by Kerry McNeil

As loyal fans and first time Campers alike gathered to see the Disco Biscuits’ first set of Camp Bisco X, the crowd couldn’t have been more excited for the spectacle expected of the festival originators—and like every year, the Biscuits stepped up the game for their tenth festival opener.

Beginning with crowd-pleaser “Plan B,” the Biscuits kicked off their first set with a rarity from bassist Marc Brownstein’s rock opera Chemical Warfare Brigade. Getting a bit dark and heavy for a moment, “Plan B,” dropped straight into “Helicopters,” with a heavy drum line from Allen Aucoin.

During “Helicopters,” the Biscuits lit up their L.E.D. cubes, featuring helicopters flying against a red backdrop to match the dark, spacey, trance feel of the song. Settling into a mellower “Spacebirdmatingcall,” the Biscuits cued their famed laser light show and the crowd went nuts. Standing under latticework lasers that were changing colors as they moved across the sky, it was easy to see why the Biscuits’ live shows garnering more and more attention.

After “Spacebirdmatingcall,” the Disco Biscuits dropped into a funky, lengthy version of “The Very Moon,” another old-school favorite.

Taken from guitarist Jon Gutwillig’s (or Jon the Barber’s) rock opera Hot Air Balloon, “The Very Moon,” included a deep, heavy bass line from Brownstein during the group’s improvisational ‘funk section’ of their set. The Biscuits always throw in a funk jam, and at this year’s Bisco “The Very Moon” hit, and hit hard.

The Biscuits continued their set with “Spray Paint,” with the audience screaming along to the words, “Did you ever think about it, that maybe we’re all crazy from the start?” Leaving the fierce jam unfinished, the Biscuits lit up the helicopters on their L.E.D. cubes again and went straight into another bruising “Helicopters” jam.

The Disco Biscuits made sure to throw in another old school favorite with “Mulberry’s Dream,” mellowing the crowd out with the groovy tone of the song, only to amp them back up again with another favorite, and the closer of the set, “Home Again.”

Including another blissful, improv jam during “Home Again,” the Biscuits showed pictures from their first Camp Bisco on the L.E.D. cubes—setting off feelings of nostalgia amongst the crowd of loyal attendees, and showing newcomers how far they’ve come since their first festival.

It was official—Camp Bisco X had taken off with the Disco Biscuit’s first set and from Bisco loyalists to first-time attendees, everyone really did feel home again.