To cap off a wildly successful 2023 touring schedule that spanned every corner of the country, The Disco Biscuits celebrated with two powerhouse shows in the friendly confines of the legendary Capitol Theatre in Port Chester.
The band is still riding high atop a new wave of creativity and cohesion that’s fostered some of their best performances to date. Friday and Saturday night in Port Chester were no exceptions with the Biscuits doling out some pre-Halloween goodies.
Friday night initiated with “Hope” in the opener spot, aka a good old fashioned “Hopener” that saw the band fly through this older number with ease. The first of tonight’s two cover song selections came next as the Biscuits took the Men Without Hats hit “Safety Dance” out for a spin. A brief outro jam soon morphed into the beginning of “Caterpillar” that took its time with a nicely extended opening section and the band was off and running. A silky smooth segue into the instrumental “M1” came next before an inverted “Naeba” and the end of “Caterpillar” wrapped up the opening stanza.
A Biscuits classic in “House Dog Party Favor” kicked off the second set in fine fashion as the band’s iconic light show replete with laser beams coated the walls of the Capitol Theater in a rich tapestry of colors and images. The second set maintained an old school vibe to it early on with the near-20 minute “Helicopters” that came next and featured a well crafted jam with guitarist Jon Gutwillig leading the way. As it reached yet another climax, a slight change in the rhythm then ushered in the second cover of the night, the band’s instrumental take on Donna Summer’s Disco Era hit “I Feel Love.”
Another funk laden jam with a slow build in intensity served as the foundation for a segue into the ending of “To Be Continued,” another one of the the new batch of Disco Biscuits originals and the first time it’s ever received the “inversion” treatment, with the ending section played immediately before the beginning of the song. Another newer number in “Freeze” followed before a quick re-visit to “Helicopters” to close out a second set that was one long segue of music after the opening “House Dog.” “Times Square” followed by a triumphant and powerful “Morph Dusseldorf” put one last finishing touch on the evening in the encore slot.
Saturday night’s first set featured another extended bookending as it both began and concluded with another selection from the newer originals, “Twisted In The Road.” Seemingly picking up right where they left off the previous night, a dark, up-tempo jam was the first one out of the shoots. The band continued to show their comfort with the new material with another seamless segue into a monstrous “Buy The Time” that came next and clocked in at close to 30 minutes overall. With infectious melodies provided by Aron Magner on keys and a completely danceable beat, this one is sure to be a live staple for years to come and produced, arguably, the best jam of the entire weekend.
Near its completion, elements of “Digital Buddha” began to seep in and the Biscuits were soon away with an inverted take on an old crowd favorite. The band then shifted from the old right back to the new with the fittingly-titled “Monster” that came next, only the third time ever this instrumental song has been played live. It featured some familiar chording that had some thinking “Lunar Pursuit” or otherwise instead. As the tempo began to increase, another familiar sound began to emerge, this time the peak of “Crickets” as the band steamrolled through another inverted rendition of a live staple before wrapping up the set.
The last frame of music for the weekend did nothing but feature more of the same: only a few songs needed with added bountiful jams placed in between each. Things got started with a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Run Like Hell” that started with a slow, patient intro jam before fully kicking into gear. Much like its first set predecessor in “Buy The Time,” a significant chunk of the second was devoted to another new tune in “The Deal,” with this one clocking in at well over 30 minutes in total.
An inverted (for the first time ever) “One Chance To Save The World” took the yet-to-be-released ‘Space Rock Opera’ took the song to new height, peak performance that found itself slipping into “Basis for a Day.” Fans got a taste of “Basis” in April when the second set of the final night featured multiple segues in and out of portions of the song, fitting newer tunes like “The Deal” and “To Be Continued…” within “Basis.” This evening, just one new song, “Photograph” would be sandwiched in between, an intense, energy driven combination, closing the night over the last 38 minutes.
An encore of “Home Again” fit the bill nicely, as fans have found the Capitol Theatre to be home base in the New York metro area, with annual – and now bi-annual runs at the original rock palace. Just before truly calling it a night, Marc Brownstein thanked the crowd and dropped the band back into the final portion of “Basis for a Day,” dubbed “Basis for a Tour” in the Nugs recording.
While the band is done touring for the year, they will be at North Beach Music Festival in Miami in early December, at Palladium Times Square for a late night show on December 28, followed by two nights at Franklin Music Hall in Philadelphia, before heading out west in 2024. Full tour dates can be found here.
Setlists via Biscuits Internet Project
Disco Biscuits – The Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY – Friday, October 27, 2023
Set 1: Hope, Safety Dance > Caterpillar > M1 > Naeba 1 > Caterpillar
Set 2: House Dog Party Favor, Helicopters > I Feel Love > To Be Continued 2 1 > Freeze > Helicopters
Encore: Times Square, Morph Dusseldorf
1 inverted
2 first time inverted
Disco Biscuits – The Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY – Saturday, October 28, 2023
Set 1: Twisted in the Road > Buy The Time > Digital Buddha 1 > Monster 2 > Crickets 3 1 > Twisted in the Road
Set 2: Run Like Hell 4 > The Deal > One Chance To Save The World 5 1 > Basis For A Day > Photograph > Basis For A Day
Encore: Home Again, Basis For A Day 6
1 inverted
2 LTP 3/12/22 (108 shows)
3 w/ Gamma Goblins tease
4 unfinished
5 1st time inverted
6 reprise
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