and involved. Jake’s costume was Mr. Mint from Candy Land, Mike’s was King Candy also from Candy Land, Dani’s was Colonel Mustard from Clue, and Alex was Twister Man. Color Green opened the show.

-Simon Says: Dani guided the band and crowd through a game of Simon Says, which included musical and physical demands.

-Musical chairs: the group changed instruments several times

-Pin The Tail: The group put on blindfolds and improvised for about 15 minutes

-Bop It: Alex guided the jam through a series of commands from the game “Bop It”

-Staring Contest: Jake and Silly Putty had a staring contest, Jake won.

-Silent game: The group played the silent game with the crowd, the group won.

-Freeze Gopher: Jake ordered the band and audience to stop moving when he said “Freeze Gopher” and to continue moving or playing instruments when he said “Unfreeze”.

-Truth or Dare: Different members played Truth or Dare with each other. Included a challenge for Alex to play the drums with his feet. It was interesting.

-Jenga Jam: Dani and Silly Putty played a full game of Jenga with Jake, Alex and Mike providing a suspenseful soundtrack to the game. Daniel won.