The world’s finest Disco Biscuits cover band — Tractorbear — took the stage at American Beauty in midtown Manhattan on Saturday, June 17th to deliver a set of their customary smokin’ re-works of the Biscuits’ best, as well as a special treat: the debut of a whole set of original music, under their new moniker Microcave. The group’s songwriting shows a lot of the traits that define The Disco Biscuits, writing compact, tight riffs that can unpack into elaborate, almost-Byzantine medleys, as well as orchestrally-inclined numbers that resolve themselves into blissful, stripped-down, thematic dirges.

A Chill Briefing On The Events That Transpired At Tractorbear, The Disco Biscuits Tribute

“Merkaba” is a complex, classical piece — perhaps most reminiscent of the Biscuits’ Bazaar Escape — with a darker sensibility characterized by its minor chords and restrained yet tense guitar playing. “Party In A Paper Bag” opens sounding almost like a synth-pop version of “Down To The Bottom,” as if Devo or Kraftwerk decided to try on the Biscuits for size. As Microcave worked its way into the song’s first jam, the patience of the group shone through. Each member seemed to feel comfortable dropping into the back of the sound with a simple riff to let another take the lead. Paul Katz’s lead bassline set a tone with a sort of Running Man tenacity. Jason Cohen’s hammering MIDI pads turned the affair briefly into a trap rock sound. And slowly, in between the back-and-forth of quickly scratched out guitar riffs from James Dellisanti and bending chords from Steve Lasker on keys, an expansive, driving, determined jam arose — one that really seemed to stretch the group into territory none had been before. As the cascading lines of four perfectly in-sync musicians echoed off of one another, it gradually dawned on audience members that they were witnessing something truly unique and special.

No one would have known it between the two instrumentals, but listening back now, one can say that “Party In A Paper Bag” cuts off as the escalating interaction between Lasker and Dellisanti duo. The next song, “Cosmos,” was a more tranquil composition. As it comes to the fore, Lasker’s keys take on a xylophone tone, and the driving Lunar Pursuit-reminiscent bassline fades to reveal something steeped in the Island Biscuits sound. The tone on Katz’s bass seems to slowly ratchet itself up, and then, in turn, so does the resonance of Cohen’s consistently innovative fills. As the jam multiplies in its complexity, its Shpongle-esque loops and arcing guitar notes double back on each other to form a Celtic knot of interwoven and replicating lines, all of which converge on each other until eventually coming to a head with the return of “Party In A Paper Bag.” 

“Lucy’s Stone” is a simple call-and-response diddy during its chorus and verses. As the song picks up into its jam though, it turns into a different beast, beginning with a sort of Moshi Fameus-influenced freeform synth-based jam before blasting off behind a devilish guitar line. You can watch the full set of Tractorbear’s originals as Microcave below or listen the audio here.

 

However, for Tractorbear’s second set, the group returned to its Biscuits-tribute form. Opening with “Devo Frog Legs” — a cover of The Perfume’d version of the song — the band got crowd-members’ hips swinging in sync. They came out of this first number into “Big Wrecking Ball,” a song off of the Biscuits’ widely panned ‘09 release, Planet Anthem, and that is almost reminiscent of Muse with its Art-Rock, college-radio, Power-Pop sensibilities. Tackling it with an aplomb not easily applied to the number, its jam developed with vigor, turning it into more of the rock and roll anthem it was intended to be. That, in combination with the Biscuits’ recent exploration of ‘”Loose Change” at The Cap Theater makes the listener wonder if all of the songs from that album were classics and merely waiting to be given the proper and full treatment. Tractorbear came out of “Big Wrecking Ball” to play the end of “Munchkin Invasion,” a song the group left incomplete at their last show, at Evolution of Jam  at The Hall At MP on May 19. Its frenetic energy led to a perfect segue into “Caterpillar” — a smoking demonstration in electronic madness whose complex BPM and synth lines make it no easy stallion to tame.

After the glorious conclusion of “Caterpillar” and a quick chant for Mr. Shlappy (Katz’s bass-heavy producer alter-ego), the band picked up with a heavenly “Highwire,” altogether soaring and electric with their rendition. The song was originally a jam vehicle — on They Missed The Perfume, the Biscuits essentially used the feel-good tune as a glue to stick together a wide variety of disparate explorations. Though it’s often used as an encore by the Biscuits these days, when “Highwire” is played by Tractorbear, it takes on the sort of freeform everywhere-and-nowhere sort of song it once was. As Tractorbear continued their high-energy rendition of the tune, the audience could feel the room’s temperature rise. Soon, Jared (the guitarist from the opening band Baked Shrimp) joined the band on-stage, returning the favor to Lasker, who’d joined Baked Shrimp for their “Once The Fiddler Paid” encore. Jared and Dellisanti worked the song’s energy up into a fever pitch, where it turned itself into a ripping “Tricycle.” Jared seemed to have new riff to back up each new chorus, and the song’s complexity redoubled every couple bars as it heated up. After a cascading finish on the end of “Highwire,” the band left the stage to a resounding roar from its devoted audience.

The final, ripping “Trooper McCue” worked itself into the conclusion of their original, “Cosmos,” and the band walked off the stage into the arms of some of their best friends, beaming with adulation as they looked out on the group of loons whose wild dream they’d encouraged for years up until this moment.

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