Disco Biscuits – Eoto – 12/30/2011

Photo Credit: Silver Wrapper

The golden aura of the theater lobby illuminated the cracked sidewalk of Chicago’s south loop. The city block leading up to the venue that night was surrounded by construction signs, concrete dust and littered with long-haired smiling faces that were ready to kick off their New Year’s weekend with a jaw dropping event.

This Friday night spectacular was held in the beautiful Auditorium Theater at Roosevelt University. It was the first night of the Disco Biscuit’s New Year’s run and were accompanied by the live improvised dubstep duo EOTO and the European ambient house sensation Abakus.

Walking through the lobby of this magnificent gold-plated venue, pictures of naked Romanesk figures were scattered in-between delicately sculpted architecture and traditional hanging chandeliers. The ground was partly covered in mosaics and it seemed like a great place to see Shakespeare or a ballet; but seeing this place be taken over by the heady massive made one wonder just how much preparation was done for such an event.

Photo Credit: Auditorium Theater

Passing through the illuminating lobby into the venues interior, the interior architecture only became more awe-inspiring. I took my seat just as the soaring sounds of Abakus seized and EOTO started to set up. Sipping a small plastic cup worth of $6 beer, I began to soak in the venue in its entirety. The ceiling’s golden arches with bright bulbs made the stage shine and the golden grooves carved into the balconies glimmer. Red carpet covered the floor and the seat cushions. If it wasn’t for the hundreds of other seats surrounding mine, I would have felt like a king on a throne in the 16th century.

As EOTO were set to take the stage, the venue was surprisingly empty. A few scattered groups sat in their assigned seats quietly looking around. That’s right, assigned seats. One general complaint that kept being discussed was the fact that when you went to buy your tickets for this event, you had to choose a seat in which you would be assigned for the entire night. Luckily, the pleasant ushers at the theater did not enforce those ticketed seats as much as they just showed you how to get there. Those assigned seats didn’t sway those who attended as most just took a stand near the front of the stage and hooped in the aisle ways.

POP! Snapping me out of the hypnosis in which the venues aesthetic had me in, I look down toward the stage and see EOTO get comfortable before breaking into the first song of their set.

For it being such an extravagant venue, the sound was not that great. EOTO’s wubtastic improv sounded muffled and I could not make out a single word they were trying to sing. That didn’t matter much because of the smooth beats they were producing still were able to keep my attention. Throughout their set, EOTO had stage hands running on and off the stage as technical difficulties plagued almost every other song. But again, it didn’t matter much because being the true performers that they were, EOTO just kept grooving.

At one point, Michael Travis picked up his guitar and began shredding through String Cheese riffs as a stage hand had to take apart a section of Jason Hann’s drumset. What started as a lackluster set began to pick up near the end as the lighting started to synch and the crowd filed in. The biggest highlight, or at least the one that had everyone cheering, was the rendition of Chris Brown’s “Look At Me Now” in which Hann spit every word of that tongue twister like hot fire.

Photo Credit: Josh Krol

By the end of the set the crowd was getting tired of the wubwubs, womps and the other electronic noises EOTO were producing. They were ready for jam and a couple String Cheese riffs here and there was just not enough for the heady hungry in attendance. So after the Hann’s signature hand drum solo, EOTO thanked the crowd and exited stage left.

After a small intermission and a smoke break the crowd started back to their seats. Then, with a roar of applause Disco Biscuits took the stage all smiles. After another big smile from front man Jon Gutwillig and a collective wave from the band, Biscuits signaled for the lights to dim and the headliners broke into song.

Now I am not a huge Disco Biscuits fan, nor do I know many of their songs, but the light show they produced along the tight jams they ran was nothing short of a spectacle. Brightly colored lights of every color shone brightly into the crowd. They even used the walls of the venue to create a tripped out light show unlike one I have ever seen. They were able to manipulate my mood with the feel of the music with the carefully crafted lights that could be seen on the ceiling, the walls, the stage and just about anywhere else your eyes could wander.

Photo Credit: Josh Krol

After two sets of about two hours each, the dust settled and the smoke cleared as my eyes glazed over and my head felt like a spinning color wheel. Here is a link to their entire set from that night.

Thank you for checking out my blog. Check me out on Facebook. Till next time. Rage on.

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