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With hundreds of multi-colored balloons waiting at bay near the ceiling of the Tower Theatre, fans patiently awaited the arrival of the Disco Biscuits as they returned to Philadelphia the night before New Year’s Eve to close out what has been a fantastic 2010, and a hectic final week, with back to back nights in their hometown. To complicate matters in a time of great celebration, the band experienced a devastating blow when drummer Allen Aucoin was treated and hospitalized earlier in the week for a serious asthma attack thus being sidelined for the New York and Philadelphia string of shows. Filling Allen’s role on Thursday night was former Disco Biscuit and founding member, Dr. Sam Altman, and Johnny Rabb, drummer of the band BioDiesel. While all thoughts were with Aucoin and his family, the fans welcomed back Altman with great appreciation and honored Rabb for stepping in on such short notice.
The jam species was well in attendance to support the Disco Biscuits last week and fans were greeted with the psychedelic future sounds of Shpongle, as Simon Posford threw down a DJ set perched high atop his tower. Flanked with two of his dancers donning fluorescent light up hula hoops, Posford entertained the energized crowd until shortly after 9:00pm with trance rhythms and off tempo beats.
Taking the stage around 9:45pm, Marc Brownstein graciously greeted the loyal fan base and thanked everyone for making it out before the band dove into “Hot Air Balloon.” Seeing the Disco Biscuits play at such a large and acoustically refined venue as the Tower Theatre was a great spectacle. From the last row in the upper level you were able to hear a well balanced sound and see the entire laser show in front of you. Down on the floor, the large stage setup gave everyone great views from all angles while being immersed in a sea of light and sound. The band seemed closely knit together and the transitions flowed seamlessly throughout the set. The fusion sounds of Aron Magner on the keys/synth mixed with Jon Gutwillig’s guitar solos provided an illumination of sound that resonated deep throughout the confines of the Tower.
The long awaited release of Planet Anthem kept Bisco fans on edge until March of 2010 when the album dropped, just in time for the Disco Biscuits to get back on the road in late-spring and thru the summer leading up to their annual festival, Camp Bisco. With 2011 underway, the Disco Biscuits are set to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their Camp Bisco festival and are prepping for another four-night run, this time taking over the Boulder Theater and Ogden Theatre in the high altitudes of Colorado in mid-January and an extension that has shows currently lined up through February.
