Despite the lingering reputation for being a live techno band with subpar vocals, the Biscuits should be more appropriately titled as the most progressive rock band in the scene today. They transcend twenty minute trance jams that whip crowds into a frenzy, while their unique style of edgy rock is raw, uncut and uncensored. Actually, the word jam isn’t even a fair assessment. Everyone jams, and every band segues songs, which are usually pre-scripted with arrows on a written sheet, but the Biscuits are redefining what jamming and segues mean. Rather than slowly creeping into a recognizable chord change until everyone in the band is onboard, somehow they not only drop into a song at the most unpredictable place, but it often isn’t even the intro to the new song, but the middle, or even the end, or it’s backwards, inverted or dyslexic, or whatever the hell you want to call it. The changes and the inventions are so indepth that unless you are a serious Bisco-statistician, just leave your setlist pen at home, and enjoy the ride.
As the list of talented touring bands increases exponentially each year, songwriting is becoming more and more important as a demonstration of technical skill over mere noodle ability. This band is thoroughly accomplished in the writing department. Where most bands have an epic or two they play each night to fill a second set, the Disco Biscuits have about twenty, and each one more complex than the next. The crowd has favorites, but the songs go through such a metamorphosis each tour that any piece can be a new set maker. In typical fashion, the first set was off and running from the start with "Ladies," but things really heated up with the "Home Again" into "7-11," the latter featuring a dub-style breakdown that got real down and deep. The new Marc Brownstein composition "42" is a powerhouse already, and builds into a monstrous climax that was a perfect fit for a set closer.
Guitarist Jon Gutwillig tore through the set two opener "Confrontation." As a lead guitarist of a band which is predominantly known for techno-laced jams, he is one of the best kept secrets in rock. Not only can he work a standard placed solo as he did here, but he constantly adds fuel to the fire by layering himself on top without steering the band out of it’s highly precise repetition. To say they segued through the set is an understatement. The transitions are seemless, and songs such as "Digital Buddha" and "The Very Moon" intersected and crossed paths with each other and more. Built on the rhythm section of Brownstein and drummer Sam Altman, the Biscuits were a machine working feverously for the entire set aside from just one brief band huddle up midway through.
As the sweat poured from everyone in the building, they retook the stage for the encore. If you were on your last legs, and hoping for a three minute "Liberty" so you could go grab a Gatorade, you were in rough shape. This encore turned into what could have been called a third set. Four songs intertwined, and concluding where we began, and we were all sent "Home Again."
The Disco Biscuits are releasing the first three installments of their live CD Series entitled TranceFusionRadio this Spring. See DiscoBiscuits.com for more information.
Photos courtesy of Kevin McGrath.
