The Disco Biscuits Celebrate 4/20, Are Honored With Special Banner At Philly's Fillmore [Video/Photo]

The anticipation inside The Fillmore for the start of The Disco Biscuits’ three-night Philly run was palpable, and the energy high as the Biscuits’ rabid fanbase was ready to kick off the party. For the first night of the run on Thursday, April 19th, Jon “Barber” Gutwillig came out sporting a green and black Eagles 42 jersey and sunglasses, much to the delight of the hometown crowd.

The opening set kicked off with a stellar “Caterpillar”, which was a preview of the night ahead. Marc Brownstein was driving the rhythm forward with his heavy basslines, as Aron Magner tore apart the keys with his spacey jams and Barber shredded on his guitar. As always, Johnny R. Goode provided the atmosphere for the night, taking his light show where only he can bring it.

The set continued to pick up steam during a reggae-esque inverted “Aquatic Ape” before landing into the classic ’80s cover of Men Without Hats’ “Safety Dance”, eliciting a huge roar from the crowd. The raging rainbow laser lights during “Safety Dance” were the perfect touch, and the crowd was rocking so hard. Out of “Safety Dance”, it was back into “Caterpillar”, and then “Once The Fiddler Paid” to close out an amazing first night set one.

Set two picked right up where set one left off, as they opened with a Biscuits favorite, “Little Shimmy in a Conga Line”. It is an otherworldly experience when the house lights drop off and the Biscuits take their jams to deep and dark places, and the second set contained many moments like this, with Barber carrying jams and letting loose while Brownie pushed the tempo forward on bass. Set two featured an unfinished “Rock Candy” and a take on “Pimp Blue Rikkis” before the band ended their non-stop musical madness by landing back into “Little Shimmy” and closing out the set with “Spy”. The nearly three and a half hour show finished with a rocking “Home Again” encore, which sent the satisfied crowd out into the Philly night and ready for the rest of the run.

[Video: The Disco Biscuits]

Setlist: The Disco Biscuits | The Fillmore | Philadelphia, PA | 4/19/2018

Set 1: Caterpillar> Aquatic Ape [1]> The Safety Dance> Caterpillar, Once The Fiddler Paid

Set 2: Little Shimmy In A Conga Line> Rock Candy [2]> Pimp Blue Rikkis> Little Shimmy In A Conga Line, Spy

Encore: Home Again

[1] inverted version | [2] unfinished

After a spacey and psychedelic ride on night one, the Biscuits returned to the Fillmore for night two of their three-night run. Following a triumphant opening set from Colorado’s Magic Beans, the Biscuits came out of the gates swinging with a set-opening “Helicopters”. This kicked the party into high gear, as Johnny Goode was terrific on the lights as always.

The band dropped right out of “Helicopters” into an inverted “Little Betty Boop”, then moved into relative rarity “Commercial Amen,” which was last played on March 21, 2010, marking a gap of 278 shows. “Little Betty Boop” went to some super spacey, far-out places, with Magner owning the keys and synths. After “Commercial Amen,” they took it right back into “Helicopters,” before closing out the raging first set with “Save The Robots.”

The band came back after this fiery first set, opening with “Spraypaint,” and the dance party was in full effect again. “Spraypaint” was the perfect choice for the 4/20 show, with the opening lyrics: “Did you ever think about it that everyone gets lifted all the time?” The Biscuits followed that up with another relative rarity, busting out “Boom Shanker” for the first time since May 27, 2010, a gap of 262 shows. The second set continued to drive forward from there, with an inverted “Mulberry’s Dream” that whipped the crowd into a frenzy followed by takes on “Tempest” and “Tricycle”. They closed set two by finishing the “Spraypaint” that got set two started.

The real treat during the Disco Biscuits’ Friday performance would come during the encore, as the Biscuits laid out a rousing and frenzied “After Midnight” cover that had the crowd ecstatic. But that wasn’t it: they would wrap the night up with “Spacebirdmatingcall,” once again leaving the Biscuits crowd hungry for more. The only question that remained: how could they top themselves for night three?

[Video: The Disco Biscuits]

Setlist: The Disco Biscuits | The Fillmore | Philadelphia, PA | 4/20/2018

Set 1: Helicopters> Little Betty Boop [1]> Commercial Amen [2]> Helicopters, Save The Robots

Set 2: Spraypaint> Boom Shanker [3]> Mulberry’s Dream [1] > Tempest> Tricycle> Spraypaint

Encore: After Midnight> Spacebirdmatingcall

[1] inverted version | [2] last played 3/21/10 (278 shows) | [3] last played 5/27/10 (262 shows)

To close out the third night, the Disco Biscuits returned to The Fillmore in truly proper form. Celebrating the close of their three-night hometown extravaganza, the Disco Biscuits were honored with a banner celebrating the fact that they’ve played the venue the most out of any other act—coming in a whopping nine times. To be fair and jokes aside, the venue is relatively new for those raising eyebrows, and even the band got in on the jokes during the banter before the second set’s closer of “Nughuffer”. Other notable moments included Allen Aucoin’s monstrous drum solo during the first set’s “Jigsaw Earth”, and overall, the show has been heralded as one of the better shows of the year.