On Wednesday, March 13, a hungry crowd packed into Empire Live on North Pearl Street for the Disco Biscuits, currently on tour ahead of the release of Revolution in Motion, Part 1, due out on March 29.
The show marked a return to a smaller venue in Albany, instead of the Palace Theatre, where the Philadelphia trance-fusion pioneers have played 7 times, dating back to 2004. The 1,000 capacity Empire Live offered a club feel to the show, an underground vibe where fans of the Biscuits could gather and dance to nearly three and a half hours of live electronic jams. For a night, this was Albany, New York’s hottest club, and even with sightlines what they are, the crowd carried on and enjoyed the mid-week throw down late into the night.
Opening up with “Morph Dusseldorf,” the twists came early with samples of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” dropped into the nascent “Morph” jam, honoring a fan’s birthday request and offering a glimpse of untzgrass, at long last. “Triumph” slipped in next, giving way to 30 glorious minutes of “Save the Robots” leeching into the ending of “Astronaut,” giving way to an inverted version of the fan favorite. A resounding “Suspended in the Air” middle section of “Astronaut” was particularly blissful, while the ending section was peppered by another sample, this time Tone Loc’s “Funky Cold Medina,” with the middle-age crowd nodding at each other upon recognition of the now 35-year old song.
After a standard 30 minute setbreak, the Biscuits returned with “M.E.M.P.H.I.S.,” venturing out into a spacious jam that found its way into the end of “Naeba,” which would be the second inverted song of the night. The slow churn into the song, as well as the stretched out ending were disco bliss, had plenty of room for improv as well as to dance – this was not a coincidance.
A Tractorbeam version (instrumental) of recent debut “Dino Baby” followed and made way to “Another Plan of Attack,” the two songs being the newest songs of the night, following nearly two hours of old school songs. With sampling becoming commonplace this tour, another surprise in the form of “Hella Good” from No Doubt was found in parts of “Another Plan of Attack,” and while this could have been the end of the night, the Biscuits whisked their way into a 36-minute “I-Man” that had twists and turns and the crowd fist pumping along well past midnight.
An encore featuring the recently released “Spaga’s Last Stand” was all that was left in this deep tank of electronica improvisation, where we find the Biscuits at the top of their game.
The Disco Biscuits will be back in New York on March 29 at Webster Hall for the album release show, followed by two nights at Town Ballroom in Buffalo over March 30 and 31.
Stream the full show from Albany here on Nugs.
Setlist via Biscuits Internet Project
Disco Biscuits – Empire Live – Albany, NY – March 13, 2024
Soundcheck: Magellan, Wet
Set 1: Morph Dusseldorf 1, Triumph > Save The Robots > Astronaut 2 3 > Save The Robots
Set 2: M.E.M.P.H.I.S. > Naeba 2 > Dino Baby 4 > Another Plan of Attack 5 > I-Man
Encore: Spaga’s Last Stand
1 with ‘Jolene’ (Dolly Parton) samples
2 inverted
3 with ‘Funky Cold Medina’ (Tone Loc) samples
4 Tractorbeam version (instrumental)
5 with ‘Hella Good’ (No Doubt) teases
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