The Disco Biscuits are an electronic jam band from Philadelphia. Their brilliant idea was to have a music festival incorporating rock and jam bands, alongside DJs in the electronic dance music scene. Benjy Eisen (Rolling Stone) said, “Friday afternoon can sometimes smash right into Sunday morning. And Saturday nights at this place have a way of disappearing completely.” I couldn’t agree more because this was Camp Bisco’s 11th year and it seems its just getting bigger and better. Bisco is a three-day music event with single day passes allowed on the last day. It is located about an hour outside of Albany, New York at the Indian Lookout Country Club.
The camp grounds were HUGE I was lucky enough to be right near the B.I.G. tent and about 10-15 minutes from anywhere else I wanted to go. There were a total of five stages, often hosted by different labels such as OWSLA and Fools Gold Records. The camping set up was very close; however this was my first camping festival so I can’t compare it to anything. Everyone was friendly and I was surprised that you could bring in your own beer and anything else into the festival grounds. There was dozens of water areas, medics, food stands and vendors.
I obviously didn’t have time to see every performance, when the music starts around 11 am and sometimes doesn’t end until after three in the morning. I did see some of the most amazing stage set up, lights, and performances throughout the three days. There seems to be this awesome wave of all types of different music being mixed and incorporating electronic beats. Performances like the electronic duo Break Science ft Chali 2na from Jurassic 5 and Big Gigantic’s livetronica set were groundbreaking. Everyone had these funny flags so their friends could find them in the crowd; which just got more and more ridiculous over the weekend. David Hasslehoff heads, giant shrimps, pink elephants, American flags, umbrellas, light-up swords. Very crafty and fun rave kids, well done.
On Thursday I started with The M Machine w/ OWSLA. OWSLA’s label includes Skrillex, Dillon Francis and other huge names I saw. The Canadian duo Zeds Dead are one of my personal favorites and even though it was super hot and humid, they put on an incredible show. Skrillex headlined on Thursday night, I danced the entire time, it was packed and he rocked it. On Friday my friend suggested I check out The Knocks at the main stage early afternoon, one of the first shows of that day. The Knocks are an electronic duo and also drummers. I was absolutely feeling all of their music and the crowd kept on growing. I heard great mixes including a few Fatboy Slim tracks, Stardust’ “music sounds better with you”, and the Killers “I got soul but I’m not a soldier.” Friday’s line up had an eclectic mix of performers I got a taste of all types of music. DJs ‘Break Science’ performed an epic show with rapper Chali 2na from Jurassic 5. It was truly a revolutionary moment for rap and electronic music. I am a huge Jurassic 5 fan and mixed with my love of EDM, that performance blew my mind.
The Disco Biscuits performed a total of six times during the festival; I caught their set on the main stage on Friday night and it was easily one of the best lightshows/performances I have ever seen. The Disco Biscuits genre is classified under livetronica, jam band, trance fusion. They have amazing and loyal supporters and they made everything about Camp Bisco possible. Into Friday night there were a few of my favorite house music performances. 3lau is a college student, DJ and house music producer known for great mixes and mashups. I thought his set was perfect the whole way thru he had a fun vibe with the crowd and played a nice long set. He had a great “Call Me Maybe” remix which no doubt got me dancing.
Saturday was way more packed than the other two days because of the one day pass tickets that were only available Saturday. All the stages and campgrounds felt a lot more crowded. I checked out the Label tent for a bit to see various “Fools Gold Record” djs like JWLS, Craze and more. In the tent they had the Fools Gold Clubhouse spinning moombah and hardstyle from 4:30-10 pm. There were lots of other great performances ending a crazy and incredible weekend. I survived and loved my first music festival and I highly suggest all music lovers take advantage of the scene and GO! Guest writer: Becka