Lincoln Theatre.  4/20/06.  The first time I ever saw The Disco Biscuits.  It was a quick trip from Cali - less than 48 hours actually - back to the area where I spent my college days (Carolina not Duke), and it marked the beginning of an addiction.  I swear it...this band is like my crack rock.  No other music on earth can free me the way the Biscuits' does, and each show I attend feeds the need to see another. 

So after a three-and-a-half month hiatus, I was definitely ready for an April Biscuits run.  And where better to kick things off than the intimate (less than 1k capacity) Lincoln Theatre?  I mean, obviously it was a homecoming of sorts, but it was also nostalgic in that the core crew from '06 was the same with a few welcome additions this go 'round.

Of course, when I planned the trip several months back, I wasn't planning on the Biscuits' guitarist, Jon "The Barber" Gutwillig, to break his wrist in an after show "roughhousing" incident.  It was definitely ill-timed, especially considering the sheer momentum the band had gained from extensive touring in 2009 and into early 2010, as well as the fact that they just released their fifth studio album, Planet Anthem, which, as I write this, is continuing to climb the Billboard charts with the single "On Time." 

But, hey, why not shake things up a bit?  Mega Biscuits, Sixtruits...anyone?  That's right.  Guitarists Tommy Hamilton (Brothers Past, American Babies) and Chris Michetti (RAQ) stepped up and joined the Biscuits - with Barber on midi-keys and vocals - for their April shows.  And since I saw Brothers Past just last month in Austin, I was pretty stoked about the fill-in, all things considered.   

Going into the weekend without any real expectations, I was not disappointed.  And though I didn't necessarily come away from the shows in awe of what I had just witnessed - like I have after many of their shows ("Wow.  Just...wow.") - I was satisfied with the different-yet-same bisco experience and happy to be there supporting them.  Many of the song transitions were a bit ADD/less patient than usual (to be expected), but overall I think it was a good idea to go on with the shows.  They definitely owe Tommy and Chris big time, who really are filling in nicely, and Barber just may have found more of a singing voice not being focused on guitar (though I'll take him on guitar with less superior vocals any day).  The 4/15 show at Lincoln Theatre was probably my favorite of the weekend.  There was such a high energy in the venue, and the band was mos def vibing on that.  I loved the 4/16 Kamaole Sands> Air Song> Humuhumunukunukuapua'a> Kamaole Sands> Magellan Reprise (I sooo wanted a Magellan...thank you!) segment from the first set at The National in Richmond, and the second set of 4/17 was money - though I wish they had forwent the "Pimp Blue Rikkis" encore.  It kinda killed my buzz.  Oh well.   

Throughout the weekend, it was very evident that the guys were having fun up there on stage - between the many smiles and laughs exchanged - and I can only imagine that performing as the Mega Biscuits for the time-being will breed a certain creativity within the band that they'll hopefully execute on later this year.

04/15/10 Lincoln Theatre, Raleigh, NC
SCi Fi opened
Entire show with Tom Hamilton and Chris Michetti on guitar.
Set I: Donde, Confrontation> Cyclone> Rock Candy1> Digital Buddha1> Confrontation
Set II: Little Shimmy In A Conga Line> Helicopters1> Gangster> Little Shimmy In A Conga Line, Rockafella, Grass Is Green> Minions> Grass Is Green
Encore: Run Like Hell

1 unfinished

04/16/10 The National, Richmond, VA
John Lee and the J.L.e. opened
Entire show with Tom Hamilton and Chris Michetti on guitar.
Set I: Mirrors> Flash Mob, Kamaole Sands> Air Song> Humuhumunukunukuapua'a> Kamaole Sands> Magellan Reprise
Set II: Big Wrecking Ball, M.E.M.P.H.I.S.> Basis For A Day> Catalyst> Air Song> The Great Abyss> Basis For A Day
Encore: On Time, Feel Good Inc.

04/17/10 The National, Richmond, VA
DJ T-Bone opened
Entire show with Tom Hamilton and Chris Michetti on guitar.
Set I: In The Flesh> And The Ladies Were The Rest Of The Night> Helicopters1, Fish Out of Water, Shelby Rose> The City> Shelby Rose
Set II: 42> Lunar Pursuit> And The Ladies Were The Rest Of The Night, Portal To An Empty Head, Little Lai2> I-Man> 42
Encore: Pimp Blue Rikkis

1 completes 4/15 version
2 with Cheegro on keys

Check out a few of my other videos from the weekend: Digital Buddha, Feel Good Inc. and Fish Out of Water.