There’s something truly special about Biscuit runs. It could be the tightly-knit fanbase that attends nearly every show, ready to party night-after night; it could be the stellar venues the band carefully handpicks, or maybe the lasers, or maybe it’s just the jamtronica awesomeness that is The Disco Biscuits. Whatever it is, it’s nearly impossible to deny the spellbinding magic that defines these sacred concert runs.
And this past run in Port Chester, New York was hardly an exception. From Thursday to Saturday, Biscuits fans piled into hotel rooms and AirBnB’s around Port Chester to see our favorite jamtronica band in the same room that Jerry Garcia and The Grateful Dead made infamous 45 years ago – “The Original Rock Palace,” the one-and-only Capitol Theatre. You could practically taste the excitement as fans arrived at the legendary venue to see the up-and-coming electronic funk trio SunSquabi open up the three-night rock extravaganza. SunSquabi was the only opener of the weekend, and they served this role justice by dropping an impressive funky dance set loaded with grooves and live drops. Towards the end of their admirable set, the theatre began to fill up, exponentiating the already nervous energy permeating the room.
Taking the stage promptly at 9:30, every person in the room was more than ready for their fair serving of fresh Biscuits, and the band was ready to deliver. Starting off with a fan favorite sing-along, “Story Of The World,” Marc”Brownie” Brownstein (bass) started off the jam with a heavy, forward-moving bass line while Aron Magner (keys) grooved out on the synth. Jon “The Barber” Gutwillig (guitar), proudly standing at his typical stage left post, expanded on the rhythmic groove with well-refined guitar lines. After about 15 minutes of jamming, Brownie led the band into “Shem-Rah Boo,” which took off into another Brownie-led groove peppered with “Drunken Sailor” teases throughout, instigated by Magner on the synths. As Magner and Barber picked up the groove, the jam built into a high energy pulse-style section before going into the somewhat seldom-played “Gangster,” with Magner hopping on the talk box for a robot sounding “wish I was a gangster” vocal texture (you are a gangster, Aron). “Gangster” built up to a high-tension peak before taking off into another Brownie-led groove with Magner and Allen Aucoin (drums) adding melodic and percussive layers, while Barber shredded away on the guitar. This jam evolved into a comfortable, more laid-back groove while Magner laid down some noticeably crunchy synth sounds, before ending in a blissful Barber-driven jam that went right back into “Story” to close out the sequence. After a few quick breaths, the band dropped into the high-energy instrumental, “Strobelights and Martinis,” which seemed to be a fan-favorite for this run’s Biscuits Bingo. However, after perfectly nailing the composed sections and even beefing up some parts of the composition, the band came to a complete halt right where it seemed like a jam was about to commence. After another breath or two, the band took off into the more commonly performed “On Time,” which amounted to a nice little funky jam to conclude the first set.
Photo Credit: Scott Harris Photography
Kicking off the second set with the punk inspired “7-11,” Barber initially took control of the song, which eventually evolved into a subtle yet fast-paced jam with signature Biscuits interplay between Magner and Barber. As the jam slowed down, Allen and Barber moved into an offbeat “dub” style rhythm and welcomed to the stage the reggae singer/beatboxer Matisyahu for a freestyle segment. While undoubtably a unique part of the performance, many Biscuits fans were largely unimpressed by the sit-in. Sit-ins often remove the band from jamming as there are very few artists who can actually keep up with the nearly peerless level of improvisation the Biscuits have achieved. Additionally, Matisyahu is disliked by many for personal reasons that are largely removed from his music.
After the sit-in ended, the jam slowed down and grew more ambient and experimental before picking back up and launching into the historical, rarely-played “Floes.” “Floes” took off into a noticeably spacey jam where Allen held down a rhythm driven by the bass drum that the band playfully noodled over. Eventually picking up speed and energy the jam built tension before going back into the ending verse, which led into a more blissful segment that once again built an intensity that smoothly segued into the Barber song about ballin’ out, fittingly titled “Pilin’ it High.” “Pilin'” was stretched out with a nice ambient jam that gained speed and traction towards the middle before peaking and returning to finish the song. The band finished off the second set with fan favorite “House Dog Party Favor,” an appropriate choice given The Cap’s close proximity to Zoo York, with lyrics like “city boy is out of his mind again.” “House Dog” was jammed out with a bass-heavy, relatively short improv jam before returning back to the structure of the song. Barber really shined throughout this whole “House Dog” rendition with his vocals, his dexterous playing, and most of all his unmatched, hallmark tone. Encoring with the sing-along, “Kitchen Mitts,” The Disco Biscuits performed a solid end to a solid show.
Unfortunately, due to copyright issues with the “Drunken Sailor” teases in “Shem-Rah Boo,” Night 1 is no longer available on YouTube. At any rate, you can download the set here, and we’ve included the setlist below. In addition, we’re trying something new here. In red find the Sound-Fix highlight of the night, which, in our opinion, is a “must hear” segment of the show.
April 27, 2017 – The Capitol Theater – Port Chester, NY
Set 1: Story of the World > Shem-Rah Boo 1 > Gangster > Story of the World, Strobelights and Martinis, On Time
Set 2: 7-11 1 2 > Floes > Pilin’ It Higher 3, House Dog Party Favor
E: Kitchen Mitts
1 unfinished 2 w/ Matisyahu jam/freestyle 3 perfume version
Photo Credit (cover photo as well): Scott Harris Photography
Taking the stage just past 9:30 once again, night two (4/28/17) opened with some banter from Barber about the butchered Fyre Festival which was scheduled to take place the same weekend as the Biscuits run. Luckily for everyone at The Cap, we were seeing The Disco Biscuits at the legendary Rock Palace and not trapped on a deserted island littered with feral dogs and shady security.
Shortly after this characteristic Barber absurdity, The Disco Biscuits kicked off the night of music with some ambient stylings that slowly developed into a casual, low-key groove that developed into the dreamy “Air Song.” The subtle groove continued and cooled down a bit as the band switched into a different major-key composition that picked up and segued into the euphoric song, “The Champions.” “Champions” reached a satisfying funk jam with some strong bass lines and impressive rhythmic play by Magner that flawlessly matched Barber’s legendary tone. “Champions” led into another fan-favorite, “Spacebirdmatingcall” which was marked by a smooth Brownie-driven funk jam that built into a dirty groove with Barber’s distorted guitar riling up the crowd. “Spacebird” led into the middle and end of “Shem-Rah Boo,” effectively completing the version from the previous night. “Down To The Bottom” came out of “SRB,” which worked itself into another intense dance jam with Allen driving the pulse and Magner swirling his synth lines, before beautifully finishing “Spacebird” to end the completely segued set.
Photo Credit: Andrew Blackstein Photography
Once again starting off the next set with some absurd Barber banter about Thursday being a ladies’ night, the band opened up the set with “Save The Robots,” which gradually built into a classic, straightforward Biscuits jam mostly led by Brownie. The jam worked its way up to a blissful peak before dropping into the complexly composed ending section of “Jigsaw Earth,” effectively launching an inverted rendition of the song. Parts of the “Robots” jam were held through and used in “Jigsaw Earth.” Soon after “Jigsaw” slowed down while Magner added experimental sounds to the slow, dubbed style rhythm. As the slow off-beat tempo continued, Barber went through his rapping/singing of “Pimp Blue Rikkis” and drove a spacey dubbed jam before going into the beginning of “Jigsaw Earth,” which was again marked by particularly energetic vocals from Barber. Jigsaw took off into another jam, led by both Barber and Brownie before returning to “Save The Robots” to complete the palindrome. A bass heavy, experimental jam in the middle of “Robots” ended the sequence. Palindromes like this one are just another reason The Biscuits are unmatched in their setlist creativity. There’s really no other band on Earth that does anything like this. Next was another fan favorite “Highwire,” which was loaded with another classic Biscuits jam characterized by heavy bass lines from Brownie and some weird alien-sounding synths from Magner. Although short, this was another highlight of the night. “Highwire” segued into the end of “Down To The Bottom,” which began in the first set. Encoring with another fan favorite, “M.E.M.P.H.I.S.,” the Biscuits concluded Night 2 with another tight end to another tight show.
Here’s the setlist and YouTube video from 4/28/17 with Sound-Fix highlights in red.
April 28, 2017 – The Capitol Theater – Port Chester, NY
Set 1: Air Song > The Champions > Spacebirdmatingcall > Shem-Rah Boo 1 > Down To The Bottom > Spacebirdmatingcall
Set 2: Save The Robots > Jigsaw Earth 2 > Pimp Blue Rikki > Jigsaw Earth 2 > Save The Robots, Highwire > Down To The Bottom
E: M.E.M.P.H.I.S.
1 Completes 4/27 version2 Inverted
With bands that have been around for over 15 years and have incredibly passionate fans, there are sure to be critics amongst the masses. And the Biscuits fanbase, which is powered by the most passionate fans I’ve honestly ever witnessed, is certainly no exception. Following the first two nights (particularly night one) some fans took to facebook and various internet forums to complain about the shows being off or weak despite some smoking highlights. Obviously, each show is subjective to each fan, and each person will have something different to say, but maybe these internet criticisms were heard by the band, who in turn decided to completely turn up for Night 3 to perform one of the finest shows us Biscuits fans have seen/heard since Barber broke his hand in 2010. Or maybe it was just the magic of The Capitol Theatre, but who’s really to say? However you like to look at it, 4/29/17 certainly silenced cynical or jaded Biscuits fans and will, without doubt, be remembered as one of the finest shows of the era. It’s shows like Night 3 that make us think we really are in for “The Year of The Disco Biscuits.”
Opening up with a tight groove that quickly moved into the Barber-led funky masterpiece, “Papercut,” everyone in the room could almost immediately tell the night was about to be one for the books. “Papercut” stretched out for 15 minutes of tight Barber-driven Biscuits funk before the band dove into another funky tune, “Aceetobee.” “Aceetobee” took off into an experimental jam with Barber’s distorted guitar roaring and Magner’s synths making all kinds of mind-bending noises. As the jam progressed, the tempo solidified while Magner and Brownie led the band into the instrumental song, “Tempest.” The space-trance “Tempest” moved into another top-notch bliss style jam. “Tempest” went back into the end of “Aceetobee” with a slower-paced jam to end the first sequence of the night. It was during that moment when anyone who complained about the previous two shows started to eat their words. Next up was the sweet Brownie tune, “Confrontation,” which had one of those jams that could turn a retirement home into an ecstasy-fueled dance party. The wild funk dance jam was appropriately led by Brownie and textured by Magner with his clavinet-like synths. After several minutes of ecstatic dancing, the Biscuits moved into a more psychedelic, synthy jam that eventually progressed into a nailed yet unfinished “Rock Candy.” Another Brownie-led jam, “Rock Candy” blissfully worked its way back to the end of “Confrontation” to finish the first half of the night. A flaming hot, undeniable jam sequence to end a historic first set.
Photo Credit: Andrew Blackstein Photography
Opening up the second set with a subtle pulsing jam, everyone could immediately feel the energy restored in the room following a brief set break. As the jam progressed, the nature of the blissful pulsing became clear as Barber stepped up to the mic and got the whole crowd singing along to a fantastic rendition of “I-Man.” In a way that only the Biscuits can truly pull off, licks and riffs from the improv were brought into the verses of “I-Man.” The “I-Man” jam reached some classic, dirty Biscuit grooves with Magner playing some particularly buzzing synths. Moving into the intense instrumental “Cyclone,” aspects from the “I-Man” jam held through into the composed and jammed sections of the next song. As the band pulled together and finished “Cyclone,” they picked up the pace and moved into an inverted and extra-funky “Little Betty Boop.” Brownie’s dirty funk bass lines highlighted the jam, which gradually slowed down and went into the revamped “Loose Change.” The last time “Loose Change” was played was in 2010, so a tasty jam was fitting for the return of this ancient tune. Picking up the pace and eventually jamming back into the end of “I-Man” to end the completely segued set, the energy in the room was high, satisfied, and blown away by the second set. Major props have to be given to Allen for perfectly holding down the rhythm during an entirely segued set. Encoring with an extra-experimental and uniquely beat-heavy “Digital Buddha,” Night 3 of The Cap run was undeniably one for the books.
Here’s the setlist, YouTube video, and Sound-Fix highlights in red.
April 29, 2017 – The Capitol Theater – Port Chester, NY
Set 1: Papercut > Aceetobee > Tempest > Aceetobee, Confrontation > Rock Candy 1 > Confrontation
Set 2: I-Man > Cyclone > Little Betty Boop 2 > Loose Change > I-Man
E: Digital Buddha
1 unfinished 2 Inverted
Over the corse of the weekend, Brownie certainly earned his right as MVP of the run. Even in the low energy and spacier parts of the show, Brownie was constantly pushing it with his bass playing. It’s clearly evident Marc regularly practices, experiments with new sounds and effects, and because of this he didn’t miss a beat at The Cap. Leading the band through a majority of the jams, Brownie is a highly competent band leader that rarely falls into the monotonous rut that many players do of simply playing a bass line and letting the rest of the band take the lead. Marc’s skills and constant improvement could be attributed to his regular performances with Electron (read our review of Electron’s Highline Ballroom performance here) and his other side projects while not playing with the Biscuits. Check out the “Little Betty Boop” (inv) > “Loose Change” for some of the hottest bass playing from Brownie.
Overall this was a spellbinding run that has us all patiently awaiting our next Biscuits show. Whether that will be in Maine (tickets), at Summer Camp (passes), or not until Camp Bisco (tickets), after this run we’re all counting down the days. Not a single cover was played this run, and there are still a good handful of Biscuits originals yet to be played in 2017, so there’s a lot to look forward to this year in the world of The Disco Biscuits.
Finally, if you made it this far in our review (you can obviously tell at this point we put a great deal of thought and care into our coverage of the Biscuits), we have a special reward for you. Think about this as a pot of gold on the end of the rainbow. The Disco Biscuits rarely do contests, but we’ve been granted permission to giveaway a two-day pass to their upcoming run at the Maine State Pier in Portland, ME on Friday 5/26 and Sat 5/27. Just follow these easy steps to enter, and we’ll announce a winner on Tuesday, May 23rd.