Disco Biscuits at the UC Theater
Disco Biscuits brought their very danceable funk/rock/jam band grooves to the UC Berkeley Theater on April 18th. They did not waste a single minute onstage during the two lengthy sets, jumping right into the first song with only the briefest of greetings. I use the term song loosely, as they just seamlessly transition into one groove after another. The crowd didn’t seem to need a break, and kept dancing throughout both sets. This was my first time seeing the band perform live, and I can see why they have built such a loyal following over the 30+ years they’ve been together. The group consists of Marc Brownstein (bass, vocals, center stage) Jon Gutwillig (guitar and vocals, stage left), Aron Magner (keys, synths, vocals, stage right) and Marlon Lewis (drums, on the riser center stage). I have trouble these days calling out genres because there are so many perturbations and combinations anymore. Others have coined the term Trance Fusion and applied to the Biscuits compositions. Saturday’s show seemed a bit less trance and a lot more dance to me though! Definitely set the camera aside to join the crowd on the floor!
Worth noting, I had heard in advance that the light show is very good, and it was truly outstanding. The lighting designer, Alex “Herm Schneider, the new lighting director (Long time director Johnny Goode passed away in 2024) pulls out all the stops to creating stunning visual effects that synch beautifully with the mood and pace of the music. Floods, spots, LED’s laser beams of all colors pulsing and flashing around the venue to dizzying effect. Shooting concert performances is almost always a challenging proposition due to the lighting conditions. Strobes, lasers, the multi-hued lighting and variable intensity makes capturing workable images difficult. The Disco Biscuits productions are so intense though that the challenge is worth it just for the variety of possibiities.
