On Friday night Conspirator rolled through LA to play The Roxy Theatre in Hollywood, CA. The theatre, a venue which I recently learned was previously occupied by a strip club in the early 70’s (hence the layout making more sense to me now) is a smaller club (roughly 500 capacity) with good sound and a rich history of performers. Neil Young, Bob Marley, Genesis (with Gabriel), Zappa, Bruce Springsteen, and on and on have all called it home for shows, live albums — you name it.
Just after 10:30pm the smaller audience was rewarded with the distinct focus of a newer project, Conspirator. Marc Brownstein and Aron Magner are the two most known from The Disco Biscuits but rounding out the group are new members — with this tour featuring the RAQ guitarist Chris Michetti and KJ Sawka who used to drum for Pendulum. Trying to break out of the “this is just a side-project” stigma the band is releasing a live album Unlocked – Live from the Georgia Theatre on April 10th.
The show was a mix of dubstep, electro, and drum and bass, or as some call it untz. At times you could tell the band was still searching out a certain direction, yet the show did not lack on audience energy and dance moves. The band dipped into the Biscuits catalog playing “Digital Buddha” and “Orch Theme.” Constant chatter among Disco Biscuits fans is of that band’s future, having just announced Mayan Holidaze for the end of the world celebration on December 21st, not much is expected from the band in 2012. That obviously has some fans nervous. Could the Biscuits just play Camp Bisco and Mayan Holidaze and call it a year? It would seem that way as no festivals have included them on their lineups so far this year. Instead the focus of Brownie and Magner is on Conspirator and this will likely be the project that blossoms in the wake of an unknown future for the Biscuits. What is Barber doing with all this time off one has to wonder…
Oddly Conspirator did not come out for an encore last night and when I asked Marc Brownstein why post-show he simply said “The crowd didn’t cheer for one — it isn’t automatic”. A candid and very truthful answer but in this day and age the encore does seem like a stamp that needs to be applied at the end of a concert.
Here are a few captures I grabbed from the show:
Conspirator’s tour continued up to Northern California for a stop in San Francisco at the Independent with some damn fine opening bands in the form of Live Music Blog’s own Justin Ward as part of NVO along with DJ Wyllys and Orchard Lounge. Wish I could have seen that showcase — all indications are it didn’t disappoint.
Here is the rest of Conspirator’s tour itinerary with stops at the Wanee and All Good Music Festivals included :
Mar 26th 2012
Crystal Bay, NV @ The Crystal Bay Club/Crown Room
Mar 31st 2012
Kerhonkson, NY @ Rock n Roll Resort v2: A Psybient Soiree
Apr 1st 2012
Kerhonkson, NY @ Rock n Roll Resort v2: A Psybient Soiree
Apr 11th 2012
Rochester, NY @ Water Street Music Hall
Apr 12th 2012
Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
Apr 13th 2012
Portland, ME @ Port City Music Hall
Apr 14th 2012
Northampton, MA @ Pearl Street
Apr 15th 2012
Harrisburg, PA @ Abbey Bar
Apr 17th 2012
Wilmington, NC @ The Soapbox
Apr 18th 2012
Charleston, SC @ Pourhouse
Apr 19th 2012
Live Oak, FL @ Wanee Music Festival
Apr 20th 2012
Athens, GA @ Georgia Theatre
Apr 21st 2012
Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
Apr 22nd 2012
Richmond, VA @ Kingdom
Apr 25th 2012
South Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
Apr 26th 2012
Clifton Park, NY @ Northern Lights
Apr 27th 2012
Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero
Apr 28th 2012
New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
May 10th 2012
Washington, DC @ Howard Theatre
May 11th 2012
Charlottesville, VA @ Jefferson Theater
May 12th 2012
Norfolk, VA @ The Norva
Jul 19th 2012
Thornville, OH @ All Good Festival
Jul 26th 2012
Floyd, VA @ Floyd Fest
Don’t forget to cheer when the band steps off the stage this time…or no encore for you.
