Halloween’s always a good time for a band to don a musical costume, and the Disco Biscuits knew their fans expected more than just a holiday untzfest for the highly anticipated show at The Orpheum in Boston. So the band complied and busted out the first Jamilia in four years and only the eighth-ever performance of guitarist Jon Gutwillig’s rock opera, Hot Air Balloon. The villagers rejoiced.

The Biscuits’ career resembles a rock opera in itself, and the band’s most rabid and casual fans alike are very much enjoying this third act, with the part of former drummer Sam Altman being played admirably by Allen Aucoin over the past two years. Reports from the Biscuits’ shows have been more positive than at any time in its full history, and Halloween at the Orpheum was certainly no exception.

Our friend and oft-collaborator Nathan Ingraham took in the evening’s festivities from the second row of the venue, and he gladly sent over some photos that captured the scene as well as he could given the enveloping darkness of it all. His gallery of 13 unlucky shots follows after the jump…

Set I: A Night On Bald Mountain* > Down To The Bottom, Jamillia, The Overture, Once The Fiddler Paid, The Very Moon > Voices Insane

Set II: Moonlight Sonata, Eulogy, Bazaar Escape > Mulberry’s Dream, Above The Waves > A Night On Bald Mountain > Above The Waves, Hot Air Balloon

Encore: Toccata and Fugue**, Therapy

*1st time played (Modest Mussorgsky); from Walt Disney’s “Fantasia”
**1st time played (Bach); from Walt Disney’s “Fantasia”

Barber, the man behind the rock opera, lookin’ sharp:

One of the all-around good guys, Marc Brownstein, bathed in some weird light:

Allen plugging away behind the kit — Nate passed along this note about the John Arne Riise lookalike: “As someone who saw their first Allen-era Bisco show, I found him VERY impressive. Him and brownie really drive that fucking band.”

Aron Magner behind his many many keyboards:

This photo below’s marked Udderball, and while I know what that means, I actually have no clue what that means here:

Nate’s a simple man with a fondness for simple pleasures, so it wasn’t a shock that he summed up the crowd’s creativity like this: “I think out of all the crazy costumes, my favorite was pretty simple…a couple dressed up as breakfast: bacon (guy) and eggs (girl).”

Our friend The O-Trane sent us this message: “As someone who likes the rock-era Biscuits, the Hot Air Balloon tunes are all right up my alley. I thought it was extremely well executed and a great performance.”

Rockin’ and untzin’ out on the balcony:

I’m out of captions…let’s just roll tape:

So, anyone hit this show up? Opinions? Stories? Good costumes? Kids spun? Drop us a line in the comments and let us know what you’re thinkin’ today…

• CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD SET I OF THE SHOW
• CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD SET II OF THE SHOW