THE DISCO BISCUITS | 02.16.07 | NEW JERSEY

Words by: Brian Bavosa :: Images by: Robert Chapman

The Disco Biscuits :: 02.16.07 :: Starland Ballroom :: Sayreville, NJ

Jon Gutwillig – The Disco Biscuits 02.16.07 :: New Jersey

An argument can be made that the single most important venue to the current lineup of The Disco Biscuits is either New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom or, just maybe, Sayreville, New Jersey’s Starland Ballroom. Since the Biscuits’ first shows there in May 2004 each trip has presented some extraordinary musical spectacles. Jon “Barber” Gutwillig (guitar), Marc Brownstein (bass), Aron Magner (keys), and newest addition Allen Aucoin (drums) made sure that this past weekend was no exception.

Thursday night saw only the second wheel-of-fortune type show ever, where Lady Luck decided the direction of the band, the audience, and the musical journey. The first appearance of the wheel was, fittingly enough, in Atlantic City on 10/25/02. This second spin of the wheel saw the band dust off some old tunes that hadn’t seen the light of day in some time, but it was clear they truly hit their collective stride and settled in on the following night.

Friday began with a very lively “Mindless Dribble” > “Solstice” > “Mindless Dribble” sandwich, which fired up the crowd and set the tone for the evening. Most fans seemed out for blood after standing in long lines in sub-freezing temperatures awaiting entrance for the previous evening’s show which caused them to miss the entire first set. However, “Solstice” was just the track to help relax the masses. A nice slow, reggae and Middle Eastern-esque jam took shape in the middle of one of Bisco’s biggest mindblowers, “Dribble,” which segued into “Songs of Joy.” The set was rounded out by an absolutely delicious, danceable “Rock Candy” that left more than a few cavities in its wake.

The Disco Biscuits :: 02.16.07 :: New Jersey

Marc Brownstein – The Disco Biscuits 02.16.07 :: New Jersey

Although the show as a whole was solid, the night’s highlights most definitely occurred during the second set. It opened with “Strobelites and Martinis,” another of the weekend’s bust-outs off of Bisco Lives 2. This tune was filled with Brownstein’s extremely funky bass lines, while Magner’s keys produced a swirling effect like a U.F.O was hovering just above the venue. Barber’s simple, repetitive riffs and Aucoin’s danceable beats laid the sprawling, spiraling groundwork for the weekend’s final three sets, which spontaneously combusted into an all out dance party, thanks in part to this tune’s placement and fury.

“S&M” wove its way through “Cyclone,” eventually landing in “42.” When I later asked Brownstein what he thought the highlight of the night was, he was quick to look in this tunes direction, saying “That was a lot of fun.” Throw in a beautiful “Kitchen Mitts” and a “Munchkin Invasion” set closer, and even though “I come from the city” (of New York), I was more than happy to “come from the jungle” that Friday night, a jungle that I will forever think of as “Slayerville,” New Jersey when the Biscuits roll into town.

02/16/07 Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ
Set I: Mindless Dribble > Solstice > Mindless Dribble > Songs of Joy, Rock Candy
Set II: Strobelights and Martinis > Cyclone > 42, Kitchen Mitts, Munchkin Invasion
Encore: Lithium

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