NYS Music 20​15

Tag: disco biscuits

  • New Year’s Eve Across New York State

    Don’t have plans yet for New Year’s Eve? Music fans across New York State have got plenty of choices this Thursday. NYS Music helps you get there with the short list of NYE activities.

    Albany

    Moe. at the Palace Theatre. Tickets start at $42 in advance/$50 day of show

    Rustic Overtones at the Hollow with Special Guests Mirk. $10.27 in advance/$15 at the door

    Buffalo

    Funktional Flow at Buffalo Iron Works with special guests Adam Bronstein’s Freehand Band. Tickets are $10 in advance/$15 day of show.

    Lazlo Hollyfeld, Rhubarb, Intrepid Travelers, and Folkfaces at Nietzsche’s. $5 at the door only.

    Ithaca

    Big Mean Sound Machine and Grey Gary at Upstairs at Lot 10, DJ ha-MEEN and Weazildust Downstairs at Lot 10. $20 in advance

    New York City

    DIIV at the Bowery Ballroom with special guest Tamaryn. $40

    Macy Gray at the Iridium Jazz Club. Tiered pricing tickets are currently available.

    Snarky Puppy at the Irving Plaza with special guests Breastfist. Tickets start at $50

    The Disco Biscuits and Consider the Source at the Playstation Theatre. Tickets starting at $69.50

    Port Chester

    Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue at the Capitol Theatre with Soulive. Tickets range between $59.50 to $160

    Rochester

    Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad at the Historic German House with special guests Danielle Ponder & Tomorrow People and Funknut. Three Heads Brewing Tasting Party start at 7pm with an acoustic jam featuring members of GPGDS and Extended Family. Late night the party continues with Subsoil and Level 7 Hip Hop DJ Set. $20 in advance/$30 day of show.

    Mikaela Davis at the Bug Jar with Harmonica Lewinski and The Temptators. $10 in advance/$12 day of show

    Saratoga Springs

    Eastbound Jesus and Lucid at the Putnam Den. $15 in advance/$20 day of show.

    Turning Stone Casino in Verona

    Showtime, Gridley Paige, and Last Left at The Gig

    Ryan Brooks Kelly, The Beadle Brothers, and DVDJ Biggie at the Tin Rooster

    DJ Dread, Caroline D’Amore, and Joe Maz at Lava

    Isreal Hagan and Stroke and The Swooners at the Turquoise Tiger

    Syracuse

    Sophistafunk & Root Shock at Funk ‘n Waffles – Downtown.  $20 in advance/$25 day of show.

     Erie

    Aqueous at the Kings Rook Club. Two sets. $10 at the door only.

    Burlington

    Gang of Thieves at Nectar’s with The Tenderbellies. Gang of Thieves will be performing Are You Experienced by the Jimi Hendrix Experience in its entirety. $10 in advance/day of show

  • Musical Happenings in NYC Pre- and Post-Phish Shows

    Phish will return to New York City’s Madison Square Garden for a four night New Year’s run. While Phish might be the main event, there are many shows happening around the city both before and after Phish that fans might interested in checking out. Here’s a rundown of those shows – both those being billed as Phish after-parties and those that are not.

    phish_after_parties

    Many New York bands are represented in those performing around the Phish shows, including some of the after-parties. On Wednesday night, Jersey City’s Lil Joe and the ill Picards will bring their funk to Leftfield on Ludlow Chromatropic will join forces with Sprocket to form ChromaSprocket. They will perform with special guests Natalie Cressman and Peter Apfelbaum of the Trey Anastasio Band at Lucille’s at B.B. King’s also on Wednesday night. Late night on New Year’s Eve, Snarky Puppy will play Irving Plaza.

    On Friday night, Nyack’s ShwizZ will join forces with FiKus to perform as ShwiKus and play tribute to P-Funk at Lucille’s. Saturday night brings Elise Testone and an all star lineup, including Todd Stoops, Natalie Cressman and Michael Ray, leading a James Brown Dance Party at B.B. Kings. ShwiKus will also be at Lucille’s again, this time playing an ’80s set. One ticket gets you into both of those shows. Dopapod will be at the Grammercy Theatre. Finally, Ha Ha the Moose, made up by members of moe., will bring their off-centered musical theatre to Irving Plaza. You can expect nothing but the unexpected from “The Moose.”

    james_brown_dance_party

    Wednesday, Dec. 30
    Post-Phish:
    Tower of Power @ B.B. King’s Blues Club – 10 p.m.
    Kevin Hedge and Louie Vega @ Cielo – 10 p.m.
    Joseph King @ Rockwood Music Hall Stage 3 – 10 p.m.
    The Bad Plus @ Village Vanguard – 10:30 p.m.
    *Start Making Sense @ Irving Plaza – 11 p.m.
    Disco Biscuits w/ Horizon Wireless @ PlayStation Theatre – 11 p.m.
    *Particle w/ New Riders of the Purple Sage @ The Cutting Room – 11:55 p.m.
    *ChromaSprocket (Chromatropic x Sprocket w/ Natalie Cressman and Peter Apfelbaum) @ Lucille’s at B.B. King’s – 11:55 p.m.
    *Rebirth Brass Band @ Highline Ballroom – 11:59 p.m.
    *Lil Joe and the ill Picards @ Leftfield on Ludlow – midnight

    New Year’s Eve, Thursday, Dec. 31
    Post-Phish:
    *Snarky Puppy @ Irving Plaza – 2 a.m. (technically on Jan. 1)

    Friday, Jan. 1
    Pre-Phish:
    *Holly Bowling @ The Cutting Room – 4 p.m to 6 p.m.
    Frank & Tony, Taimur Agha, Ray Zuniga, Nikola Baytala, Ted Krisko, Willie Graff, Alex Graham & More TBA @ The Panther Room – 8 a.m. to 4 a.m. (technically ends Jan. 2)

    Post-Phish:
    The Bad Plus @ Village Vanguard – 10:30 p.m.
    Disco Biscuits w/ Animal Rexx @ PlayStation Theatre – 11 p.m.
    *Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe @ Irving Plaza – 11:30 p.m.
    *Dead Sessions @ The Cutting Room – 11:55 p.m.
    *Pink Talking Phish @ Highline Ballroom – 11:55 p.m.
    *ShwiKus plays P-Funk (ShwizZ + FiKus = ShwiKus) @ Lucille’s at B.B. King’s – 11:55 p.m.
    The Motet @ B.B. King’s – 11:59 p.m.

    Saturday, Jan. 2
    Pre-Phish:
    PhanArt Presents: Skyscraper is Grand @ Hotel Pennsylvania – 12-7 p.m.
    *New Mastersounds @ The Cutting Room – 4 p.m.
    Touchpants @ American Beauty NYC – 5 p.m.

    Post-Phish:
    *Ha Ha the Moose (Rob, Chuck and Jim from moe.) @ Irving Plaza – 10:30pm
    The Bad Plus @ Village Vanguard – 10:30pm
    *Dopapod @ Grammercy Theatre – 11 p.m.
    Disco Biscuits @ PlayStation Theatre – 11 p.m.
    BIGYUKI @ Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2 – 11 p.m.
    Subset @ Webster Hall – 11 p.m.
    *The James Brown Dance Party (Michael Ray, Natalie Cressman, Chris Bullock, Todd Stoops, Fred Thomas & Moussey Thompson, Adam Chase & Matthew Chase, Elise Testone) @ B.B. King’s – 11:55 p.m.
    *ShwiKus plays The 80s @ Lucille’s at B.B. King’s – 11:55 p.m.
    *New Mastersounds @ The Cutting Room – midnight
    Walker Adams @ Rockwood Music Hall – midnight

    * billed as Phish after-party

    [embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBT1UgsWm-M[/embedyt]

  • Camp Bisco Permit Saga Continues

    Well, Disco Biscuit fans, it looks like Camp Bisco will for sure not be returning to Schenectady County anytime soon as the permit saga drags on.

    DaveDeCrescente - DiscoBiscuits - Camp Bisco 2015 -17

    On Oct. 28, state Supreme Court Justice Vincent Reilly Jr. deemed the county’s ruling and safety issues raised as valid reasons for permit denial, as reported by Times Union. The summer event had been planned for a July 15 through 19 revival at Indian Lookout Country Club in Mariaville, where the three-day festival was held for seven consecutive years; however, the application for a mass-gathering permit was rejected by the county with major opposition from its sheriff.

    This news continues a chain of events that has plagued Bisco since its 2014 hiatus, regarding safety concerns with transportation, emergency plans and insurance coverage, plus the festival’s failure to create a zero-tolerance drug policy. But the EDM-focused concert did return this summer with a venue change; Bisco 13 went off without a hitch at Montage Mountain in Scranton last July, and NYS Music contributor Jimmy Chambers reported on its success in his glowing review of the festival (revisit Camp Bisco here).

    While the Philadelphia-based band has yet to announce plans for Bisco 2016, hang tight and take a look back at Camp Bisco 13 with the recently released aftermovie.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zT1SazqseQ&feature=youtu.be

  • The Disco Biscuits Invade Higher Ground for Late Night Dance Party

    The Disco Biscuits officially set the record for the fastest sellout show at Higher Ground ever, when they announced a late night after party for their UVM Springfest show Saturday in Burlington, Vermont. They hauled all their gear a few miles across town for a late night show starting at 11pm and going all night. Given the small size of the venue and the fast sellout, anticipations were high and the band certainly did not disappoint the lucky few who managed to get a ticket.

    DaveDeCrescente - TheDiscoBiscuits_HigherGround42514 -14

    The band wasted no time, jumping into a nice version of “Aceetobee” which segued into “Bombs”. Bass player Marc Brownstein was really prominent, ironically dropping what some would call “bombs” during the song, before leading the band back into the end of “Aceetobee”. “The Very Moon” followed, and was stretched to almost 15 minutes long, but remained unfinished. It was a rather standard version, but the segue into the Grateful Dead’s “Crazy Finger’s” must be heard. Guitarist Jon “The Barber” Gutwillig really nailed the segue and had the crowd cheering and singing along to the classic tune with a modern electronic twist. They ended the first set by finishing off their own classic song “Mr. Don” from April 16 in Denver,CO.

    DaveDeCrescente - TheDiscoBiscuits_HigherGround42514 -1

    The second set started things off with fan favorite “Trucker’s Choice”. The time was after 1am, but nobody in attendance showed any signs of letting up, the band included. “Mindless Dribble” followed, and was almost 17 mins in length. The band jammed on several themes through this version, a nod to their older style of jamming, called “rotation jams.” This was a common theme throughout the night, and the band was clearly enjoying it. “Mindless Dribble” segued into “Sound One” which features weird lyrics and a standard jam. The highlight of the night was next in “Crickets”. This 20 minute version was a monster and featured some major jamming across different styles and themes.

    Approaching 2am, the band closed the set with “Hope”. A rather unique choice to close the night, but very welcomed by everyone in attendance, many signing along with the band. They quickly returned, and Brownstein gave a huge thanks to the crew for hauling all their gear across town and setting it up again with only a few hours to spare. “Pilin’ it High(er)” closed the night off, and isn’t played very often. This version was great and was a great end to an amazing day and night of music.

    The Disco Biscuits. Higher Ground, Burlington VT. 4/25/15

    Set I: Aceetobee-> Bombs-> Aceetobee, The Very Moon (unfinished)-> Crazy Fingers-> Mr. Don (completes 4/16 version)

    Set II: Trucker’s Choice, Mindless Dribble-> Sound 1, Crickets, Hope

    E: Pilin’ it High(er)

    *Editor’s Note: Check out Dave’s coverage of the UVM Springfest Disco Biscuits show from 4/25/2015

  • The Disco Biscuits Take Over UVM for Springfest

    The University of Vermont (UVM) hosted its annual Springfest event and invited The Disco Biscuits to jam out this year. Hardcore fans and newcomers were plentiful for this late afternoon set and the band did not disappoint.

    <p>The University of Vermont hosted its annual Springfest event and invited The Disco Biscuits to jam out this year. Hardcore fans and newcomers were plentiful for this late afternoon set and the band did not disappoint.</p> <p><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-256736" src="https://dev.nysmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/DaveDeCrescente-TheDiscoBiscuits-13-315x210.jpg" alt="" width="315" height="210" data-wp-pid="256736" />Diving right into a daytime "Strobelights and Martinis," the band was already in sync and you could tell we were in for a treat. "Strobelights" morphed into "Air Song" which slowed things up a bit before segueing into fan favorite "Spacebirdmatingcall".</p> <p>The band was having a ton of fun at this point, and so was the college crowd, many who had never seen The Disco Biscuits before. An intense sandwich of "Digital Buddha" into an inverted "Little Betty Boop" back into "Digital Buddha" was certainly the high point of the afternoon. The "Digital Buddha" featured some great interplay between guitarist Jon 'The Barber' Gutwillig and keyboardist Aron Magner.</p> <p>The set ended with a nice rendition of "Little Lai". They returned for an encore of "Little Shimmy" in a Conga Line which had the crowd dancing to its sweet rhythm and melodies, leaving many wishing they had tickets to the sold out show later that evening at Higher Ground.</p> <p><strong>The Disco Biscuits - UVM Springfest, Burlington, VT. 4-25-15</strong><br /><strong>Set One:</strong> Strobelights &amp; Martinis-&gt; Air Song-&gt; Spacebirdmatingcall-&gt; Digital Buddah-&gt; Little Betty Boop (inverted)-&gt; Digital Buddah-&gt; Little Lai<br /><strong>Encore:</strong> Little Shimmy in a Conga Line.</p> <p>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KtFM9E9w7c</p>Diving right into a daytime “Strobelights and Martinis,” the band was already in sync and you could tell we were in for a treat. “Strobelights” morphed into “Air Song” which slowed things up a bit before segueing into fan favorite “Spacebirdmatingcall”.

    The band was having a ton of fun at this point, and so was the college crowd, many who had never seen The Disco Biscuits before. An intense sandwich of “Digital Buddha” into an inverted “Little Betty Boop” back into “Digital Buddha” was certainly the high point of the afternoon. The “Digital Buddha” featured some great interplay between guitarist Jon ‘The Barber’ Gutwillig and keyboardist Aron Magner.

    Disco Biscuits UVM SpringfestThe set ended with a nice rendition of “Little Lai”. They returned for an encore of “Little Shimmy” in a Conga Line which had the crowd dancing to its sweet rhythm and melodies, leaving many wishing they had tickets to the sold out show later that evening at Higher Ground.

    The Disco Biscuits – UVM Springfest, Burlington, VT. 4-25-15
    Set One: Strobelights & Martinis-> Air Song-> Spacebirdmatingcall-> Digital Buddah-> Little Betty Boop (inverted)-> Digital Buddah-> Little Lai
    Encore: Little Shimmy in a Conga Line.

  • Camp Bisco Revival Might Not Happen

    Organizers trying for a revival of the Disco Biscuits’ Camp Bisco are running into issues that may make it difficult to host the festival this year.

    Schenectady County officials denied the new organizers a mass gathering permit, saying they want the festival to have a zero-tolerance drug policy, according to the Daily Gazette. They also want 50 police officers stationed throughout the concert grounds 24 a day throughout the festival, plus 20 officers to control traffic.

    Officials also cited concerns about traffic congestion and emergency response logistics.

    Camp Bisco Revival

    After seven years of Camp Bisco being run by MCP Presents, the festival was put on hiatus in 2014 as organizers dealt with drug issues and a lawsuit due to alleged inadequate emergency response to a woman having a seizure. This year, the owner of the country club where Camp Bisco has always been held in Mariaville and Gathering of the Vibes founder Ken Hays hope to hold a new kind of Camp Bisco with acts that attract an older crowd July 16-18.

    They have gotten permission from state police and the state departments of Health and Transportation, but need county approval as well. Stay tuned for updates on this potential Camp Bisco revival.

  • An Interview with Steve Molitz of Particle

    NYS Music recently has a chance to sit down and talk to Steve Molitz of Particle about all things going on Particle.

    Particle have always had an eclectic mix of musicians. From moe. guitarist Al Schiner to the legendary Joe Satriani, the pattern has remained unchanged. Beginning last year, Brothers Past bassist Clay Parnell joined the group, opening many new doors for the band to explore, and explore they did. This year the additions continue as The Disco Biscuits’ Allen Aucion joins the band on drums. Aucoin, who joined the Biscuits after winning a drum off in 2007 to replace founding member Sam Altman, has been playing under his moniker Dr. Fameus, while the Disco Biscuits tour schedule has slowed down. His sound, blended with Particle, can only lead to endless possibilities. The fast pace grooves that Particle provides will be complimented superbly.

    Particle and special guests, Greenhouse Lounge, are coming to town March 19 at the Putnam Den in Sarartoga Springs. Tickets are $15 dollars and can be purchased here. This is going to be a special evening that may not be repeated.

    Jimmy Chambers: How did Allen Aucoin end up on this tour with you guys?

    Steve Molitz: Allen and I had played a handful of shows together in the past (The Space Lab, Everyone Orchestra, etc.), and we’ve always gotten along famously (pun intended) – both on and offstage. Our bassist Clay Parnell has toured extensively with Allen in their electronic duo Dr Diesel, so when Particle discovered that we needed a drummer (our previous drummer was unable to tour), Allen was a very natural choice. He had a break in his Disco Biscuits schedule, so the timing worked out perfectly. We’re so excited to have him out with us, and we’re all really having a blast on the road together…

    JC: Has the Particle sound change since?

    SM: Fans can still expect to hear that classic Particle sound, but it has definitely evolved since Allen started playing with us. He’s such a skilled and powerful player, and he has such incredible pacing in the jams. He’s a very creative player, and I love the way he approaches the songs and elevates the music.  We’ve been getting into deeper electronic grooves on the recent tours, and this rhythm section lays down such a massive and dynamic foundation. Allen brings a fresh perspective to the songs from the Launchpad era, and he’s a perfect fit for the newer, more electronic songs…

    JC: Have you, having been in Phil and friends, been in contact with anyone for the Grateful Dead 50 celebrations?

    SM: I reached out to congratulate the guys when they made their big announcement, and I think it’s so cool that they are all so genuinely excited about the shows. I’m so happy for them that they have reached this epic milestone, and I know the shows are going to be really special. And although I can’t announce anything officially yet, I will say that there’s a very good chance you’ll see me and Particle both playing multiple shows in Chicago that weekend…

    JC:. How do you feel the band’s momentum has increased over the last year?

    SM: Things come in waves, and it’s been such a thrill to watch Particle pick up so much momentum in the last year. The band was on a sort of an unannounced semi-hiatus for the past seven years, but we’re 100% back in action now, and it feels so good to be completely immersed in Particle again. We’ll probably play 75-100 shows this year, and we are putting the finishing touches on a new album in the next few weeks. We’ve debuted a bunch of new original songs on this tour, and we’re really trying to write set lists that challenge us to explore uncharted territory in our improvisations each night. There has definitely been a noticeable change in the feeling at the shows, and the recent surge of energy and excitement from the fans has been so inspiring.

    JC:. What are the bands summer plans?

    SM: Write, record, release, rehearse, TOUR, rinse, and repeat