With the postponement of their annual summer festival Camp Bisco, The Disco Biscuits decided to pivot and still find a way to treat their fans to some great music last weekend. The solution came in the form of City Bisco – two nights of Biscuits at the Mann Music Center in their hometown of Philadelphia, with some of their friends along for the ride.

The DJ triumvirate that is Orchard Lounge kicked things off on Friday night with their infectious blend of hypnotech house and downtempo musical soundscapes. This set the table nicely for Lotus, who would play an opening set each night. Friday’s set saw a blend of their newer material like “Free Swim” along with classics like “Greet The Mind” and a massive “Flower Sermon.”

The Biscuits started the first of their two shows in theatrical fashion, with a first time cover of “Gonna Fly Now,” better known as the theme to Rocky. The inspired opening set even included a “Tractorbeam” segment, an electronica-heavy sequence that sees the band covering or playing along to the influence of another DJ which, until now, have normally been reserved for second sets.

The second set featured songs like “Astronaut” and “Running Into The Night” both broken up into two sections which helped sandwich “The Great Abyss.” The Biscuits also brought out their comrade Tom Hamilton, from Ghost Light and JRAD, to assist on the encore.

City Bisco Night One TD Pavillion at the Mann – Philadelphia, PA 7/9/21

Set 1: Gonna Fly Now > Spaga, Run Like Hell, > Spacebirdmatingcall > Tractorbeam Jam (Terje) > Spacebirdmatingcall

Set 2: Astronaut > Running Into The Night > The Great Abyss > Clocks > Tractorbeam Jam (Eden) > Astronaut > Running Into The Night

Encore: Humuhumunukunukuapu’a > Run Like Hell

Luke the Knife handled opening DJ duties for Saturday’s night two of City Bisco. He was followed by another scintillating set of music from Lotus, setting the tone for the evening nicely again.

What came next was nothing short of a classic Disco Biscuits show, with a perfect blend of classic and new material and, yes, another Tractorbeam sequence each set. The first set alone had a little bit of everything: an old school opener in “Mulberry’s Dream,” an exhilarating “Champions,” the middle section only of “Crickets,” and the first “Trucker’s Choice” in nearly four years.

The second set opened with another vintage Biscuits song in “Mindless Dribble” which set the table for a ferocious take on the newer “Anthem.” And the “Tractorbeam” sequence in this set was based off of original material instead of covering someone else. After two nights of fantastic music, surrounded by fans and friends alike, there was only one logical musical selection to wrap up the weekend and City Bisco, “We Like To Party.”

City Bisco Night Two TD Pavillion at the Mann – Philadelphia, PA 7/10/21

Set 1: Mulberry’s Dream, Reactor > The Champions > Tractorbeam Jam (Revive) > Crickets > Trucker’s Choice

Set 2: Mindless Dribble > Anthem > Gamma Goblins > Tractorbeam Jam (Original) > Abraxas > Story Of The World

Encore: We Like To Party

Photos by Alex B, 215Music.net