‘This should be big’: 24 years after this band played a Boise bar, it’s finally returning

Michael Deeds
·2 min read
1

Catching a famous musical act early in its career is the gift that keeps on giving.

You get to brag afterward forever.

Were you smart enough to witness a nervous Taylor Swift, then 16 years old, strumming her acoustic guitar at the Buffalo Club in Boise way back when? (Not me — but I asked her about it three years later.)

Or, going further back, 20-year-old guitar prodigy Derek Trucks rocking the now-defunct Blues Bouquet? (Yep, saw it!)

That same year — 1999 — a young jam band from Philadelphia made an inconspicuous tour stop in downtown Boise. The Disco Biscuits played at Tom Grainey’s, a small, Irish-themed bar that rarely hosts live music anymore. (Argh, I wasn’t there.)

Nearly a quarter century later, the Biscuits finally are returning to Boise.

The group will perform two full sets on Tuesday, July 11, at the 2,200-capacity Revolution Concert House and Event Center in Garden City. Tickets become available at 10 a.m. Friday, May 19, at Ticketmaster for $35 general admission, $75 upstairs VIP. There’s also a Live Nation presale at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 18.

Known for blending rock and electronica into livetronica, or “trance fusion,” the Disco Biscuits are a major name in the jam-band universe. They’ve headlined the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado as recently as 2019.

“This should be big,” said promoter Creston Thornton, owner of the Revolution Center.

It should. This will be the band’s first West Coast tour in more than a decade — and its first Idaho show in 24 years.

“We are so excited to get back out to the West Coast and revisit some of the classic spots from our early years,” bassist Marc Brownstein said in a prepared statement, according to Jambands.com. “Soaking in that West Coast vibe and getting back on stage at places like The Fillmore, The Roxy, and the Belly Up is truly a dream come true.”

The feeling is mutual for Idaho fans. After all, there was no reason to believe the Disco Biscuits would ever return.

On the other hand, this is shaping up to be one of the most satisfying years on record for Boise jam-band fans.

The Motet, Dopapod and Goose already played here. (Goose sold out the Knitting Factory in advance.)

The String Cheese Incident is coming to the Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater this summer.

Want to stretch the boundaries of the genre? You could even include the upcoming Blues Traveler and Big Head Todd and the Monsters show at Outlaw Field.