NYS Music 2024

Tag: Webster Hall

  • Moshing to Telescreens at Webster Hall

    You want a rock concert? A mosh-pitting, floor-bouncing, head-yelling, crowd-surfing rock show? That’s exactly what Telescreens brought to Webster Hall on November 19. Hometown fans crowded the 1,500-person Grand Ballroom and for a few hours were swept up in the power of rock. 

    Telescreens Credit Aidan Lukomnik

    Telescreens formed after frontman and lead guitarist Jackson Hamm moved to New York to attend the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music. There he met keyboardist Josiah Valerius and bassist/keyboardist Austin Brenner in 2016. The final member of the band, drummer Oliver Graf, joined the other three in 2019 – adding to their explosive sound. The band started playing gigs around the city before COVID-19 but was forced to stop because of the pandemic. Since their return to live touring, they’ve played Austin City Limits and Governor’s Ball. 

    Telescreens Credit Aidan Lukomnik

    On Tuesday, hometown bands Skorts and Kareem Rahma & Tiny Gun opened the show. Skorts amped the crowd up with head-banging energy and a light show with more than enough fog to fill the room. The one problem was Skorts’ drummer hidden in a wall of mist. Following Skorts, the multi-hyphenate singer/ comedian/ interviewer Kareem Rahma came on stage with his trademark sunglasses – which he never took off. Playing off his success as a video creator, the band’s song “Content Machine” got the audience jumping as the singer poked fun at his other jobs.  

    Kareem Rahma Credit Aidan Lukomnik

    By the time Telescreens came on, the audience was ready, and a moshpit formed almost immediately. Within the first two songs Jackson Hamm jumped from the stage into the crowd to re-form the pit in the middle of the room. Once he was back on stage, moshing started again, and the floor of the ballroom roiled like the ocean – visibly shaking and bouncing from the audience’s movement. 

    Throughout the night, Hamm encouraged the audience to lose themselves to the music, asking them to “take this as an opportunity to push yourself a little out of your comfort zone.” The lead singer also admonished wallflowers who weren’t engaging with the music, “You on the sides, why do you wanna be so fucking cool?” 

    Jackson Hamm reforms the Moshpit, Credit Aidan Lukomnik

    It’s clear that Hamm believes in the power of rock. Throughout the set, the singer and guitarist worked up a sweat and, at one point, said: This [Rock and Roll] is like a religion. You have to believe it will make you feel better. You’re not supposed to stand there with your arms crossed. You’re supposed to move your feet. You’re supposed to get your heart rate up. 

    Telescreens, Credit Aidan Lukomnik

    As the night wore on, mosh pits formed and closed, and dozens of people crowd surfed, egged on by Hamm, who said, “Keep crowd surfing, that shit feels good, I promise.” As crowd surfing escalated, Webster Hall had to call in extra security to ensure everyone was safe.

    A crowd surfer, Credit Aidan Lukomnik

    Telescreens ended their set with Hamm ripping chords, jumping from the stage to the crowd and back (again), and the band leaving it all out for their hometown fans. 

    Telescreens Credit Aidan Lukomnik
    Telescreens Credit Aidan Lukomnik
    Telescreens Credit Aidan Lukomnik
    Telescreens Credit Aidan Lukomnik
    A crowd surfer, Credit Aidan Lukomnik
    A crowd surfer, Credit Aidan Lukomnik
    Credit Aidan Lukomnik
    Skorts, Credit Aidan Lukomnik
    Skorts, Credit Aidan Lukomnik
    @Alukomnik
    Skorts, Credit Aidan Lukomnik
    Skorts, Credit Aidan Lukomnik
    Skorts, Credit Aidan Lukomnik
    Kareem Rahma & Tiny Gun, Credit Aidan Lukomnik
    Kareem Rahma & Tiny Gun, Credit Aidan Lukomnik
    Kareem Rahma & Tiny Gun, Credit Aidan Lukomnik

  • Party Boys: The Memoir of the Band of Brothers Who Built Webster Hall

    Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, The Band, The Guess Who, Leonard Cohen, and Alanis Morissette. Rush, Justin Bieber, Drake, and The Weeknd. Where would the world of rock and pop be without the contributions of these great artists?

    Webster Hall

    Many music lovers don’t realize that the stars above have Canadian roots.  And even fewer realize that one of New York City’s most popular and longest-running music venues, Webster Hall, was also the brainchild of folks from up North, the Ballinger Brothers. The story of how they rose from a hardscrabble youth on a remote farm in Ontario to reign supreme in the NYC nightlife scene for a quarter of a century is the subject of Party Boys, a rollercoaster ride of a memoir by Lon Ballinger.

    Lon Ballinger and his brothers Steve, Peter, and Buster created not only Webster Hall but a legion of Canadian venues where over 40 million people danced, laughed, listened to great music, and, in many cases, connected with the loves of their lives.

    The Ballinger Brothers grew up poor on a family farm with a beloved but overbearing mother and an alcoholic father, a psychologically damaged war veteran who would (figuratively) head out for a packet of cigarettes and never return.  Their nightclub empire, which first revolutionized the industry in Canada and then NYC, would spring from Lon’s impulse buy of a pizza oven and  open his town’s first pizza parlor in October 1973. As with many of their ventures, they would turn it into a success, cash out, and move on to another enterprise. After the pizzeria came a laundromat, which financed their first foray into nightlife. 

    Webster Hall

    Lon and his brother’s inspiration to get into the disco biz came from two unlikely sources.  The first was the classic television show, I Love Lucy, and its portrayal of the nightclub run by Lucy’s bandleader husband, Ricky Ricardo.  The second is when they detoured from a planned road trip to Mexico to New Orleans (to drop off a hitchhiker they picked up who was carting 400 hits of purple microdot acid to Mardi Gras) and then San Padre Island, where they saw their first big-time disco.

    With monies from the sale of their laundromat and Lon’s earnings from his sideline in real estate, the brothers opened their first club, Ballinger’s Danceteria, a cavernous two-level musical funhouse in Cambridge, Ontario on Halloween 1979.  Here they would learn the hard lessons about what made a club prosper: booking great acts like James Brown, The Band and homegrown stars-to-be like Brian Adams and Loverboy; the value of having professional security and the golden rule of nightlife  — treat the ladies right and the men will follow. 

    Ballinger’s would be one of the first clubs to feature giant video screens, leading to the creation of their own weekly TV series, Canamerica Dance.  Ultimately, they would depart Ontario for the big city, Toronto, creating the country’s largest club, the 200,000 square foot Big Bop in 1986, followed by smaller satellites, The Boom Boom Room and Rockit.  They also had an outlandish idea that never got off the ground due to the recession of the late ‘80s, The Judicial Museum of Canada. The latter was slated to be housed in a circa-1850 courthouse, Canada’s oldest, serving as a combination dance and music venue with a museum dedicated to the history of the country’s legal system and crimes.

    Lon, what the hell were you and your brothers smoking?

    The big-dreaming Ballinger Brothers were seriously over-leveraged when the financial crisis hit, with $5 million in renovation and real estate loans. When they realized there was no way to rescue their Canadian club empire, they turned their sites on New York, taking over the site of The Ritz, which, at that time, was a shell of its former self, much like the city itself.

    The brothers’ experiences operating Webster Hall are the heart of the memoir. It would take three years of negotiations with the community board, liquor commission, and their landlord before they had approval to open the four-level nightspot in October 1992. Ballinger’s book includes plenty of juicy tales of navigating a plethora of dicey issues with the Mob, the Hell’s Angels, crooked politicos, and, of course, troublesome VIP guests (I’m talkin’ to you Bill Murray, Mark Wahlberg, Hillary Clinton, Bobby Flay and Rudy Giuliani!).  Lon also proudly proclaims Webster Hall’s role as an early promoter of hip-hop and EDM culture by giving gigs to aspiring stars and via their venture, Webster Hall Records, which notched 30 chart-topping dance releases. There are also rosy memories of artists like Lady Gaga, Moby, and Ed Sheeran, who honed their craft in early career performances on the venue’s multiple stages. Lon also discusses their early embrace of the digital realm. Webster Hall pioneered online ticket sales and what may have had the first website ever created for a nightclub. He also humorously relates how the site’s domain was hijacked and later reclaimed after a legal battle with a porn purveyor.

    Some of the book’s best parts are Lon’s memories of fantastic events during the brothers’ 25-year run at Webster Hall.  Prince is called “the greatest talent ever to grace our stage” thanks to a 2005 performance with a 35-piece orchestra, a milestone witnessed by an invite-only audience of 350. Also fondly remembered are Madonna’s Pajama Party for the release of Bedtime Stories in 1995, Bill Clinton’s Presidential Announcement Party in 1996 (where the Commander-in-Chief “made eyes” at one of his brother’s wives), and Paul Simon’s live recording in 2011, where another genius joined him, David Byrne. From 1992 – 2017, Webster Hall hosted nearly 30 million people and showcased 10,000 musical acts.

    Ballinger’s book also includes many tales of the cut-throat side of the Big Apple’s nightclub business, namely their longtime battles with another promoter and sometimes partner, Bowery Presents. In 2016, the Ballinger Brothers agreed to sell the venue to a Russian oligarch and entertainment mogul, Mikhail Prokhorov, owner of the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center, for $45 million. Like many stories and experiences here, that would be an event full of surprises and drama.  The Ballingers would hand over the keys to their kingdom in the wee hours of August 17, 2017, after a final wild night featuring a performance by Skrillex, an EDM artist whose fame they helped foster.

    Lon’s book concludes with a valuable bonus section: “Lon’s Practical Advice for Running the Best Business in Your World.”  Here, he provides 30 pages of his hard-earned wisdom on what it takes to succeed in any business – from building good relationships with your community, customers, and partners to advice on branding, marketing, insurance, taxes, and lawyers (be wary of the latter). 

    After selling Webster Hall, Lon Ballinger and his wife moved to the Hudson Valley, where they bought and refurbished The Stewart House in Athens, a breathtaking boutique hotel on the Hudson River. They now operate this hospitality gem, hosting their friends and guests at the beautiful and historical 1883 Stewart House Hotel.

    Bio: Sal Cataldi is a musician, writer and former entertainment publicist living in the Hudson Valley and NYC. He is leader of the band Spaghetti Eastern Music and member of the ensembles Guitars A Go Go, Vapor Vespers and spaceheater. He is also the host of “Reading In Funktamental” on WGXC 90.7 FM/Wave Farm, a monthly/Apple Podcast show where he speaks to the authors of the books on music he reviews here at NYSMusic.com

  • Duster Drones (In A Good Way) at Webster Hall

    The turnout was overwhelmingly young at Webster Hall on Wednesday, October 2, for Duster, a heavy, depressing-sounding (in a good way) band that initially released music at a time when most of the audience was in grade school. 

    Their debut album, Stratosphere, was released in 1998, at least five years before most of the hands gripping the stage barrier, marked by black X’s for audience members under 21, were born.

    As Duster’s set time approached, OG Duster fans and veteran concertgoers who skipped the opener began to fill in GA behind a wave of younglings. Shoegaze is the new dad rock, with bands like Duster, Slowdive, and My Bloody Valentine ballooning in popularity with the under-25 crowd, arguably eclipsing their initial popularity. 

    Duster has a perfect grip on the audience’s attention, purposefully subdued, choosing when to cater to the audience. After the first two songs, young voices called out from the crowd, “Turn up your mics. We can’t hear you!” From the stage, Canaan Amber replied softly and succinctly, “No.” As the show continued, the overhead lights faded, and only the LED screen behind them remained, silhouetting them against pulsing and swimming colors.

    The term “shoegaze” can only describe the textural aspect of Duster’s music and leaves out the most gripping part of their sound: tempo. Often called slowcore, a subgenre interested in intensely slow tempos, head banging here is more like nodding with the slow heartbeat of drums and droning guitars.

    Duster seems to pull the tempo even harder live than on the studio recordings, often leaving the audience leaning in before finally reaching the climax of the songs. Injecting a burst of energy for but a moment, and yet, when each song concludes, the audience erupts, held in stasis until one intensely gratifying moment. It’s an exciting feeling that is very different live versus listening at home. Now, Duster makes their way through the midwest until they reach California for two shows at the beginning of November to conclude their tour.

  • Clairo Charms On Night 1 of 5 Night Residency at Webster Hall

    Clairo kicked off her five-night residency at Webster Hall on Friday, September 14th to a sold-out crowd. Webster Hall is the perfect venue to experience Clairo’s music, and more artists should prioritize smaller venues like this. Sure, she’s playing four extra shows to sell the same amount of tickets as she would in an arena, but the difference in experience is staggering.

    While Chappell Roan is currently making headlines for setting boundaries with fans, Clairo is just coming off a three-year hiatus with her new album Charm due to her own experiences with people repeatedly invading her privacy. Finding a way to comfortably interact with fans at shows and online should be a priority for any artist. Clairo deserves huge props for her commitment to doing things in a way that feels comfortable for her.

    Webster Hall was packed before Frankie Cosmos opened, with people overflowing through the side doors of the main ballroom and lining the balcony. Frankie Cosmos’ sound has developed nicely over the past years, with better production and instrumentation. In particular, her drummer injects some extra funk into the mellower songs. Even though Frankie Cosmos was a late addition to the Webster Hall shows, Greta Kline said she was happy to see people outside her fanbase singing along.

    Clairo and her ensemble entered the stage single file with a tray of glasses to cheers and sat down on the set for a little pre-show drink. As she poured wine and handed it to her bandmates, Clairo, in her headphones, black dress with gold ribbons, black tights, and heeled loafers, talked quietly with her ensemble before they eventually clambered to their designated positions on the stage’s tiered platforms covered in green carpet. The stage held a staggering amount of instruments to be used over the show’s hour and a half runtime with a flute, chimes, sax, electric guitar, nylon string acoustic guitar, bass guitar, a real piano on the stage, synths, and a drum machine on an antique table next to Clairo for her song “4Ever.”

    Clairo played through the entirety of her excellent new album, Charm, interspersed with some of her fan favorites. Charm adds much more intrigue to Claro’s sound, incorporating jazzy layered synths and a laid-back West Coast cabana vibe on some tracks such as the album’s opener “Nomad” and “Glory of the Snow.”  Clairo takes this sound further with a modern electronic spin on tracks like “Sexy to Someone” and “Echo.” “Echo” specifically features a jaunty little synth that harkens back to the likes of Broadcast.

    After four songs she requested the lighting tech turn off the front lights and spent most of the show backlit by the giant light handing over the middle of the stage. She seemed reserved at the beginning, but by the second half of the show, she found her groove, and you could tell she was enjoying playing in her home city. A fan held up a red and white ringer tee they made for her that said “Clairo is For Lovers,” and Clairo loved it, saying she would wear it to bed that night. That’s probably the only fan out there who can say they’ve given an artist their favorite pajama tee.

  • TV On The Radio Announce Special ‘Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes’ 20th Anniversary Edition

    Brooklyn-based band TV On The Radio has announced a 20th anniversary edition of their critically acclaimed debut album, Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes, featuring five bonus tracks to be released on November 15, in addition to a return to live performance to celebrate.

    Desperate Youth Bloodthirsty Babes TV on the radio

    Composed of Tunde Adebimpe, Dave Sitek, Kyp Malone, and Jaleel Bunton, TV on the Radio has developed a reputation that precedes them over their past twenty-plus years as a rock band. Recognized for their eclectic sound and experimental attitude, the band has toured worldwide, collaborated with countless household names, and released a total of five studio albums among a plethora of singles. An act of rebellion by simply existing as a Black indie rock band and a force of sonic exploration, TV on the Radio is truly not to be missed.

    Now, just over twenty years since their debut album, TV on the Radio is returning to the public eye for a celebratory re-release of Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes, featuring five bonus tracks, two of which are unreleased. The first, “Final Fantasy,”  is out now  and is an early demo of their song “Bomb Yourself.”

    Recognized by Rolling Stone as “an immaculate album about disappointment in all its forms” and featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, TV on the Radio’s first album release had made its mark on the world from the start. Saturated with concepts of life, love, and loss through the lens of post-9/11 America and heavy with the tension felt by the youngest generations at the time, Desperate Youth puts visceral emotions into words and words into never-before-heard sound. 

    In addition to the exciting rerelease, TV on the Radio has announced their first shows since 2019, with multiple nights in New York City at the historic Webster Hall. The band will be in the city on November 25, 26, 29, and 30, with dates in Los Angeles and London to follow. While still a part of the band, member Dave Sitek will be unable to join the tour. Tickets will be on sale Thursday, September 12 at 10:00 AM local time- for more information, visit here. 

    The full list of dates as well as the 20th Anniversary Edition track list are below.

    TOUR DATES

    November 25 – New York, N.Y. @ Webster Hall

    November 26 – New York, N.Y. @ Webster Hall

    November 29 – New York, N.Y. @ Webster Hall

    November 30 – New York, N.Y. @ Webster Hall

    December 4 – Los Angeles @ El Rey Theatre

    December 5 – Los Angeles @ El Rey Theatre

    December 7 – Los Angeles @ El Rey Theatre

    December 10 – London, UK @ Islington Assembly Hall

    December 11 – London, UK @ Islington Assembly Hall

    December 12 – London, UK @ Islington Assembly Hall

  • Biscoland Triumphs Through the Heat at Wonderland

    More than two decades of Disco Biscuits music festival memories converged in Central New York over July 4-6. Combining the rocky terrain of Skye Top Festival Grounds in Van Etten, the hills of Hunter Mountain, the prime rural location of Mariaville and the heat and humidity of Montage Mountain, Camp Biscos of years past were recalled throughout the weekend, these elements compacting into a look at a bright spot in the once boisterous Northeast music festival scene.

    Biscoland

    Even with all music bumped to be an hour or so earlier than announced, the full Camp Bisco Biscoland experience was on tap. New artists to discover, veteran jam and funk acts to catch up with, Tractorbeam, various DJ sets, a Silent Disco for the post-11 pm noise curfew, and adding in the humidity and heat coupled with the threat of rain/storms, and it was like Camp Bisco 2008 all over again.

    Wonderland Forest, which has the potential to be the Caverns of the Northeast, makes the experience not just inside the venue, but the location includes a drive into the rural foothills in southern Onondaga County, with a unique and accessible layout found nowhere else in the Northeast. A byproduct of the Covid-pandemic, the venue’s management thinks differently about the events they plan, the fans they cater to, and the experience that everyone has upon arrival and throughout the weekend. With a summer calendar of events lined up that rivals amphitheaters around the state, Wonderland Forest is shaping up to make Central New York a true live music destination.

    Thursday arrival was smooth whether you were car camping or bringing the RV along. Staff solved preferred camping shuttle issues quickly to get fans to their sites and out to see the music. 

    The initial afternoon slate of music featured opening acts from JImkata, a nationally touring electro-rock band with ties to nearby Ithaca, and Kitchen Dwellers a very non-local band from Montana continually growing in popularity and serving up a blend of bluegrass and psychedelic rock.

    Day 1 also featured two sets from a pair of renowned DJs, starting with Mark Farina who played an hour’s worth of house music and his signature “mushroom jazz” at the Saloon Stage. Nora En Pure, a deep house producer known for her signature style of downtempo techno, followed on the Main Stage with a set of music that served as a fitting appetizer for the main course that evening.

    That would be Tractorbeam, the Disco Biscuits musical alter ego per se, which features a more techno/dance heavy and lyric-less approach to their music mixed along with other electronica inspirations. Tonight leaned heavily on the “other” with a slew of first timers making their way into the two-hour set that never truly stopped at any point until Katy Perry belted out “Firework.”

    Biscoland

    A first-time cover of Porter Robinson’s “Language” started the set and funneled perfectly into the techno-styled “Confrontation” that the band has mixed into Disco Biscuits sets as of late. The rest of the set followed suit, blending a mix of electronica classics like Fisher’s “Losing It” that segued effortlessly into a rousing “The Great Abyss” with the laser light show now at full strength. The set even featured a cover of Darude’s “Sandstorm,” also played for the first time.

    With the band fittingly adorned in blue and red Adidas track suits for the holiday, they continued to effortlessly churn through new additions to the Tractorbeam musical repertoire, like their take on Fred Again & Baby Keem’s “Leavemealone” that featured some incredible work on the e-drums from Allen Aucoin. The following segment of “Monster” > “Uber Glue” > “Photograph” flowed seamlessly and was the only true run of Biscuits originals. And although there would be no professional pyrotechnics set off on the 4th, the Tractorbeam set ended with a proper cover of Katy Perry’s “Firework” that put an end to the first night of music at Biscoland. 

    Friday warmed up fast and brought along that Camp Bisco humidity of legend and ill repute. Early sets from Dizgo and RAQ brought out those looking to get out of their campsites and hotels. Lespecial kept the crowd engaged, with bassist Luke Bemand poking fun at himself for wearing black jeans on such a hot day, bringing up Cloudchord on guitar during “Enter Sandstorm,” calling back to the Tractorbeam debut of “Sandstorm” the night before. Bemand and Co. flattered the sun-baked crowd throughout the set, reminding those gathered at the main stage “your body is a Wonderland Forest.” Sets from Lettuce and Break Science framed the night ahead, a warm up in the evening daylight for the Biscuits.

    Biscoland

    For the first proper weekend set of Disco Biscuits, a 14-minute “Vassillios” opened things up with the classic old school tune, something rare to find on this night of fresh/er Biscuits. However, we could not confirm at press time that first set highlight “Dino Baby” was influenced by regional brisket. The smoothly flowing “Dino Baby” stretched itself into an inverted “Crickets,” and once the jam was found, gave a bridge to the first (lyrical) debut of the night, “In the End We Have Forever,” although it had been played fully instrumental at Electric Forest two weeks prior. “No Recollection” closed the set with bassist Marc Brownstein encouraging the crowd (and band) they’d keep the setbreak short at 20 minutes, which they nearly delivered on.

    The second set saw the debut of “Another Spin” spanning more than 30 minutes,and based on the March 9, 2024 “No Recollection” jam, per Biscuits Internet Project. Working into the end of “Another Plan of Attack”, the band debuted “Losing It,” again with lyrics, after presenting the instrumental version during Tractorbeam on Thursday night, a rare double-debut for a band that has been unloading fresh new material on fans like an A-list comic hitting the Comedy Cellar night after night for 15-minute sets.

    Dipping back into the beginning of “Another Plan of Attack,” the only other old school Biscuits song of the night, “Catalyst” made itself welcome, grinding the end of the set towards “Ring the Doorbell Twice.” You’d be hard-pressed to find a dull moment from these sets, with plenty to unpack from the debuts upon relistens. 

    The last day of this year’s Biscoland offered a brief respite from some of the humidity and more varied musical acts leading up to two more sets of Disco Biscuits. Saxsquatch, which is exactly what it sounds like, braved the weather and delivered covers on the sax at the Saloon Stage in the early afternoon. Later on the Main Stage, albeit after a bit of a delay, The Breakfast reunited for a set of psychedelic-infused rock that included a spot-on cover of MGMT’s “Time To Pretend.” Afterwards, Space Bacon played to a full and lively crowd back on the Saloon Stage, setting the stage perfectly for the headliners with some Bisco-esque guitar riffs and impressive jamming overall.

    The Biscuits continued to mesh the old with the new in their last two sets of the weekend, starting with a true old school number in “Basis For A Day.” The show began with a cohesive instrumental jam that started off fast and never let up for well over 10 minutes until the familiar chorus, with some added orchestral effects from Magner on keys, rang out. The jam out of “Basis” was patiently crafted and segued seamlessly into “Freeze,” from the band’s recent Revolution In Motion release. The extended jam out of “Freeze” led into “Better In Doses,” a completely brand new song debuted, featuring Barber on lead vocals and an infectious beat that seemed like it could have easily fit alongside other “Motion” songs on the album.

    The second set began with one last nod to the days of old with a massive “House Dog Party Favor” opener that reached almost 30 minutes in length. From the ashes of the second “House Dog” jam arose yet another new song making its live debut, “Trap Door.” This elicited an intense, slow build of a jam that steamrolled perfectly into a “Cyclone” that continued to build the momentum and even used samples of Outkast’s “So Fresh, So Clean.”

    An inverted “Above The Waves’ followed and served as the other massive jam vehicle of the second set. After one last introduction to “Trap Door,” the show came to a close with one last silky smooth transition into “Digital Buddha,” which allotted one last opportunity of samples and true Biscuits rock.

    For those that still had a little left in the tank, a Cloudchord silent disco set was the final performance of this year’s Biscoland due to the last minute change in schedule. The Revolution in Motion producer was armed with a guitar and a drum machine and even brought up Barber for a short few minutes on a run through of “Shocked,” giving those in attendees one last chance to soak up the very last remnants of Biscoland 2.

    The Disco Biscuits community has rallied to support a fan who was injured by a tree that fell in the night of July 5. A GoFundMe has been set up. Learn more here to help Mary Wallace on her road to recovery.

    Disco Biscuits 2024 Tour Dates
    7/11 – Selbyville, DE – Freeman Arts Pavilion
    7/12 – Atlantic City, NJ – Bourbon Ballroom
    7/13 – Richmond, VA – The National
    7/14 – Wilmington, NC – Greenfield Lake Amphitheater
    7/15 – Isle of Palms, SC – The Windjammer
    7/18-19 Thornville, OH – Secret Dreams Festival
    7/20 – Patchogue, NY – Great South Bay Music Festival
    8/9-11 – Long Pond, PA – Elements Festival
    8/29-30 – TBA
    8/31-9/1 – Murphysboro, IL – Weekend at the Cave
    9/6 – Dillon, CO – Dillon Amphitheater
    9/7 – Bellvue, CO – Mishawaka Amphitheatre (SOLD OUT)
    9/8 – Bellvue, CO – Mishawaka Amphitheatre (SOLD OUT)
    9/11 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot
    9/13 – Livingston, MT – Pine Creek Lodge (TRACTORBEAM)
    9/14-15 – Livingston, MT – Pine Creek Lodge

    steve mink biscoland

  • The Lemon Twigs Release LP ‘A Dream Is All We Know’, Int’l Tour Includes Levon Helm Studios and Webster Hall Shows

    NYC sibling duo The Lemon Twigs have just released their latest LP, A Dream Is All We Know, via independent Brooklyn label, Captured Tracks. They also embark on an international tour, stopping back in New York for shows at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, and Webster Hall in the East Village.

    The Lemon Twigs

    The Lemon Twigs – a duo consisting of brothers Brian and Michael D’Addario from Hicksville, Long Island – have been described as “remarkably inventive… harmonically unlike anything that’s come before them” by Michael McDonald. The brothers formed the band while still enrolled at Hicksville High School, and have been consistently recording and touring since 2014.

    A Dream Is All We Know was recorded completely to tape and mixed and mastered by Brian and Michael themselves on of-the-era equipment, and explores the timeless tropes of the Lennon-McCartney songbook, with Sean Ono Lennon co-producing “In The Eyes Of The Girl.” The album features the harmonies of the Wilson family, and many other 1968 influences including The Move, Big Star, The Raspberries, The Byrds, The Left Banke, and many more.

    The Lemon Twigs have also announced a massive, 30 date headlining tour this fall. The run of shows include some of their biggest US venues to date including Webster Hall. The fall tour follows summer dates across the Southeastern US and a leg in the EU.

    The Lemon Twigs Live Dates

    USA 

    5/4 – White Eagle Hall / Jersey City, NJ

    5/5 – The Southern Cafe and Music Hall / Charlottesville, VA

    5/7 – King – Raleigh, NC

    5/9 – The Pour House / Charleston, SC

    5/10 – Tuffys Music Box / Sanford, FL

    5/11 – Heartwood Soundstage / Gainesville, FL

    5/12 – Crowbar / Tampa, FL

    5/14 – 40 Watt / Athens, GA

    5/15 – Saturn / Birmingham, AL

    5/16 – 805 After / Huntsville, AL 

    5/17 – The Burf / Lexington, KY

    5/18 – Rumba Cafe / Columbus, OH (SOLD OUT)

    Europe

    5/25 – CCVF / Guimarães, Portugal

    5/26 – LAV / Lisbon, Portugal

    5/28 – Sala Copérnico / Madrid, Spain (SOLD OUT)

    5/29 – Kafe Antzokia / Bilbao, Spain

    5/30 – Sala Oasis / Zaragoza, Spain

    6/1 – Primavera Sound Festival / Barcelona, Spain

    USA 

    7/20 – Fort Collins, CO / The Aggie

    7/23 – Indianapolis, IN / HI-FI

    7/24 – Detroit, MI / Magic Bag

    7/26 – Northampton, MA / Iron Horse Music Hall

    7/27 – Woodstock, NY / Levon Helm Barn

    Europe & UK

    8/29 – 9/1 – End of the Road Festival / Salisbury, UK

    8/30 – The Globe / Cardiff, UK

    9/2 – O2 Academy Oxford / Oxford, UK

    9/3 – Thekla / Bristol, UK

    9/4 – Concorde 2 / Brighton, UK

    9/5 – Electric Brixton / Brixton, UK

    9/7 – Hangar 34 / Liverpool, UK

    9/9 – The Grove / Newcastle, UK

    9/10 – St. Luke’s Church, UK

    9/11 – Brudenell Social Club / Leeds, UK

    9/12 – Academy 2 / Manchester, UK

    9/14 – The Button Factory / Dublin, IE

    9/16 – Bataclan / Paris, FR

    9/17 – Botanique / Brussels, BE

    9/18 – Tolhuistuin / Amsterdam, NL

    9/21 – Club Volta / Cologne, DE

    9/22 – Kesselhaus / Berlin, DE

    9/24 – L’Aeronef / Lille, FR

    9/25 – Big Band Café / Caen, FR

    9/27 – Rock School Barbery / Bordeaux, FR

    North America 

    10/3 – Boston, MA / Crystal Ballroom

    10/4 – Montreal, QC / Théâtre Fairmount

    10/5 – Toronto, ON / Lee’s Palace

    10/7 – Cleveland, OH / Beachland Ballroom

    10/8 – Pittsburgh, PA / Thunderbird Cafe

    10/10 – Washington, DC / Atlantis

    10/11 – Philadelphia, PA / Underground Arts

    10/12 – New York, NY / Webster Hall

    10/18 – Chicago, IL / Lincoln Hall

    10/19 – Minneapolis, MN / Fine Line

    10/21 – Milwaukee, WI / Shank Hall

    10/24 – Dallas, TX / Deep Ellum Art Co. 

    10/25 – Houston, TX / White Oak Music Hall 

    10/26 – Austin, TX / Antone’s 

    10/29 – Atlanta, GA / Terminal West

    11/1 – Asheville, NC / The Grey Eagle

    11/2 – Richmond, VA / Richmond Music Hall 

    11/8 – Denver, CO / Globe Hall

    11/9 – Denver, CO / Globe Hall

    11/11 – Salt Lake City, UT / Kilby Court

    11/12 – Boise, ID / Shrine Basement

    11/14 – Portland, OR / Aladdin Theater

    11/15 – Seattle, WA / Barboza

    11/16 – Seattle, WA / Barboza

    11/22 – Los Angeles, CA / The Belasco

    11/23 – Pioneertown, CA / Pappy & Harriet’s

  • Disco Biscuits Unveil ‘Revolution In Motion’ At Webster Hall

    To commemorate their first studio release in nearly 13 years, The Disco Biscuits staged a release party at New York City’s famed Webster Hall on March 29. With help from a couple of friends, the band played their new album Revolution In Motion from start to finish over two sets that spanned nearly four hours, much of it without a break between tracks.

    Along with their typically incredible light show via Herm Light Designs, and corresponding animation from Blunt Action and Todd Kushnir projected on a screen behind the band, the album came to life and cemented its lore in Disco Biscuits history.

    The sold out show had a buzz about it for weeks leading up, with the night having a slight bit of warmth to it in the East Village, ushering fans inside shortly after doors to secure a spot for a night that was years in the making. With the tracks from Revolution in Motion debuting since 2022, fans are well acclimated to the new material, as well as the depths of jamming that can unfold from any of the songs. Therein lies the beauty of what the Disco Biscuits have created in their ninth studio album, and not just the music – the story that intertwines the songs was revealed in full earlier this day, completing Part 1 of Revolution in Motion, with the band saving the day on the alien world Polyfuzia.

    Revolution In Motion disco biscuits

    The band was joined by three special guests this evening – Erin Boyd added soul with her vocals on “Twisted in the Road” and “Why We Dance,” Matteo Scammell singing alongside guitarist Jon Guttwillig on “Tourists (Rocket Ship)” and “To Be Continued…,” and guitarist Cloud Chord joining for “Tourists (Rocket Ship)” and “Spaga’s Last Stand,” which had keyboardist Aron Magner step out with a keytar for back-to-back playing alongside Cloud Chord. Guests for the Disco Biscuits are infrequent at best, and the three etched their names into Biscuits’ history as well as the fans memories.

    In lieu of a song-by-song breakdown of the show, we encourage you to listen to the full show here on Nugs.net. The show is best enjoyed in full from start to finish, taking the story along with the music and explorative trance-fusion jams.

    Revolution In Motion disco biscuits

    A full summation of the night, however, is best found from Brian Stollery, who offers the following thoughts on the evening that unfolded at Webster Hall.

    In the kaleidoscopic carnival that was the Disco Biscuits’ album release show for Revolution in Motion, their first sonic odyssey in 14 years since Otherwise Law Abiding Citizens, the band once again proved themselves as the cosmic jesters at the crossroads of the Grateful Dead’s experimental psychedelia and the pulsating heart of modern analog techno’s transcendental oneness revolution.

    Despite the show’s seemingly one-dimensional façade, the Biscuits unfurled a rich tapestry of musical textures and ideas, a mélange of old school anthems and Gen Z deep house reverberations that were so audaciously mediocre they ascended to a peculiar echelon of brilliance, embodying the band’s signature blend of tongue-in-cheek humor and earnest musical exploration.

    Among the cacophony, “The Deal” emerged as a transcendent hymn, a bizarre yet profound meditation on business acumen that captures the essence of the Biscuits’ ability to spin mundane realities into psychedelic gold, propelling the audience into a state of intellectual spiritual mayhem, where fun collides with the sublime in a spectacular explosion of sound and fury.

    Disco Biscuits – Webster Hall, NYC – March 29, 2024

    Set 1: Shocked > The Wormhole > Twisted In The Road > Another Plan Of Attack > Times Square >Freeze
    Set 2: Tourists (Rocket Ship) > Spaga’s Last Stand, Who’s In Charge > Space Train > The Deal > One
    Chance To Save The World > Why We Dance
    Encore: To Be Continued

    Revolution In Motion disco biscuits
    Revolution In Motion disco biscuits
    Revolution In Motion disco biscuits
    Revolution In Motion disco biscuits
    Revolution In Motion disco biscuits
    Revolution In Motion disco biscuits
    Revolution In Motion disco biscuits
    Revolution In Motion disco biscuits
    Revolution In Motion disco biscuits
    Revolution In Motion disco biscuits

  • Disco Biscuits Officially Release ‘Revolution in Motion’

    The Disco Biscuits have just released their first full-length studio album in nearly 13 years, Revolution In Motion. The official release party is tonight in the form of a much anticipated sold-out show at New York City’s Webster Hall. The band is scheduled to play the album, their latest rock opera, in its entirety for the first time ever.

    With Revolution In Motion now fully available on all streaming platforms, this means the corresponding animated movie that’s been being released in pieces is now complete as well. The fourth and final installment is now in place, completing the story of what the band is dubbing a “space opera.”

    Disco Biscuits 'Revolution in Motion'

    Each of the segments, animated by Blunt Action, predominantly features one track from Revolution In Motion which tells a story about wayward aliens who unexpectedly find themselves in our galaxy and then encounter the Disco Biscuits themselves. The first installment features the song “Another Plan Of Attack” and serves as an introduction for the four alien figures, who seem to be loosely based on the band, and shows exactly how they happened upon Earth, Times Square to be exact.

    The second piece is centered around the song “Freeze” and sees the aliens literally freezing everyone waiting to get into the show. But with Disco Biscuits, on stage deep underground, remain unfrozen and come to the rescue. With the aliens planning to abduct the frozen humans for study, the Biscuits confront the aliens, saving the day, but in the process find themselves being abducted onto the alien ship.

    The third chapter, which came in conjunction with the band’s announcement of this summer’s Biscoland festival in Lafayette, NY, was released two weeks ago. Now the band is aboard the alien spacecraft, which has strong Soul Train vibes, negotiating a way back to Earth so this edition features the song “The Deal.”

    Now the complete animated story wraps up with the band, who successfully “merge” electronic DNA with the aliens and spread their music throughout space. This gets the Disco Biscuits their requested trip home and is highlighted by the track “To Be Continued” which may imply that this story isn’t quite over yet.

    See the full animated video for Revolution In Motion above and below for audio of the full album. After tonight’s Webster Hall release party, the band trucks up to Western NY and Buffalo for two nights at the Town Ballroom.

  • Disco Biscuits Announce Album Release Show At Webster Hall

    The Disco Biscuits have announced an upcoming album release show for Revolution in Motion at New York City’s famous Webster Hall. The much anticipated gig is set to take place on March 29, coinciding with the release date of the band’s first new studio project in more than nine years. It comes in the midst of an already expansive 2024 winter tour, right in between performances scheduled for Wilkes Barre, Pa and Buffalo. It also marks the return of The Disco Biscuits to Webster Hall for the first time in nearly 25 years.

    Revolution in Motion is already being touted by the Biscuits’ fanbase as the bands latest rock opera, following in the footsteps of Hot Air Balloon and Chemical Warfare Brigade. This latest one was originally conceptualized by guitarist Jon Gutwillig and collaborator Joey Friedman in 2021 before they brought Biscuits keyboardist Aron Magner in to help write the following year. The songs, which tell the tale of an alien interstellar journey, have all made their way into the band’s live repertoire one by one upon completion and are now ready for their official release in album form.

    “With a large part of the space opera taking place in New York City, we thought it was only appropriate to play a show there on the day of its release,” noted Magner. “After our late-night rager at the Palladium over our New Year’s run in 2023, we can’t wait to get back to NYC and tell this story from start to finish.”

    The Album Release Show at Webster Hall will go on sale to the public on Friday, January 26 at noon E.T. An Artist Presale will begin on Wednesday, January 24 at noon E.T. with the password: RevolutionInMotion. Visit www.discobiscuits.com for more information.