NYS Music 20​18

Tag: camp bisco

  • The Disco Biscuits Come Out Swinging in Worcester

    On a chilly New England night in Worcester, Massachusetts, Disco Biscuits fans gathered at the famous Worcester Palladium for the group’s first run of fall tour. The room was nearly filled up by the time the band took the stage and people were ready to dance their butts off to get warmed up.

    To open up the first set, the group started into “Uber Glue,” an ambient, synth-driven song that, like most Biscuits songs, acts as a great jumping off point for jams. The band wasted no time getting this rendition started, jamming on the tune for well over 20 minutes before building the groove into the beloved “Caterpillar,” which took the energy from “Uber Glue”’s jam and launched into the song’s first verses. Bassist Marc Brownstein and drummer Allen Aucoin kept the groove locked in as guitarist Jon “Barber” Gutwillig and keyboardist Aron Magner led the song’s chorus, joined by the crowd singing the lyrics passionately and dancing their butts off. Following the chorus, the group spent some time building an upbeat techno groove that brought the song into Brownstein’s first vocal effort of the night, “Miracles.” The jam in “Miracles” showed off the band’s ability to work as a unit as they brought the techno jam they had built into an ambient, almost soundscape-like section introduced by Magner and Brownie.

    disco biscuits worcester

    The group let the soundscape breathe a bit before dropping into the darker “Air Song,” which blew through the lyrics fairly quickly and led them immediately into a funk jam, mostly led by Magner on a Clavinet sounding patch. The jam didn’t really leave the song’s main structure, acting more as a platform for Barber and Magner to build off of, before the group brought it back into “Miracles,” starting off the second half of the first set sandwich. The group continued through the song’s verse and chorus sections until they broke into a dark fast-paced jam that featured the first big peak of the night, and brought the song back into the set opener “Uber Glue,” before dropping into the last verse of “Caterpillar.” The energy from “Miracles > Uber Glue” culminated in one last passionate chorus section of “Caterpillar,” before the group ended the set for a short set break. During the set break, Brownie tweeted out the fact that 75% of the songs in set 1 were songs written during the current Allen era of the band, saying “…let’s see if that trend continues into the second set!!!!”

    “Rivers” kicked off the second set, getting into a Barber-led jam after the lyrics had been sung. The whole group was very active in bringing the song into an up-tempo peak before slowly ending the song with one of the main riffs. Following “Rivers” was the segment of the night, “Catalyst > Great Abyss > Boomshanker > Mr. Don,” which was filled with deep jamming and seamless transitions. “Catalyst” came out swinging, Barber following a very up tempo composed section with a high energy solo on his green Stratocaster aptly named “Money Bags.” “Catalyst”’s jam section spanned over nearly 30 minutes and was an exemplary musical representation of what the Biscuits are all about, letting a jam develop naturally and working together to bring it new places. Barber led the song into a another grand peak with another energetic solo before the group brought the jam into uncharted territory and started exploring.

    Brownie, Magner, and Barber locked in on a riff that ended up being the basis for a good chunk of the jam before Brownie started driving the bus into “The Great Abyss,” a very synth heavy song that was also released during the Allen era of the band. “Great Abyss” also featured a lot of experimenting from Brownie and Magner, while Barber added textural shredding that made the jam feel extremely tense at points. Out of nowhere the group dropped into the dub reggae-esque tune “Boomshanker,” which featured a laid back synth bass line from Brownie while Barber and Magner layered textures together to add to the reggae sound. The jam was fairly straightforward, never really leaving the bounds of the main song itself. Towards the end of the jam, Magner started playing around with some organ sounds which lifted the song into the fan favorite “Mr. Don,” which lifted the tempo up a bit after “Boomshanker.” During the whole of “Mr. Don,” Barber had a smile plastered on his face, showing that he could tell they had just performed an incredible set. Following the main portion of the song, Barber took an enormous solo that was supported by the driving force of the band behind them, and led the song into a quick peak before ending the set. For an encore, the group performed the Brownstein-penned “Portal to an Empty Head.”

    The Disco Biscuits performed a fantastic show in Worcester, MA, and will hopefully be back next October to continue the trend of awesome shows at the Palladium. They perform at Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas November 1-3, and at The Palace Theatre in Albany November 23-24, where Albany jamband Formula 5 will open up the night on the 23rd. Check out the photo gallery below for a taste of the first night of the run.

    Disco Biscuits, Worcester, MA, October 20,  2018

    Set 1: Uber Glue > Caterpillar > Miracles > Air Song > Miracles > Uber Glue > Caterpillar

    Set 2: Rivers, Catalyst > The Great Abyss > Boomshanker > Mr. Don

    Encore: Portal to an Empty Head

    Photos by ATS Media

  • Listen to Orchard Lounge Camp Bisco VIP set with Allen Aucoin

    Formed in Chicago over eighteen years ago, the DJ collective known as Orchard Lounge is made up of Ben Silver, Spencer Lokken and Bethany Lokken. Looking back over an almost two-decade career we start to see some festivals and events that pop up on the radar more often than not. We caught up with Orchard Lounge’s Bethany Lokken to see if we could expect more shows in the coming months, like we’ve seen throughout the year. Well it doesn’t sound like we’ll see a full-fledged tour, it looks like there’s certainly more to come on the horizon, especially after their VIP set at Camp Bisco.

    When asked if Orchard Lounge will start to tour again, in the traditional sense, Bethany Lokken had this to say: “It’s just been great to get back out there as a trio over the past year or so. We’ve had spurts of touring and periods of downtime, just like any other project that’s been at it as long as we have. We’re getting back out there, but we’re not forcing anything. We’re not pushing tours because we’re at a point in our careers where we want to focus on quality over quality – 100% of the time. We’ve just been focusing on the rooms that make sense. The sound systems that make sense. And we promise we’ll bring you the music that makes sense. We’re looking forward to the future, and we’re staying focusing on what’s right in front of us to bring you all the best shows possible.”orchard lounge camp bisco

    Orchard Lounge is no stranger to Camp Bisco, and this year marked their tenth performance at The Disco Biscuits annual summer music festival – again returning to Montage Mountain in Moosic, Pennsylvania. A quick review of their 2018 touring schedule and we see two visits to Cervantes’ Masterpiece in Denver. The room is known for cultivating unique lineups and “supergroups” in the jam-rock and electronic music scenes.

    Allen Aucoin from The Disco Biscuits makes appearances on both OL bills from this year with Denver’s Tiger Party and again with DJ legend LTJ Bukem. Both times Aucoin joined the trio during their set for live drumming accompaniment. Little did we know these shows were actually giving us a sneak-peak of what went down at Camp Bisco for the late night VIP set, as well as a glimpse at variation of a new project – SilverFameus – that is debuting at Satellite Ranch Music & Arts Festival this coming weekend in Pennsylvania.

    The Orchard Lounge VIP set at Camp Bisco was prefaced by some of the most intense downpouring we’ve seen since last year – notably around the same time at Camp Bisco. It’s become sort of tradition there. After thirty to sixty minutes of huddling in the Main Stage tent with five thousand of your closest friends, the fans emerge and diligently trickle back out into the festival grounds to see what remaining music they still can before the night is done.

    The window of non-precipitation lasted for about an hour, with Orchard Lounge taking the stage as a trio for the initial third of the set. Moving downtempo tracks textured with high-energy, transient deep house define the mood, Disco Biscuits drummer Aucoin took the stage about half way in, with Ian McGuire joining on the keys shortly after. Aucoin and McGuire are more than familiar with each other’s style – both play in livetronica improv trio CIA, which also includes Particle bassist Clay Parnell. The two click seamlessly with each of the different members of Orchard Lounge, check it out here for yourself:

    You can catch Orchard Lounge in their natural state (the trio) next Friday, Sept. 7 in New York City. Their last play in New York was an exclusive show at the Museum of Sex that people are still buzzing about. When they return to play Brooklyn’s Elsewhere next week they’ll be joined by the infamous Doc Martin, who has been DJing since he started in San Francisco back in 1986, as well as Risky Disco’s Greg D.

    That new project SilverFameus, featuring Ben Silver and Allen Aucoin, will hit its first sets of ears this Sunday, Sept. 1 at the Satellite Ranch Music and Arts Festival. Attendees will also see Eliot Lipp, Joe Nice, Tweed, Horizon Wireless, Space Bacon, Newpy Hundo, and Bad Leather along with forty other artists total between Saturday’s and Sunday’s performances.

    “Just like anything new or old, it’s going to evolve. The music hits on the deeper side of house and techno… we’ll spare you that bio cliché that pitches our music as ‘undefinable, mind-bending crossover of genres X, Y and Z’. The music is growing. It’s electronic and it’s organic – much like people. We’re not putting a label on it. Ben and I have been cultivating this for a while now, and we’re looking forward to the test drive this weekend.”

    Orchard Lounge, Ben Silver’s solo project, DrFameus, SilverFameus and CIA share a common thread as part of the artist family at Full Circle Music Productions – stay tuned to their calendar for announcements and upcoming events.

  • Prepare yourself for Camp Bisco Color War XIII: The Over Bezerk

    With Camp Bisco less than two weeks away, it’s time to start preparing for Color War Xlll: The Over Bezerk! An homage to one of the greatest shows ever played by The Disco Biscuits and feature a remix of the classic Color Wars game that has been played for the past 12 Camp Biscos. For the 13th year of Color War, the games will be played following the rules of the only other game in existence that is as ruthless as the way Biscuits fans get down on the field.

    Known as “The game of games” on the streets of Philadelphia, this year will incorporate the rules of Chardee Macdennis from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Only the most savage players on Lot have a chance to play the most savage game ever created and offered to the masses.

    Join the Color War teams – Orange, Purple, Green and Blue on Friday, July 13 from Noon to 5pm at the Lazy River in the waterpark. Want to sign up? We got ya covered!

    Chardee Macdennis has three levels that dictate the order the games are played in, and the traditional camp games will be reworked to fit under these guidelines:

    Level 1 (Mind)- Trivia, Puzzles and Artistry

    Level 2 (Body)- Physical Challenge and Endurance

    Level 3 (Spirit)- Emotional Battery and Public Humiliation

    Color War is not just a war of games, it is a War of psychological warfare! All year long, rival teams take the time to get to know their opponents inside and out so they can use what they have learned to crush their spirits on the field. Just as in It’s Always Sunny, physical representation of the team Captains will assist in shaming the losers with the ceremonious destruction of their game pieces at the end of the game – an added bonus to the glory of winning the coveted Color War Cup!!!

  • Camp Bisco 16 Announces Lineup

    Camp Bisco returns for year 16.

    The music festival hosted by the Disco Biscuits takes place once again on Montage Mountain on Thursday, July 12 to Saturday, July 14, in Scranton, Pa.

    Marc Brownstein, Biscuits bassist posted on Facebook: “Back to the mountain with an amazing lineup!!”

    It will be the festival’s fourth consecutive year at Montage Mountain — which includes a waterpark and camping grounds for festivalgoers.

    The Disco Biscuits headline the three-day event, and the festival continues to book the biggest names in EDM and jamtronica.

    Headbangers and bassheads can rejoice there will be no shortage of bass at this year’s event.

    Bisco staples such as Bassnectar, Tipper, Lotus and STS9 return to headline once again. Excision and Illenium will also headline along with Bonobo, which will include a live band.

    More bands included are: 12th Planet; Anna Lunde; Big Wild; Boogie T; Buku; Desert Dwellers; DJ Jazzy Jeff; The Floozies (ft. the Terminus Horns); The Funk Hunters; G Jones; Ghostface Killah; Jai Wolf; Lettuce; Liquid Stranger; Mija (back to back) Billy Kenny; Oliver Tree; Papadosio; Quinn XCII; Space Jesus X2 (including a special downtempo set); Snails; Sunsquabi; Tauk; Zion I x Lespecial.

    Also making the trip to Montage Mountain will be: Agent Zero; Bass Physics; Bluetech; Cofresi; Ducky; Flamingosis; Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad; The Hip Abduction; Horizon Wireless; Kidswaste; Kung Fu; Let’s Danza!; Magic Beans; Naughty Professor; Orchard Lounge; Probcause; Space Bacon; Squinto; Yheti and Zeke Beats.

    For more information and tickets for Camp Bisco 16, visit campbisco.com