Everyone was excited about this show in the big arena. It was the pinnacle of the Inferno. I was most excited about the space that the 1st Bank Center provides for the fans. Most require a lot of dancing room at Disco Biscuit shows. This would allow us to dance, see the lights at a wider scope, and also mingle with everyone including those who were not able to attend the other shows. Furthermore, I was really excited about seeing the backstage and VIP area at this newer venue in Broomfield, outside of Boulder, CO.
There were two openers on this night: Michal Menert and Griz. I heard a lot of Menert’s music, but was not familiar with Griz at all minus what I listened to on Pandora, which I was not that excited about. But, after both of these artists took the stage, I was pleasantly surprised with both. Menert’s set was average, but Griz impressed me. I was not that into what I heard from Griz on Pandora, but they really captured my attention and got the crowd dancing around the giant venue. Most fans came a bit late, but by the time the Disco Biscuits took the stage this venue, where I most recently saw Rob Zombie with Marilyn Manson, Radiohead, and Guns N’ Roses became full but comfortable. This is my favorite arena to see a show in. It helps that it is very close to my house and has a full basketball court backstage for the ambitious fan or musician. It was to be the best Biscuits show that I have seen since the last Bisco Inferno at Red Rocks Amphitheater.
Brownstein greeted the eager audience first and told the crowd that they had so much fun the previous night at the Ogden in Denver. He then expressed his excitement about playing at the 1st Bank Center. The opening song was the rare “Sound One,” written by former drummer Sammy Altman. This adventurous song with many places and parts to it floated through the big room until an inverted “Helicopters,” fluttered seamlessly in. The Biscuits have played this song at each of their most recent runs including twice during the New Year’s run, but for good reason. What a start! This 
show was off and running already! I cannot say enough times how much I enjoy hearing former drummer Altman and current drummer Allen Aucoin set the dance beat down for the rest of the fellas to play in. I firmly believe that these two have innovated the way that the drums are played in electronic music. The sheer speed in which they cruise like a hummingbird in traffic with no worries delivers the most alive and danceable space to dwell in psychedelia. An inverted “And the Ladies Were the Rest of the Night” came smoothly next led by Aron Magner laying down the funk. And to confuse matters more, this frenzy went into a dyslexic “Munchkin Invasion.”
To add to the fun, Marc Brownstein said that they were going to bring up a friend, who if you looked up the word homie in the dictionary, it would define him well. Then, former Motet member and current Big Gigantic horn player Dominic Lalli approached the stage. As requested by a fan, they took us all into “Caves of the East > Save the Robots” to round out the first set. Magner continued to kill it with samples of Snoop and others rhymin’ into the horn and Shpongle sounding beat. With extra props given to Lalli for being one of the nicest people in the business the set break was upon us.
When they came out from set break, Brownstein took a picture of the crowd for his kids, and said that he traded hats with Griz backstage. Then, finally, I got a chance to see them cover one of my favorite 80’s songs, “Safety Dance” by Men Without Hats. They have only played this song twice in the last three years. Old school was the theme to the second set, and I could not be any happier with that. Brownstein dedicated “M.E.M.P.H.I.S.” to a few fans who were at their first show. They absolutely nailed it, especially at the end when they glided into a dyslexic “Munchkin Invasion” and then “The Great Abyss.” Some say this was the best transition and/or moment of the weekend. The latter is an instrumental created Aron Magner and debuted here in Colorado at the Fillmore Auditorium in 2006. The dance party moved from the rising action to the climax here, and they closed the set going into the classics “I-Man > Crickets > Basis for a Day.” As a fan since 1997, I truly appreciated this set a lot.
Finally, the Biscuits’ encore were two newer songs, “Strobelights and Martinis” and Brownstein’s “Portal to an Empty Head,” which they love to play in Colorado. I think that they have played it every time I have seen them in Colorado since its debut in 2009, and that is a quarter of the amount they have played to song total. The weekend as a whole was fantastic as expected including the very secret show that was played at the Fox Theater the next night (see set list below). It was really great to see the guys gelling again on stage, and I am looking forward to our next meeting.
Check out more photos from the show.
01/27/13 | Fox Theatre | Boulder , CO
Set 1: Little Shimmy In A Conga Line > Orch Theme > Bombs > Little Shimmy In A Conga Line, Spaga*
Set 2: Highwire > Vassillios > Gangster > Crickets > Lunar Pursuit > Aceetobee, Nughuffer
Encore: Mirrors
*with Dom from Big Gigantic
