The Disco Biscuits capped off a three-night run at Chicago, Illinois’ Riviera Theatre on Saturday night.
Coming off a four-show New Year’s run at New York City’s PlayStation Theater, the jamtronica outfit treated fans to two sets of their jazz-fusion and electronic inspired tunes.
Guitarist Jon “Barber” Gutwillig got the show rolling with an upbeat and heavily distorted riff on “7-11”. Keyboardist Aaron Magner laid down phrases with the synth during the chorus before an improv section. The rhythm section, dominated by bassist Marc “Brownie” Brownstein and drummer Allen Aucoin, led the band through a multi-layered “7-11” sandwich that continued with a segue to “Rivers”.
Melodic layers of Aucoin’s keys and Barber’s guitar brought the band back to “7-11” before taking off once again. A segue to the Uncivilized Area track, “Little Betty Boop” ensued. They started in the middle of the song and transitioned to the beginning before finally finishing “7-11”.
The second half of set one began with an unfinished rendition of “Miracles”. Originally debuted with their side-project Electron, “Miracles” built to a captivating apex with the help of Magner’s synth ahead of an inverted take on “Confrontation”. The Disco Biscuits ended set one with “42”, finishing the song from the night before.
Barber led the band into “Vassillios” to begin set two. Magner and Brownie aided Barber with backing vocals during the chorus before a dark and spacey jam section. Speeding up, they then drove back towards “Vassillios” before launching off once again. Next up was “Anthem”, a track recently debuted at their fall tour stop in Pittsburgh, PA at Roxian Theater.
A transition to the Biscuits staple, “Above The Waves” set up a “Tractorbeam” segment. This is where the band covers an electronic song with its own multi-instrument twist. Magner began this section beautifully, leading in with ambient synths and layering melodies aplenty. Aucoin then got the dance floor moving with a traditional four-on-the-floor beat.
The giant second set segue continued with an inverted “The Great Abyss”. Another new tune, “4th of July”, followed before they made their way back to an inverted “Above The Waves”. They ended the set with a cover of Aram Khachaturian‘s “Sabre Dance”.
Following a short encore break, the Biscuits came out swinging with “Story Of The World”. Then, a third recently debuted number, “Station”, came next before a segue back to “Story Of The World” topped the encore sandwich.
Watch a full show pro-shot video of the Disco Biscuits at Riviera Theatre below.
The Disco Biscuits – Riviera Theatre – 1/4/20 – Full Pro-Shot Video
[Video: The Disco Biscuits]
Below, check out a setlist of the performance.
The Disco Biscuits continue their 2020 Winter Tour on January 15th at The Ritz in Raleigh, NC. They will then hit The Fillmore Charlotte, in Charlotte, NC on the 16th before a two-night run at The Fillmore Silver Spring in Silver Spring, MD on January 17th-18th.
Visit the band’s official website for tickets and tour information.