After a killer second show of The Disco Biscuits’ Colorado run at Dillon Amphitheater in Dillon, CO, I headed east outside of Fort Collins for two nights of The Disco Biscuits at Mishawaka Amphitheater in Bellvue, CO. Ironically enough, this live music fan got to attend his concerts right on the Poudre River in Poudre Canyon. Out of cell reception and ready for a big weekend on my feet, I made the drive to Bellvue ready to enjoy some great music and great fly fishing.
Night one was a party with a 4-song 90-minute first set of classic tDB tunes. Hot Air Balloon > Shem-Ra Boo > Aceetobee > Hot Air Balloon. The segues were flawless, and the jams ranged from old-school Biscuits to new-school deep drum and bass with samples, and Marc Brownstein, the bassist, was also crushing it on the Moog. Their second set was a mix of old and new and some super fun highlights. 7-11 > Home Again > Trap Door > Risky Business > Minions > Leavemealone > 7-11. Another fully segued set, including rare teases of past songs (Gamma Goblins), originals (Risky Business), and rarities (the 7-11 sandwich was the first complete version since 2021). They encored with Once the Fiddler Paid. Trap Door and Leavemealone were two huge songs I’ve been listening to constantly and keeping my fingers crossed all show to hear. These are new songs that had only been played a few times and absolutely bring the house down. Leavemealone is a sample/song from another group, which is a true head bopper. Trap Door is an Allen song with a funny backbeat that makes him shine and keeps you keyed in on the drummer during this tune, even if you weren’t already focusing on him the whole show. He rocks. Overall, it was an awesome show at a super cool venue, and I would recommend anyone in the area to check out The Mishawaka. Now for the fishing…
I camped about 7 miles up the road at Lower Narrows Campground and woke to Tricos in the air and water to myself. With great flows and cold water, I made my way upstream. The Poudre Canyon is a beautiful piece of water with deep pools. long runs, great scenery, and easy access. Though slippery (like the Eagle River), there was plenty of water and cold water temperatures. Plenty of fish holding water and plenty of bugs for them to key in on. After trying fruitlessly to fish small bugs and “match the hatch”, I switched to a red worm and big caddis emerger to imitate the few caddis I had seen. This proved a wise choice as the trout began to smash the caddis emerger and occasionally eat the red squirmy worm I was throwing. Whether it got eaten or not, the worm was definitely grabbing their attention. I threw a small fly behind my other two (because you can) and to see if the Poudre brown and rainbow trout would eat something tiny and landed fish on it as well, but after a few tangles, I decided against it, given the majority of the eats were on the main two flies, and I was getting tangled. I fished successfully until a few fish tried (unsuccessfully) to eat my bobber, and I put a hopper on. I followed that with a caddis jig emerger, and the fun continued. After catching my share of 10-16″ rainbows and browns and noticing how wobbly my legs were from consecutive days of guiding and dancing to The Disco Biscuits, I decided to grab a bite to eat at the Mishawaka Restaurant and relax before night two of tDB in Bellvue.
Night two of The Disco Biscuits at the Mishawaka Amphitheater was an intimate event with great song selection, great sound, and lights at one of the coolest venues I’ve seen tDB. Setlist was
Set 1:
Svenghali > Floodlights > Country Royale > Shadow > No Recollection > Svenghali
Set 2:
Nughuffer > Mr. Don > Fire Will Exchange > Voices Insane > Abraxas > Nughuffer
Encore:
Little Shimmy in a Conga Line
As much as I loved certain songs I would rank this show 3rd of the 3 shows I went to this weekend though NOT disappointed in the least. The grooves were fun, the jams were tight, and the crowd was polite and fun. Highlights were the jam out of Country Royale, the (first-ever) inverted Mr. Don, and Fire Will Exchange. I can honestly say I love the new tunes, and they really pump up the crowd. Older jams like Voices Insane and Svenghali are great, but I seem to hear them at a lot of shows I attend. Floodlights was fun because I haven’t heard this in a very long while, and Nughuffer is super fun for the Brownie talk near the beginning of the show.
All in all, it was an awesome weekend with great music and surprisingly good fishing on water I hadn’t had the opportunity to fish yet. I barely saw other fishermen and didn’t have to compete for spots or water. There is something very fun about trying new water, even far into my fly fishing career. Very often, clients ask where my favorite place to fish is, and I usually tell them, “the latest new river I’ve fished,” because it’s always fun to solve a new puzzle and see new landscapes. Figuring out new water, what’s hatching, where they are hanging, how sensitive they are to your presence, etc., is maybe my favorite part of fly fishing, and I had an awesome time fishing the Poudre River while attending concerts at Mishawaka, seeing the Disco Biscuits!
