Headstash

Headstash On The Road: Camp Bisco Day 1

Camp Bisco IX - Alan VanToai

The first day of Camp Bisco X has come and gone like a bat out of hell. Each year this festival grows by the thousands and this year, for the first time ever Camp Bisco sold out.

[READ History Lesson: Camp Bisco Through The Years to see attendance figures, full lineups and logos from each of the past events.]

Aron Magner - Photo Credit: Kaitlin Parry

The weather couldn’t have been more perfect yesterday and excitement levels were high for many who consider this to be the best time of the year.

Yet for some who had to wait in the upwards of 11 hours in line, even the beautiful weather and amazing vibes couldn’t help their mood.

Luckily, we only had a short wait in line and got to catch my friends Auto Orbit at the Showcase Stage to open up the festival. The boys started the day off right with a high-energy set that had everyone moving. We could tell they had been practicing for weeks in anticipation for their slot at Camp and the crowd was more than enthusiastic to see them here.

Next up was Orchard Lounge at the Dance Tent, which has been moved to a new location this year. An additional stage, the Grooveshark Tent, is now in it’s place, just around the corner.

Headstash at Camp Bisco IX - Photo Credit: Alan VanToai

The set started in front of a packed tent, full straight to the back. With the sun high in the sky and the tent’s vinyl walls boxing it in, the air was hot and sticky. Slowly but surely, the fans patience with the walls dwindled, and by the end the vinyl walls laid in piles on the ground.

The set was fun, but I much prefer to see them after-hours in their true element (which is why I was glad to catch them at the Colorado after-hours rage state later that night).

I left OL to catch some of Beats Antique at the Main Stage. Their unique blend of heavy bass beats over melodic Middle Eastern grooves is perfect for a summer afternoon.

The New Deal came next and played what will most likely be their last Camp Bisco ever. Their set was amazing but bittersweet. Many knew it would probably be their last time seeing the veterans, and in a way, it was sad to see them go. To make their epilogue even more special, Disco Biscuits’ keyboardist Aron Magner sat in with them to deliver a nice treat for the fans who are used to seeing New Deal drummer Darren Shearer playing with him in Conspirator.

Darren Shearer of The New Deal - Photo Credit: Kaitlin Parry

Australian group Cut Copy played next at The Main Stage B and absolutely killed it. These guys have more energy on stage and play with more feeling than almost anyone I’ve ever seen, and it shines through in their set. “Lights and Music” got the crowd jumping up and down and slapping high-fives all around.

Finally, The Disco Biscuits came on to a packed Main Stage. “Plan B” to open up the set was totally unexpected and definitely a crowd-pleaser. We knew we were in for an especially good show.

Magner started banging out loud and heavy space noises and dropped into a raging “Helicopters.” During the song, three square, LED displays (new addition to the Biscuit’s light rig) displayed a rubix cube and colorful helicopters among other digital visual treats.

Camp Bisco IX - Photo Credit: Alan VanToai

The lasers finally came out during the jam out of “Helicopters” into “Spacebirdmatingcall” – a clean and amazing segue.

“The Very Moon” was next in the “palindrome” and was a nice breather from the raging first half of the set. This is one of those songs that really makes the crowd feel at ease.

Next was “Spraypaint Victory” a song that had the whole crowd singing along. The jam out of “Spraypaint” had what I would call a huge “Cyclone” tease that dropped back into the end of “Helicopters.”  

After a long pause, the band came back and played a short but sweet “Mulberry’s Dream,” following it with “Home Again,” a song that has a lot of meaning here at ILCC.

Headstash On The Road - Photo Credit: Alan VanToai

During “Home Again” the three LED cubes displayed a montage of pictures from The Biscuit’s family throughout the years. It was an emotional display of lights and music all in one.

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Set: Plan B, Helicopters > Spacebirdmatingcall, The Very Moon > Spraypaint¹ > Helicopters, Mulberry's Dream, Home Again
1 = unfinished

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So here on the second day of Camp Bisco X, we are starting to settle in and get our bearings, everyone seems to be a little more aware of their surroundings and ready for another day full of awesome music. Indobox and Papadosio just killed it on the Main Stage while I was writing this, and now it’s time to go rage.

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The second day of Camp Bisco has Break Science feat. RJD2 and Redman, Disco Biscuit's side-project Conspirator, hip-hop electronic producer twins Two Fresh, Up Until Now feat. David Murphy of STS9, Shpongle's first-ever live band set in the United States, Ratatat, and of course, The Disco Biscuits on the bill.

Stay tuned for more coverage from Camp Bisco X.

[Alan VanToai contributed to this article.]

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For more information including the complete schedule check out Camp Bisco's website.