by Stephen Jasionowski, Collingswood, NJ

The summer of 1999 marked a major turning point in my life. I was in between my junior and senior years at UPenn, and in trying to take advantage of a relatively responsibility-free lifestyle, my roommate and I jumped on the Phish tour. We picked up a third to our crew, a good friend of mine from high school that I hadn’t seen in a couple years (and in true Phish tour fashion, usually a fourth straggler looking for a ride to the next show). Our agreement was simple one; I would do the driving if he provided the music for the rides. Little did I know how my life was about to change…

He asked me if I had ever heard of the band the Disco Biscuits. I had seen their name quite a few times on flyers for fraternity parties at Penn, but never even gave them a second thought because of the absurdity of the band’s name. My friend grinned sadistically, as if he knew he was about to turn my world upside down. The music fused rock and roll and electronica, or “trance fusion” as it was being called back then. In that sense, these guys were pioneers of a movement now seen nationally in the jamband scene.

After just a few car rides and cassette tapes, I was hooked for life. I wondered how I could not have possibly heard this music previously when it seemed to be everything I was looking for. Swirling psychedelia combined with monstrous peaks and synthesized sounds that any kid who grew up in the 80s would appreciate. The Phish shows became an afterthought; all I could ever think about was the Disco Biscuits.

Fast forward a few months to October 1999. I was in my senior year at Penn, and they had just reopened the newly renovated Irvine Auditorium. The last time I had been there was in 1997 for the Penn relays concert and it had been completely overhauled, from the chairs to the decor to the enormous sound panels that hung from the ceiling; it was practically a cathedral inside. The Disco Biscuits had the distinct honor of being the first concert held there since the renovation, which was made even more special by the fact that the band honed its craft while they were students at Penn.

The anticipation was great as we sold tickets on campus in the weeks leading up to the show. On each ticket was printed “The triumphant return of the Disco Biscuits.” Even though this would be my second time seeing them, there was something magical about seeing them at my own school and in such an amazing venue. I don’t think the fact was lost on the band either. As bassist Marc Brownstein said during the second set, “I gotta say this is the nicest room I have ever been in, let alone the nicest room I have ever played in”.

Ironically, the show almost didn’t happen. The band had rented several “technobeam” lights and a fog machine to enhance the visual aspect of the show. When the facilities manager at the venue threatened to shut down the show (and withhold the paycheck) if the fire alarm went off, the Biscuits stuck to their guns and the show went off as planned. It was part of what made them great and unique; they were musical vagabonds stretching the limits of what a rock and roll concert could be.

As for the show itself, the band took the stage and without a word of introduction, they kicked off the night with “helicopters”, one of their heavy hitters and a crowd favorite. The playing all night was inspired and glorious. The show got more intense as it went on and the crowd of 700 or so that were in attendance that night could consider themselves the luckiest people on the face of the earth at that time.

Re-listening to the show nearly 8 years after the fact still gives me chills. Most of the band’s most devoted fans consider this one of the top 5 shows the band has ever played among close to 1000. If there was anything that could be called a “perfect” concert, this was it. Since then, the Disco Biscuits have gone on to bigger and better things. A new drummer has infused new life and the creative juices are flowing again. Just last new years, they headlined at the Tweeter Center in Camden, a far cry from playing Silk City diner in 1998. But no matter where the journey goes from here, I will always have that night to look back upon and smile.