1. Welcome back, Sound Tribe Sector 9—we hardly recognize ya. That’s because, despite having been a reliable visitor since 2000, it’s been seven years since STS9's last headlining local show, and three and a half years since it last played a local festival. Since that latter appearance, the Santa Cruz electronic jam band swapped bassists (founding member David Murphy for Alana Rocklin) and, more recently, lighting directors (Saxton Waller for Tiberius Benson). More on them in a bit.
2. Like most improvisational bands, STS9 typically plays two sets divided by a 20 to 30-minute break, plus an encore. I would have loved to have been a STS9 show virgin during the first set, which started off with two scene-setting warm-ups (the sexy, Sade-like “Mobsters” and the momentum-establishing “F Word”). And then, the quintet unleashed its bag of tricks and knocked back the collective hair of the audience with pretty much the rest of the set, which featured turn-on-a-dime transitions; myriad rhythmic structures; creative uses of the guitar by Hunter Brown (though at times he might have been too restrained); climaxes that retreated, then ascended to mega-climaxes; and countless melodic infusions—some dominant, some subtle—by keyboardist David Phipps, the man largely behind the Pink Floydian and proggy flourishes. The galactic opera that was “Light Years” into “Wika Chikana,” followed by an epic “20-12,” repeatedly launched the 1,000-plus audience into space—a half-hour or so of quintessential STS9.
3. The second set, on the other hand, was more earthbound. Either it didn’t have the dynamism or the robustness of the first set, or STS9 intentionally dialed it back to whet the appetite for Saturday’s show. A possible live remix of the Grimes-meets M83 cut “Get Loud”—from last year’s The Universe Inside—felt more like a tease than a set warm-up. The climaxes were fewer and less potent. Instrumental lulls hampered a few numbers, including old favorite “Instantly,” which bookended Bob James’ “Nautilus,” during which fans began to leave early. And mellow-ish encore “Music, Us,” while hardly staid or inert, felt like a limp to the finish line, especially for the kickoff night of a spring tour.
4. As for the band newbies, Rocklin’s low-end plucking remained assured and stirring throughout the two sets, aiding and anchoring STS9’s many steady, inhabiting grooves. As for Benson: He just cannot compare to Waller, who had long been considered the sixth member of the band. I’ve been to numerous STS9 shows, and this one felt the most visually underwhelming. While Benson’s nonetheless note-precise triggering of lighting schemes would befit any number of acts—and Waller apparently contributed to pre-tour design work, according to the band—the visual mojo just didn’t feel equal to those of shows previous. Hopefully Benson grows into his role with STS9 and further develops the intuition to fully complement the band’s transportive rhapsodies.
5. If the lights failed to stimulate at any time, one could always shift their gaze to Zach Velmer, whose choreography behind the kit compares to famously dramatic drummers like Dave Grohl and our own Ronnie Vannucci. Fluid, boisterous, indefatigable and even graceful, Velmer was often the sole source of physical energy at any given time, whether locked into 4/4 breakaways or scatting atop snares during breakbeat episodes. If there was any MVP Friday night, it was him.
Set 1
"Mobsters"
"F Word"
"Light Years" ->
"Wika Chikana"
"20-12"
"Ad Explorata" ->
"Shock Doctrine"
"Totem"
Set 2
"Get Loud"
"Instantly" -> "Nautilus" -> "Instantly"
"Sun, Moon and Stars"
"Gobnugget" ->
"Surreality" ->
"Eb
"The Rabble
Encore
Music, Us
