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Words by Tanner Wyer :: Images by Tobin Poppenberg
Sound Tribe Sector Nine (STS9) :: 01.13 & 01.14 :: The Fillmore :: San Francisco, CA
STS9 :: 01.13 :: The Fillmore |
A constant truth in life is change. Seasons change, feelings change, people change; it just happens. In an effort to continuously move forward towards an incessant goal, change is in fact inevitable. This notion of inevitable change takes on a whole new meaning when applied to the five-piece electronic musical phenomenon known as Sound Tribe Sector Nine (STS9). The Calif-orgia natives (both Northern California and Georgia are considered 'home' to the quintet) live and thrive on this ever-evolving path, their goal revolving around a desire to create a constant, soul stirring force of musical progression. To make the evolution of the music an embraced focus of the band's sound, and not just a typical occurrence that happens along the way, is something of great significance. The band came to California to begin its 2006 Winter/Spring tour, fresh off of a scorching three-night NYE engagement in Atlanta. Their two-night run in San Francisco acted as an analogy for the band's direction. Their shows were full of sequences, development, and ultimately, a sense of unfinished evolution that left those lucky enough to be in attendance feeling a part of something much bigger than just another weekend at The Fillmore.
Phipps, Brown, Murphy :: 01.13 :: The Fillmore |
The band's return to the famous Fillmore took place on Friday the 13th. A brief vocal welcome was given to the crowd by bassist David Murphy, and the band eagerly jumped in head-first, delivering a spooky entrance to the weekend's festivities with one of their darker numbers, "Open E." The rest of the set continued with what would be considered a very good flow. An old heavy hitter of the 9's, "Mischief of a Sleepwalker," was sandwiched nicely in-between the two newer tracks "Music, Us" and "Somesing," both off the band's recent Artifact release. The highlight of the first set was without a doubt the closing number, titled "One a Day." This new track was debuted on NYE and is a synth-heavy, bass-pulsing tune that got the crowd up and jumping. Leaving very little room for the dance floor to stop pulsating, the first of four sets was a perfect showcase of old favorites, examples of the past year's hard work, and a preview of what's in store for future STS9 compositions.
Zach Velmer :: 01.13 :: The Fillmore |
Setting the bar is a tough task to accomplish, but constantly surpassing it each time is even tougher. The end of the first set had the crowd very excited for the last half of the show, but it was this set that I found to be the weakest effort of the weekend. Let it be known though, by "weak" I mean that it was simply not at the same intensity level as the rest of the sets. In no way did they drop the ball. "GLOgli" opened and was a bunch of break-beat driven fun, yet standard. The old duo of "Evasive Maneuvers" > "Kamuy" followed and had a noteworthy drum breakdown between drummer Zach Velmer and percussionist Jeffree Lerner before the band launched into the highlight of the second set, the finally named (as it was previously dubbed "untitled") "Instantly."
Hunter Brown :: 01.13 :: The Fillmore |
The song is a musical journey, starting off with a simple vocal and drumbeat sample. The band blends their instruments over the samples, using both technology and fundamental musicianship to create a fusion of composition and improvisation that allows them to truly explore. Each member participates, whether it be on their Apple PowerBooks or through the traditional method of their chosen instrument. The final result ends up being a smorgasbord of stimulation, with all the elements blending together (appropriately enough) in an instantaneous fashion. Again showing direction in their music, it was a shame that this was to be the last "holy shit" moment of the evening. The rest of the set featured two more debuts that were written just prior to NYE, "Pianoir" and "Rent." It's not that these selections were bad; they just didn't quite match up to what was brought earlier in the evening. The encore was a rarity in the STS9 catalog - "Satori," featuring a hypnotic drum beat supplied by Velmer and memorable, entrancing guitar licks by guitarist Hunter Brown. The song would close the night but only prepare the faithful for what was to follow.
STS9 :: 01.14 :: The Fillmore |
While the band might have had trouble attaining the heights they had previously reached in the first set on the 13th, there was no doubt that this band came to play on Saturday. Arriving on stage with both purpose and intent, it was apparent that they knew exactly what they were doing up there, and the result was nothing but the heat. Kicking off with yet ANOTHER brand new song, a hip-hop driven "Lo Swaga" ignited The Fillmore as the beats bounced off of each other and anything else in their path. Later in the set, an enormous "Hubble" erupted, clocking in at over 14 minutes, showing that the band can still stretch it out and maintain direction as well as energy.
STS9 :: 01.14 :: The Fillmore |
Perhaps their most popular song, "Tokyo" had an extended ending that I had never heard, which was pleasantly followed by "Arigato." This often-paired duo of songs showed yet again that when the band incorporates either song into the setlist, they like to follow it up with the other in order to keep it Japanese. "Arigato" segued into an older tune that has been gaining more play in the last year, "Blu Mood." This was without a doubt the best interlocking of songs the entire weekend, with guitarist Brown teasing the dominating, climatic guitar lick of "Blu Mood" through the last efforts of "Arigato" before the entire band erupted into a heaving, climactic rendition of the entire song. It was fun, it was fresh, it was reminiscent of days gone past, and much like the night before, left the crowd hungry for a whole lot more.
David Phipps :: 01.14 :: The Fillmore |
The difference between the 13th and the 14th was that they absolutely blew it out of the water for the second set. No question in anyone's mind, the band knew exactly what they wanted to accomplish. The band opened with "Aimlessly," yet another brand new track that has a similar-sounding lead synth like in the previously mentioned "One a Day," only this one is more of an improvisational monster that sounds like it's "One a Day" on steroids. Any time you get keyboardist David Phipps creating a lead with a sound that powerful, big things will happen. As the band destroyed the room with this new track and exploded back into the powerful intro that led off the set, it was very apparent that they were pulling out all the stops. A newly reworked "F-Word" followed, with a completely different intro and style. It was deeper, had more focus, and just plain hit harder. What a fantastic concept for a band to have. Why not completely rework songs? Regardless of medium, publication of a product is full of countless ideas like "I should have done this/that." It is almost as if STS9 recognizes the limits of writing songs (especially ones concerning electronic samples) and further recognizes a way to escape those limitations by simply doing it different, and better.
STS9 :: 01.14 :: The Fillmore |
The set continued with blistering ferocity. The bells of "Peoples" made the chandeliers within The Fillmore sway from side to side. Again with the brand new, "Warrior" made its West Coast debut and straight-up mesmerized the entire audience with its melodic layers and hypnotic patterns. "Move My Peeps" and "Grow" were nothing groundbreaking but were both upbeat and intense, and very fitting to close the set. The encore was perfect in terms of the theme for the weekend - a mixture of brand new and old - as the band played "Dem Be" before closing with an old fan favorite "Crystal Instrument."
STS9 :: 01.14 :: The Fillmore |
It had been over a year since the five members of Sound Tribe Sector 9 graced the stage at the legendary Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, CA. The last set performed by the band at the historic venue had been an exhilarating performance on 10.31.04. STS9 performed three sold-out shows that Halloween weekend, the final being a PA set on Halloween, giving fans a sneak peak at some of the newer tunes on their upcoming Artifact release. This set was a glimpse of the band's vision, a look at the possibilities of where the sound was going.
If the 2004 Halloween run was a glimpse of their vision, the January tour kick-off at The Fillmore was a realization of what Sound Tribe Sector 9 has become - the fruition that this band has attained by striving for a complete and whole sound that is void of typicality is one to be admired. Take a look at the "Peoples" from 10.31.04 and the "Peoples" from 01.14.06. A variance of length is apparent, but more importantly, it is the musical growth that is most astonishing. Their sound has matured and evolved so much over the years that it practically engulfs the listener now. And there is no reason to believe that the band will stop progressing or changing their sound. Considering how much ground they have broken in terms of fusing worlds of music, the scope of things to come is full of possibilities. There is only one thing I feel confident in saying about the future of Sound Tribe Sector 9: They are going places.
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