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Five noteworthy performances from STS9’s Vegas gigography

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What’s that sound? The Tribe’s back in town.
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Electronic dance music and improvisational rock. It’s a musical Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup that has brought us a few notable acts over the past two decades, none as accomplished and as mighty as Sound Tribe Sector 9, a crowd favorite thanks to its rhythmic, goose-pimpling merging of electronic subgenres, blues-based rock, funk, acid jazz and occasionally hip-hop. Among its 10 Vegas gigs since 1999, here are five performances that were particularly exploratory and ecstatic.

“Squares and Cubes” ->“Evasive Maneuvers” -> “Kamuy” (Area 51 Soundtest, October 9, 2004) The two STS9 performances at the Indian Springs jam fest are legendary among the Tribe faithful. The band closed Set 1 with the meditative, soulful, LTJ Bukem-esque “Squares” before seamlessly segueing into the funkier, spacier pairing “Evasive”/“Kamuy,” resulting in more than 20 minutes of headswimming bliss that surely whetted the attendees’ appetite for Set 2 and Night 2.

“Tap-In” (House of Blues, October 29, 2005) The first of STS9’s three HOB appearances was also the first of its three excellent Vegoose at Night shows. Highlights abounded that night, but maybe none more than the Set 2 closer. “Tap In” quickly struck a Pink Floydian chord with its warm-up by then-bassist Murph (David Murphy) and drummer Zach Velmer, shortly joined by Hunter Brown’s assured riffage and David Phipps’ atmospheric synths. That build pulled back a bit, and then snapped into a fervent, percussive jam—a dynamic that was repeated one more time to climactic effect.

“Orbital” (The Joint, October 28, 2006) Another Vegoose at Night show, and after a day spent at the festival, it was mercifully and consistently propulsive. STS9 peaked just before its encore with this chestnut, largely a live drum ’n’ bass number that showcased countless movements and tone changes, highlighting all the musicians’ handiwork and the band’s various disparate styles—basically, STS9 in a rapturous nutshell.

“Ramone & Emiglio” (Vegoose, October 27, 2007) Most festivals offer non-headliners 45 to 60 minutes to play, which can be tricky for a sonically expansive band like STS9. The jam-friendly Vegoose afforded STS9 nearly 90 minutes, and after spiking with electro rocker “1103,” the band went into this fan fave, which began in the same steady, Floydian spirit of “Tap-In,” but took a breakbeat-heavy left turn a la “Orbital.” Funk and jazz flourishes played prominent parts before the song’s pounding end.

“Moon Socket” (House of Blues, February 26, 2010) Though STS9 impressed with its live improvements on 2008’s evolutionary Peaceblaster album, nuggets like this truly demonstrated the band’s strengths—in part, how it could refresh its oldest songs. “Moon Socket” righteously closed out the aforementioned 2005 HOB show, but the better version came four and a half years later, sounding both transcendent and utterly bonkers, mostly due to Brown’s furious guitar work. The show didn’t end there, but it could have.

STS9 March 31 (with SunSquabi) & April 1 (with TAUK), 8 p.m., $38-$70. Brooklyn Bowl, 702-862-2695.

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