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The Disco Biscuits Perform Post Phish in Gotham Nearly 13 Years to the Day

By ALEXANDER RAUBICHECK

To many live music enthusiasts, seeing one’s favorite band perform on the world’s biggest stage during the holiday season is beyond a treat. For a select core of jam band aficionados, however, specifically those (author included) who are most partial to two acts in particular, December 28, 2011 would prove to be a magical evening.

Flashback: December 29, 1998

The Disco Biscuits, a four piece electronic rock band from Philadelphia, who started out chiefly influenced by Phish‘s complex instrumental compositions and harmonization, burst onto the scene in the late 1990s with the group’s unique ‘Trancefusion’ sound.

A hybrid blend of traditional rock n’ roll values such as the hammond B3 organ and piano accompanying a bluesy, electric guitar played over pulsating, electronic dance rhythms set the Disco Biscuits apart from other jam band counterparts of the era.  Others began to take notice.

It was the end of 1998 and the quartet was booked to play an after show at the storied Wetlands Preserve for Phish’s performance at Madison Square Garden, on the evening of December 29th.  In a sense, the young, University of Pennsylvania based group had been handed its golden ticket.

By performing their cutting edge sound, in the early hours of the morning post Phish, in a time where the listening landscape was just beginning to tip up from the seemingly unbreakable roots of rock n’ roll (the post 1980s’ reclaiming of rock music, if you will), towards a new and unchartered genre – electronica – the Disco Biscuits found their most desired mold.  And they delivered a superb and meaningful performance.

Displaying the band’s diverse talents, the setlist included jazzy originals such as “Pat & Dex” and “Smoothie King.”  Additionally, the first set featured a Prince fake out – “1999”- promptly segueing into a swirling, psychedelic and interpretative journey of Pink Floyd’s “Run Like Hell,” a staple in the group’s repertoire throughout its career.  The Beatles’ “Norwegian Wood” also made an appearance.

Moreover, this concert is best known for the band’s debut of “Above The Waves,” guitarist Jon Gutwillig’s neo-classical masterpiece and one of the pinnacle tracks from the Hot Air Balloon rock opera, arguably the Biscuits’ most critically acclaimed material.  Beneath the aura of this inaugural performance, however, lies the true gem of this show: the improvisation following the composed verses of “Trooper McCue,” a rich and beautiful soundscape exemplifying the musical wonders of a young act during one of its finest hours.

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These precious moments, though thankfully captured on tape, would not repeat themselves in the years to follow.  After several near break ups and hiatuses, both The Disco Biscuits and Phish endured their respective share of hardships in the first half of the last decade.  Even the Wetlands, a club steeped in New York’s musical history over the preceding years, closed soon thereafter.

And by the end of summer 2004, Phish had officially hung up its skates, while the Biscuits’ original drummer, Sam Altman, soon after announced that he would be leaving the band the following year to pursue a career in medicine.

The Disco Biscuits would find a new drummer in the fall of 2005 – the talented Allen Aucoin won a “drum-off”contest show at the Borgata Casino in Atlantic City that November.  By 2006 they had resumed a relatively busy national touring schedule, and fittingly, the band began to regain a steady fan base in the new-look, Phish-less jam band scene during 2007-2008, which was becoming increasingly more electronic in nature.

Then, Phish returned in the spring of 2009, and has since remained a steady touring force.  However, it wasn’t until this past December that both groups had once again been billed to play in the same city, on the same night – one after another.

The Biscuits had scheduled three nights at the Best Buy Theater in Times Square, and upon Phish’s announcement of its four night New Year’s Eve run at Madison Square Garden, the last and first shows of each run (respectively), intersected, in an utmost convenient fashion.  The Disco Biscuits would play after Phish, just as they did at the Wetlands  – one day before the thirteenth anniversary of this fantastically rare happening – and a musical dream would become reality.

December 28, 2011

Hoards of people poured up, out of the escalators from beneath the archaic Pennsylvania Station below, as thousands of us ascended up into Madison Square Garden, a packed bill of music in store.

Though this unique scenario was embarking on its own course, the marvel that is Phish at this arena superseded thoughts of the night’s second show, and the progressive rock giants delivered a powerful opening night that included more (and unique) venturing outside of the box than had been expected for a night one.

This journey began with a fantastic experimental jam following The Talking Heads’ “Cities,” and lasted all the way through a powerhouse of an encore that featured the always welcome “Tube,” followed by a rare gem of a bluegrass cover, the University of Tennessee’s alma mater, “Rocky Top.”  “Tweezer (reprise)” capped the show in standard yet satisfying fashion, causing a roar to arise from the Garden floor.

Upon exiting the venue’s Seventh Avenue side, a group of tightly knit friends was thrusted into a sea of people going every which way, the prototypical scene after every Phish performance.

We trudged our way through the oncoming crowds, and as they began to thin, the extreme chill of an early winter’s blast passed down our spines, our shivering bodies huddled together on the west side of Fashion Avenue, en route to the evening’s second, special event.

Blue, silver and red blinked overhead upon the approach toTimes Square.  We marched towards our destination: submerged below the sea of tourists, in a former cineplex, we had soon arrived.

Assuming our respective positions throughout the venue for set one, The Disco Biscuits purposefully took the stage, and with the opening notes of Aron Magner’s piano introduction of the beautiful, “The Very Moon,” a classical tone paved the way for one of the most highly anticipated performances in the group’s career.

One of the Biscuits’ more specialized musical functions is executing the segue (transition) from song A to song B.  While the “funk” section of the night’s opening songbegan to steady, a distinct, industrial vibe began to emerge from Magner’s rig, ushering the quartet into their first unknown musical patch of the show.

Bassist Marc Brownstein’s two part, nine note ascending line then nearly inserted itself into the audible landscape, leading the band into the popular new jam vehicle, “Bombs.”  Unlike other versions, Gutwillig’s rhythm guitar work before the song’s beginning was extremely reminiscent of a synthesizer lead, a slick interchangeability between the group’s two extraordinarily gifted lead musicians.

A very well executed first set was concluded with the utmost rare gem, “My Lady Survives,” the composed ending to the better known, but still very scarce, “Haleakala Crater.”  Gutwillig’s joyful and romantic composition stylistically ended act one, especially for such an occurrence – the Biscuits have a loaded arsenal of rare and exotic tunes to choose from; playing this was a highly refined choice.  Ironically last performed on a stage in 1998, Brownstein’s setlist writing was, perhaps, paying homage to the past.

Following a set break, the group trotted back out for the second set of music.  Opening with “M.E.M.P.H.I.S.,” Aucoin showed off his chops with a precise, down tempo beat.  This, in turn, lead the way for Magner to begin to take the reins on this night, and make it his own.  Showcasing a highly digital lead, the keyboardist employed a four note call and response melody, working his way up and down the ladder, as if to make his presence known.

The next portion of improvised music egued, slowly but surely, into another jam staple,  “And The Ladies Were The Rest Of The Night.”  The approach to the composed part featured a patient, thematic guitar peek over a retro, hollow sounding synth, before turning a corner into the standard four on the floor beat associated with this tune.

Continuing to be a synthesizer driven second act, Magner once again reverted to the now familiar four note ascending, then descending phrase.  Brownstein’s conducting style of play soon gave away the identity of next song, the instrumental, “Cyclone.”  The theater crowd at full fury, and with the clock reading past 3:30 in the morning, the foursome began the minor ascent into one of their more challenging executions – into the peak of  “Above The Waves.”

The keyboardist standing on his tip toes, Magner then delivered a gorgeous, arpeggio phrase with his Virus (a state of the art, European synth), taking hold of the music like a talented video gamer to his controller, in sync with the rest of the band members’ increasingly augmented pace, beneath the strobing, colorful cones shining down from above.

The minor progression quickly turned major, and the signature, gleeful chord placements displayed, as always, why this song is so special.  Turning from a fast, dark and twisted rhythm into the celebratory style that evokes a West Indian vibe, the house lights flooded throughout the energized room. The band then abruptly dropped into the classic, “House Dog Party Favor,” the set’s final stop.

After returning for a one song encore, the night’s listening and dancing was finally complete.  The dream of seeing one’s favorite group, the premier late night act within the U.S. jam band scene, perform after one of the greatest rock bands in the heart of midtown Manhattan, had been achieved.

Though, the night’s most magnificent memory will forever be the walk – from 34th street to 44th street, against traffic, during the year’s most bustling season.  Everything great in this world always includes the wonderful act of anticipation, and alongside a group of lifelong acquaintances, this live music lover entered a euphoric state during such a chilly stroll, one that lasted through the show’s final note, a defining and ultimate night in a live music seeing career spanning the past 15 years.

The Disco Biscuits, just as they did at the end of 1998, fit perfectly into the mold of a post midnight act.  And while we may never see them perform in this fashion again, this show solidified their reputation as the most ideal jam band to play electronic dance/rock music on a late night stage.