Bisco In Buffalo: The Disco Biscuits’ Two-Night Take Over Of Town Ballroom

Hot on the heels of the widely acclaimed Revolution In Motion album release show at New York City’s Webster Hall, The Disco Biscuits headed west to Buffalo for a two-night stand at the Town Ballroom.

With seven previous shows in the room dating back to 2006 – but just one previous multi-night run – anticipation was high, especially after the impressive touring year they have had so far since kicking off on the West Coast in late January.

It was especially evident as there was nary an extra ticket to be found for sale online or for the few people with fingers in the air outside the venue, a rare occurrence for any show for any band.

One cool thing about the four sets played in Buffalo was that each one was a full narrative arc – from beginning to end, there were no stops for the band to catch their breath or even have a drink of water.

Saturday’s show saw the band coming out of the gate strong with a nearly 40-minute “Buy The Time.” Guitarist Jon Gutwillig led the quartet into a fantastic major-key space out of the song to get the massive jam rolling. Keyboardist Aron Magner kept things in analog territory at first with soaring organ work before heading back into the final chorus. Sticking in upbeat territory, Magner began layering synths over the bedrock groove of bassist Marc Brownstein and drummer Allen Aucoin for another great few minutes of peaking before the improv began to really get out there around the 20-minute mark.

Dropping into a punishing and dark EDM-like groove, Aucoin built up to multiple drops as Magner threw in samples of “BOOM” by Tiesto & Sevenn featuring Gucci Mane – a trend for 2024 Biscuits and a continuing source of new creativity.

Riding the wave patiently out of the darkness, the band executed a patient segue into the instrumental “Orch Theme” atop pulsating waves of synthesizer. Having every instrument synced up to Aucoin’s click track enables all the various arpeggiator and loops to stay together 100% of the time, an incredible effect given how the band improvises. Running through multiple peaks and key changes, “Orch Theme” eventually exploded into a quick run through “Helicopters” as the crowd went wild for the fan-favorite song.

Recently-debuted “Dino Baby” came next with its heavy beats and earworm guitar, the band’s excitement with the newer song especially evident as Gutwillig hopped around his corner of the stage with glee as he shredded through the song and into the ending of “Rock Candy” to close the set, taking their feet off the gas for the first time in almost 90 minutes.

A precise 20-minute set break ended when the band came out of the gate with “Bombs,” dropping into heavier territory once again before the dance beats fell away into the thrashy beginning of “Mindless Dribble.” A clear highlight of the set, its multiple sections added some variance to the nonstop untz of the show with Aucoin’s different drum beats throughout the song.

A testament to how strong TDB have been recently is the crowd response to songs like “Fire Will Exchange” – just debuted in December yet the room was locked into the melodic hooks as many fans hung on every lyric. Heading into “Confrontation” next with Magner’s arpeggiators at the forefront, Barber leaned into some intense reverb effects through the continuously upbeat jam.

Moving into “The Deal” next, the lone repeat from NYC’s album release show was played again in Buffalo to give fans upstate a chance to see songs from the rock opera if they missed Friday’s show, as per Brownstein on Twitter. A return to “Confrontation” wrapped up the narrative arc of the second set before a blistering “Rockafella” encore led into the ending of “Helicopters” to close Saturday night’s show.

It’s rare – at least on this tour – for the Biscuits to do a multi-night run, and the day off from travel clearly had a beneficial effect on the band as they jumped into “We Like To Party” to begin Sunday night’s show. Band and crowd alike seemed more locked in for the duration of the second Town Ballroom show. Brownstein especially was full of energy as he bounced up and down while his pulsating Moog bass shook the venue’s foundation.

“Spacebirdmatingcall” utilized the crowd’s raucous energy well as people sang along to the repeated hooks, but it was in “No Recollection” where the set really took off. With the expected dance jam at first, the music carried the momentum of the exuberant song well through an amazing peak at the 14-minute mark – Magner’s use of piano gave it a more grounded feel than many of the synth-heavy jams before and after. The last chunk of the jam featured a heavy reggae-tinged groove with some stop/start play from all four members, as well as “Sidewindah” samples from Magner.

Speeding up again after the dip into sludge, the set closed with the first “Pilin’ It Higher” since last July and a return to the ending of “We Like To Party,” which had the packed venue jumping up and down for more.

Sunday’s second set began with a more delicate jam within “Voices Insane,” as the band patiently built momentum for the set. Another new tune, “Ring The Doorbell Twice,” came in next as Brownstein returned to Moog bass, pulsating through the seamless segue. Sporting a massive smile, the bassist’s dance moves and vibrant energy made this song a highlight of the weekend – and that’s without mentioning the energetic jam and amazing interplay from all four musicians.

Keeping the momentum strong, “And The Ladies Were The Rest Of The Night” came next, its powerful guitar riffs leading to a descent into an airy motif to inform the segue into “M1.” This jam featured the most recognizable samples of the weekend, as Magner infused Harry Styles’ “Watermelon Sugar” into the improv. “Cyclone” and the ending of “Spacebirdmatingcall” closed the second set – and the band took an extra long bow and relished in the massive outpouring of joy and positivity from the crowd, each of them boasting huge grins.

The first “Mulberry’s Dream” in 55 shows acted as the encore, closing the weekend run on a high note, capping two incredibly fun shows.

With the release of a new album and the continuation of one of The Disco Biscuits’ best tours ever, fans are continuing to broaden the “bubble of positivity” – the current state of joy that makes now the best time to be B4L.