It’s a triumphant return to Stubbs for the Disco Biscuits on this Saturday night, as the trance-fusion stalwarts had been opening for Gov’t Mule at the same outdoor venue in a co-headlining show this past February. The Biscuits still may not be packing the place, but the fact that the #2-ranked Texas Longhorns hosted a prime-time match-up against rival Texas Tech just a couple miles away at the same time may have had something to do with that.
But Stubbs seeks to let fans have their cake and eat it too by installing large flatscreen TVs at the two main bars so that music fans can also check in on the game, where the Longhorns seek to avenge their only loss of the 2008 season. Bassist Marc Brownstein acknowledges the conflict by thanking the crowd for coming out and wishing the Longhorns well.
The Planet Anthem Tour finds the band breaking out some new songs in anticipation of Planet Anthem, their first album since 2002. The Biscuits are trying an innovative strategy in which they intend to release the album in three EP clusters that will include singles, remixes and videos. The new “Konkrete” opens the show and draws in the crowd with a tale about a strange dream where “myself is out of control.” Brownstein lays down a heavy groove while guitarist Jon “the Barber” Gutwillig turns up the delay on his spacey solo.
“Little Betty Boop” is jamming along with Brownstein and Barber, pushing each other higher when the jam veers into a new direction with “Voices Insane,” where keyboard wizard Aron Magner ups his psychedelic contribution. Drummer Allen Aucoin lays down a tight groove as the guitar, bass and keyboard melodies all mingle to create an ascending wave that gets the crowd moving. The jam later segues back into “Boop,” concluding with another big peak. It’s such skillful interweaving of musical parts that has made the Biscuits a mainstay on the psychedelic jam circuit for the past decade.
But it’s in the huge second set where the band really heats up and shows they could still be growing toward even bigger things. The opening “Rivers” finds Magner setting a cosmic tone, followed by Aucoin’s tight beat. Brownstein and Barber start in tentative, as the band builds the vibe slowly but surely. The group’s singing is never going to win huge praise, but they’ve worked on developing their skills and the vocal melody has a catchy vibe, somewhat reminiscent of the classic “Safety Dance” from Men Without Hats. The jam is in a bluesy minor key direction vaguely recalling the String Cheese Incident’s “Rivertrance,” and there’s a compelling groove that makes the song highly danceable. Magner’s keys bring a very psychedelic vibe while the guitar and bass ascend, bringing the crowd into a collective trance groove.
The band then makes a sharp swerve into the anthemic new “Mirrors” for an instant highlight. The song, just debuted in March, already has the vibe of being one of the band’s all-time classics. The melodic intro grabs the ear with an instantly infectious summertime sound and the vocals have an uplifting, romantic quality – “There’s a future / Life with you and me / I don’t want to give it all away / But it seems I’m here to stay” sings Brownstein. Barber’s melodic lines drive the tune higher, but don’t take it over. The sound and tempo somewhat recall the band’s classic “Home Again,” but in a fresh, forward-thinking way. What was a seven-minute song in March now grows to 14 minutes of pure trance-dance bliss.
How does such a band top such a peak moment? By segueing into a 28-minute monster version of “Basis for the Day,” where the band takes the energy and just rides it. Barber shifts the sound with some auto-wah funk and then the band takes off into a rocking jam. Then there’s a change into an even funkier section where all the members take little solos before exploding into another composed section. It’s the type of extended instrumental jamming that a mainstream pop crowd could never handle, but it’s pure manna to this audience.
The Biscuits tend to bring out a fun crowd that really likes to party, and this evening is no exception. One young gentleman is even triple-fisting with three drinks, as if that is the norm. Upon being complimented on his dedication to intoxication, the smiling fellow manages to juggle all three drinks into one arm so as to be able to exchange a high five and elbow bump, an impressive display of agility to say the least. He later forms a mini-dance pit with his fashionable friends that causes some to step away to safety as if from a mosh pit – one fellow wears a Cookie Monster hat that brings smiles throughout the night, while his female companion demonstrates hippie cool with a fashionable dress, backwards retro Milwaukee Brewers hat, and great dance moves. Unlike some other musical genres where hipster standoffish-cool pervades, there’s a sense here that everyone is amongst friends.
Before the encore, Brownstein thanks the crowd for skipping the football game to spend the night with the band, but congratulates the Longhorns on their 34-24 win and announces that “Texas is my new team… I found my Big 12 team.” It’s hard not to like a team from a town that loves music as much as Austin. The band then delivers an encore, by request notes Brownstein, of “Therapy,” which provides another melodic dose of just that for those who view music as their spiritual sustenance.
The latest contender for the role of heartland hero, Cory Chisel offers up a debut album that combines a bit of Nebraska-era Springsteen with a hint of tarnished roots rocker Steve Earle. Not surprisingly then, Death Won’t Send a Letter reflects a sound as dark as its title implies, a blend of turgid rhythms and moody, contemplative deliberation. Clearly, Chisel’s at his best when he’s conveying brooding, angst-driven efforts like “Born Again” and “Longer Time at Sea,” both of which provide prime opportunity for him to revel in an insurgent attitude. Still, Chisel’s troubled tomes aren’t ongoing throughout; the quirky rhythms that underscore “Angel of Mine” and “Curious Thing” find the band occasionally flirting with techno territory, although clearly that’s not their main turf. 
San Francisco quintet the New Up abandoned the album format with 2008’s Broken Machine EP, the first in a series of three EPs the band began working on with producer Jaimeson Durr (Dan the Automator, Chickenfoot). Better Off, the second EP in the series, picks up where Broken Machine left off stylistically, while songs like opener “Dear Life” and the title track get some extra breathing room with looser, more swinging drums and percussion than before. While all five of the EP’s songs are solid, well-crafted tunes, the title track in particular turns out to be the real earworm on the disc. With a useful “be thankful for what you got” type of philosophy, a powerful vocal from Emily Pitcher, an unforgettable chorus and cherry-on-top flute melody from Hawk West, “Better Off” stands out as a formidable rocker and perhaps the best song in the band’s catalog to date. While it may overshadow the other four tracks on the EP, the remaining tunes nonetheless hold their own and maintain the New Up’s trend of favoring quality over quantity. (The New Up 2009)