reCAP :: The Disco Biscuits w/ theNEWDEAL :: March 25 + 26
For anyone who follows the Disco Biscuits, it was generally agreed that their fist ever shows at The Capitol Theatre would be of legendary status. These shows were a long time coming, as the band has a long history with owner and friend Pete Shapiro. The band played the final shows at Shapiro’s Wetlands many moons ago in 2001, in which they sang a reworked “Helicopters” to say “What a venue, what a show!”
These words were echoing in my head all week before and after the shows. As the show on Friday got going it was really exciting just to walk into the venue during the New Deal’s opening set, and run into so many new and old friends from all over the country. The band opened with a solid Zappa Cover of “Pygmy Twylyte” to get things going ,the highly anticipated show was off to a running start. Next they segued into “Spraypaint” which got the crowd singing and dancing. From there came “Rainbow Song” in which Marc sang “Is there a pot of gold at the end of this sweet rainbow?” and fans definitely were feeling lucky to be apart of it all. This happy, lucky feeling was continued into the next song “Spectacle” where Jon sang “Isn’t life just a spectacle? One hand short of a miracle!” The next song “Helicopters” is probably their most well known song, and one of their most played, but it did not disappoint. The jam was something out of an evil techno party, and the crowd was reeling with excitement and bouncing in pure bliss. This was left unfinished as they ended “Spraypaint” to finish an incredible first set.
Set two got underway with a huge “Mindless Dribble” where the run really started to feel like it was going to live up to the hype. I heard “Run Like Hell” teases here as they transitioned into another classic song “Crystal ball” to end the opening segment. They started back up with a song often played as a short encore, “Highwire” which this time was jammed into throwback jam “Bad Mama Jamma” that was seamlessly mashed up with the ending of “Mindless Dribble.” This back and forth left fans wondering “What could happen next?” The “Dribble” jam session went onto include what sounded to me like “Tricycle,” “Bombs,” and “Run Like Hell” teasers. During the smooth electronic piece "Orch Theme," drummer Allen Aucoin's sonic whirlwind of sound was so superhuman, it's no wonder they call him the robot.
the set ended with the “Highwire” ending which had everyone singing along. The band came out to encore with another fun sing-a-long in “Frog Legs” to end a rock solid first night.
Half the fun of going on a Biscuits tour is partying with new and old friends at the surrounding hotels, and often the sleepless hours leading up to the next nights show. Lots of laughing to the point of tears, and eager anticipation for the next night ensued. Anyone who follows the band knows that each night of the run always gets better, so I knew that night two was going to be the bee’s knees no matter what.
As the band took the stage it got started with Brownstein’s slap bass in a “Shem Ra Boo” which was faked out into the beginning of a song, that I personally had been hoping to see: “Bernstein and Chassnoff” which hadn’t been performed in over a year. The jamming started out a little flat early on, but really picked up steam as the night went on. Next the Biscuits went into the often teased, but seldom played “Bombs” which sounded like a remix or “Perfume” version with the singing slightly off beat. The lyrics to the song were definitely relevant to the night, “bouncing like super balls off the wall, cuz tonight we can’t do anything wrong!” From here came my favorite part of the run, as they went into a massive inverted “Shelby Rose” and jammed it into an inverted “And the Ladies Were the Rest of the Night” two fan favorites. For those of you who don’t know, “inverted” is a unique trait of the Disco Biscuits in which the ending of the song is played before the beginning. The crowd was in pure bliss for these songs, and I think everyone can agree the band was firing on all cylinders living up to the high expectations set for them. The first set ended with “Bernstein and Chass” allowing fans to catch their breath before the final set. The combination of lights, lasers, and projectors was really incredible all weekend to the point of being overwhelming for some, but gave the show the atmosphere it needed. The last set got underway with a beautiful version of “Hope” which had fans choked up with happiness before segueing into a big time favorite of mine, an inverted “Above the Waves.” This track came off the band’s “Hot Air Balloon” opera which was written by guitarist Jon Gutwillig many years ago. “Above the Waves” was segued into another Biscuits classic “Mr. Don” and then into “LCD Sound System’s” major track, “Home.” This was another moment when the lyrics really clicked, and everyone felt the love in the air as Jon sang, “Look around you, you’re surrounded and it won’t get any better.” Moments like this is why we Bisco, there’s nothing better than being surrounded by all your friends seeing your favorite band crush it all weekend long. From there they jammed into a sexy “Spacebird” tease, which eventually led to the ending of the previously unfinished “Helicopters” from the night before, ending the set strongly. The ovation from the crowd was incredibly loud, and everyone was feeling very satisfied.
One of the best things about following the band is the involvement of the fans in deciding what should be played during the sets. Bassist Marc is always open to suggestions on social media, and otherwise on what to play. During the week leading up to the show, A Tribe Called Quest rapper, Phife Dawg passed away, and it was suggested that the band should play “Caves of the East” with a sample of the late rapper. So in true Biscuits fashion, the calls were answered and the fun tribute went down to the joy of many fans. From “Caves” they entered a high energy jam which was concluded with the “Mr. Don” ending, and the run was over.
There were cries of joy and smiles everywhere to be seen, and the run had been concluded. The band continues to play at an extremely high level, and fans look forward to the next two runs in Atlanta, GA and Colorado.
