The Disco Biscuits delivered a tasty setlist of jamtronica in their hometown of Philadelphia, PA at The Mann Center last night. They were joined by frequent cohorts, Lotus, plus a DJ set by Luke the Knife for an evening of high energy dance music. This was the second night of the City Bisco run, which replaced the beloved Camp Bisco this year, as it was not possible to safely hold the festival because of the covid-19 pandemic. Fortunately, the Disco Biscuits unleashed a set list that brought smiles to fans old and new.
Many fans were unable to make City Bisco this summer, but thankfully Couchtour.tv was utilized to provide live video stream of the two day event. Not only did they provide a high quality HD feed, but users also had the ability to toggle into an enhanced visual effects version all for one price. This creative option gave fans a more trippy experience while watching the feed, and complimented the music depending on one's state of mind.
Last night marked the last time that guitarist Mike Rempel will play with Lotus in Philadelphia. He is leaving the band and music entirely to pursue a new career. The set was bittersweet, but Lotus did their best to make it memorable with their classic house and hip hop beats intertwined with stellar jams.
After Lotus got the crowd moving, the Disco Biscuits took the stage and immediately went into beast mode with “Mulberry’s Dream.” The rest of the set formed a giant exploratory jam sandwich, and felt more like a second set than the first. This kicked off with an unfinished “Reactor” that transitioned into “Champions,” which was last played at Montage Mountain on 10/24/2020. The first “Tractorbeam” of the evening followed, and was noted as “Revive” on the setlist. “Tractorbeam” is an experimental jam that is rooted in drums and bass, and more recently represents an effort to recreate existing electronic music in a live setting. The set heated up next with a fiery “Crickets” build up that exploded into the set list rarity, “Trucker’s Choice.” Last played on November 17, 2017, this dance friendly song brought huge smiles to faces in the crowd.
The Disco Biscuits returned after a much needed break, and blazed on with another set of continuous songs, starting with “Mindless Dribble,” from their album They Missed the Perfume, followed by “Anthem.” This segued into “Gamma Goblins,” a psychedelic cover by Simon Posford, and another “Tractorbeam” jam, though the second set’s version is based on an unnamed original tune by keyboardist Aron Magner. Drummer Alan Aucoin notably shined as the MVP throughout this sequence, and fueled the edgy electronic jams this evening. The jam sandwich rounded out with an inverted “Abraxas” and “Story of the World.” Inverted means that the jam was played first, and the composed section of the song was played last. The band left the stage briefly, and returned to a crowd on their feet and chanting for more. The Disco Biscuits obliged, and wrapped up the evening with the high energy “We Like to Party,” a tune written by bassist Marc Brownstein.
The Disco Biscuits executed a stellar set list and gave fans a reason to smile, despite the cancellation of their EDM based music festival, Camp Bisco. Lotus was also on hand to lay down their melodic beats, and give Philly the opportunity to see Mike Rempel for the last time. Fans were certainly satisfied with the almost non-stop set list full of electronic delights. Thankfully, both the Disco Biscuits and Lotus are on tour this summer and fall. For more information, visit their websites: discobiscuits.com and lotusband.com.
Check out more photos from the show.
Set One
Mulberry’s Dream, Reactor1 > The Champions > Tractorbeam2 > Crickets > Trucker’s Choice
Set Two
Mindless Dribble > Anthem > Gamma Goblins3 > Tractorbeam4 > Abraxas5 > Story Of The World
Encore
We Like To Party
Notes
1 - unfinished
2 - Revive
3 - Cover by Simon Posford
4 - Disco Biscuit original, written by Aron Magner
5 - inverted
