Happy Birthday Marc Brownstein: Watch The Disco Biscuits Performing Live In 1998

Today marks The Disco Biscuits bassist Marc “Brownie” Brownstein’s birthday. Hailing from New York City, Brownie went on to attend the University Of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, where he co-founded tDB in 1995 with guitarist Jon “The Barber” Gutwillig, keyboardist Aron Magner and drummer Sam Altman.

Pioneering their self-described “trance fusion,” Bisco quickly began cultivating a devoted fan base and went from playing Philly clubs and parties to larger venues and festivals throughout the Northeast in the late ’90s. On September 26, 1998, the band delivered a set at the Autumn Equinox Festival at Brandywine, Maryland’s storied Wilmer’s Park.

A then 25-year-old Brownie opened up the show by saying, “We’re the Disco Biscuits folks, it’s nice to be in Wilmer’s Park” with Barber adding, “we’re gonna try something here that’s gonna be a lotta lotta fun.

Bisco then took flight on “Helicopters,” which they had recently debuted on August 28, at New York City jam band bastion the Wetlands Preserve, before heading into a massive “Magellan” that stretched to 37 minutes. A return to “Helicopters” capped off the set-opening segment.

All told, the opening section stretched to around 50 minutes. A standalone “Once The Fiddler Paid” followed before tDB closed out the four-song set with “Little Shimmy In A Conga Line,” which featured the Foxtrot Zulu Horns.

To celebrate Brownie’s birthday, watch The Disco Biscuits perform at Wilmer Park in 1998 below:

Setlist (via BIP 2.0)

Set: Helicopters > Magellan > Helicopters, Once the Fiddler Paid, Little Shimmy In A Conga Line[1]

Notes:

[1] – With Jeff on trumpet and TK on saxophone from Foxtrot Zulu. Barber also joined John Scofield, John Medeski, Chris Wood, and Charlie Hunter for their encore.

[Updated article originally published April 8, 2022.]