Anyone looking for a musically futuristic Halloween experience should check out the Disco Biscuits live at the WOW Hall tonight. Jon Gutwillig, vocalist for the band, described his theory of performing. “Getting really down and into the music is supposed to punch the listener in the stomach,” he said, “and from that physical feeling, pull out euphoria!”
This four-piece band from Philadelphia, hailed by MTV as the “Forefathers of Techno Jam Rock,” has been gaining popularity alongside acts like moe and Phish. The group’s mix of jam band and electronica/techno, blending into what they call “trancefusion,” appeals to “neo-hippies,” ravers and anyone in between.
Jon Gutwillig, guitarist and vocalist for the band, said that “anybody who likes having a lot of stuff thrown at them (musically)” will dig the band’s sound.
The Biscuits, who are famous for never playing the same song the same way twice, are termed by fans as improvisational junkies. Gutwillig said these tendencies make their music “riskier and closer to the wind.”
In their new album, “They Missed the Perfume,” which they recorded in an electrical power equipment factory, the Biscuits strived to make the music, no matter how complex, sound just like “a simple breath.”
The bottom line for their music, however, is to make it euphoric. Gutwillig said he feels that “euphoria is part of the universal language of music, and all the best bands in the world evoke euphoria.”
The Biscuits have been touring the country since August under contract with the 1980s metal label Megaforce Records, and they said they were excited to be back on the West Coast for a return visit to the WOW Hall. WOW Hall booking manager Kristen Roller said she expects the Biscuits to bring in the crowds, as they have become quite popular.
“Eugene is really receptive to this kind of music, so we expect to benefit with a sold-out show,” Roller said.
Disco Biscuit fan and WOW Hall house manager Reed Davaz said she is anticipating it to be a “really big and fun Halloween party.”
As for the band, Gutwillig said they’re crazy about Halloween and they love “that little, tight, sweaty, basketball gym feel the WOW Hall creates.”
The Biscuits’ performance will pull from their live repertoire of more than 80 songs including interpretations of classical music favorites. And Gutwillig said they also have some “tricks” up their sleeves for the night. Recognized as a premiere live act by many music reviewers, The Village Voice said the group’s “mutant electronica doesn’t need drugs — it is drugs.”
Tickets are $10 in advance at CD World, Face the Music, House of Records, Taco Loco, EMU Ticket Office, or $12 at the door of WOW Hall. Doors open at 8 p.m.
Kate Franz is a freelance reporter
for the Oregon Daily Emerald.