_Photo by Dave Vann, via Disco Biscuits Instagram_

After serving up an extended soundcheck jam to some lucky VIPs, The Disco Biscuits jumped into Camp Bisco 2018 ready to serve up six sets of covers, deep-cuts and musical improvisation.

On Thursday, July 12, the band offered up a single set, jamming opener “Feeling Twisted” through a quick departure into “Spaga,” and back. The band then busted out “High Speed Racer,” marking the first time the song has appeared onstage since April 2009 and its 12th performance ever. A “Crystal Ball”> “House Dog Party Favor” segment followed, and the band closed their first Bisco set with Pink Floyd’s “Run Like Hell.”

The Disco Biscuits played two sets on Friday, with a musical highlight coming early in the first half. Bassist Marc Brownstein took the lead as the band debuted their take on LCD Soundsystem’s “Tribulations” (best known for its appearance on the James Murphy project’s 2005 self-titled LP). “Tribulations” was teased in the following “Pimp Blue Rikkis” jam and then later within “Strobelights in Martinis.”

As the band set their sights on Friday’s second half, the jams were the main focus. They performed just four tunes, starting with “Rivers” and then playing a lengthy “Caterpillar” jam that contained an unfinished “Voices Insane” as well as a full “Sweating Bullets.”

Saturday marked the opportunity for The Disco Biscuits to explore their other musical masks. In their first of three sets they embodied their alter-egos Tractorbeam and Perfume. (While Tractorbeam is exclusively instrumental, Perfume typically puts new genre spins on older arrangements.)

For example, Saturday’s first set kicked off with a honky-tonk/Perfume version of “Sound One,” followed by an instrumental/Tractorbeam version of Prince’s “1999.” The alternate arrangements kept coming with a Perfume version of “Pillin’ It High,” and then a “M.E.M.P.H.I.S.”> “Digital Buddah” jam (the former featuring a Perfume arrangement, the latter containing just the song’s ending in Tractorbeam format).

They band closed their first Saturday set with an “Abraxas”> “Mindless Dibble”> “Confrontation” jam flipping back and forth between their two identities. Most notably, the Perfume “Mindless Dribble” had a dub-style spin.

The following set was a no-nonsense jam, offering just four songs total, with “Hot Air Balloon” bleeding into “Gangster,” “We Like To Party” and finally “Helicopters.”

The Disco Biscuits final set of Camp Bisco 2018 was just as improv-heavy, opening with an unfinished “Above The Waves” and moving through an inverted “Crickets.” The band continued to jam through “Minions” and “Orch Theme,” and surprised fans by settling back into “Hot Air Balloon,” nodding to their work in the previous set. They closed Camp Bisco with “Basis For A Day,” which they last performed on 12/31/2017 in New York City.

Check out the full Bisco setlists – as well as pro-shot video of all three Saturday sets – below:

The Disco Biscuits
Thursday, July 12, 2018
Camp Bisco, Montage Mountain, PA

Feeling Twisted > Spaga > Feeling Twisted, High Speed Racer%, Crystal Ball > House Dog Party Favor, Run Like Hell

Notes:
% last played 4/23/09 (365 show gap)

—-

The Disco Biscuits
Friday, July 13, 2018
Camp Bisco, Montage Mountain, PA

Set I: Shem Rah Boo > Tribulations+ > Pimp Blue Rikki > Shem Rah Boo, Strobelights & Martinis > Rio

Set II: Rivers, Caterpillar > Voices Insane > Sweating Bullets > Caterpillar

Notes:
+ live debut, LCD Soundsystem cover

—-

The Disco Biscuits
Saturday, July 14
Camp Bisco, Montage Mountain, PA

Set I: Sound One, 1999*> Pilin’ It High, M.E.M.P.H.I.S.> Digital Buddha (ending), Abraxas (unfinished)> Mindless Dribble^> Confrontation (ending)

Set II: Hot Air Balloon> Gangster> We Like To Party> Helicopters (ending)

Set III: Above The Waves (unfinished) > Crickets (inverted) > Minions> Orch Theme> Hot Air Balloon, Basis For A Day

Notes:
*Tractorbeam version—instrumental
^Perfume version—Beastie Boys
^^Perfume version—dub