BLURB - It’s extremely difficult to find any major faults with STS9’s release of their 2008 New Year’s Eve show in Atlanta. Spacey jams, dance hall beats, samples, jazz pianos, creative guitar riffs and synth galore flood this concert from all directions. What more could you want?
Rating - 9 out of 10
FULL STORY - Sound Tribe Sector 9 quietly, and quickly, came into prominence over the last decade, developing quite a troop of devoted fans along the way. They have a certain ‘grassroots’ feel to their sound. They are unique and they’ve cleverly found a way to weld together a wide range of genres and influences. One can easily find shots of rock, jazz, ambient, jam, funk, hip-hop and house music in any track without really even looking for them. Some would call it organized chaos. This fusion of sounds and the band’s determination to keep re-evaluating and evolving their techniques is prevalent in their live shows. STS9 is known for archiving their shows and often times taking a particular piece of a song that they’ve played, and re-working it as a sample, to be used in an upcoming concert, showcasing their endless creativity. Despite having several studio records, the band is and will forever be known for their amazing live show. This release shows us why.
The set starts off in the most appropriate of fashion. ‘F-Word’ and ‘Be Nice’ establish a formidable opening duo. Each song has a ‘countdown’ feel, particularly ‘Be Nice.’ If I was ever to be in a rocket ship getting ready to be launched into space, I would want to here ‘Be Nice’ just before liftoff. The energy and tension found in these two songs is very tangible. ‘F-Word’ and ‘Be Nice’ really set the table for this show. From here, the band dives into ‘STS9,’ a number that starts out slow, works it’s way to higher intensity through some uptempo, yet minimalistic guitar and synth work, resolving to a calm outro. The song segues into, ‘Biggs’ which is a huge crowd pleaser. The song opens up with a sample shouting, ‘Everybody in the fucking house...1...2...3...’ For the most part, this song is simply a slow drum beat laced with some eerie sound effects and a jabbing series of digital horns that slap at the back beat, high-fiving the crowd each time.
Up next comes ‘Metameme’ which is done at a considerably slower pace. The eeriness from ‘Biggs’ continues here, as some futuristic computer effects are thrown at the audience. The song does wander a bit, as every good jam song should. At certain points in the track it sounds as if ‘Metameme’ is a breathing organism, looking for something. It eventually finds a resting place in ‘Jabez’ where soft piano hints of jazz weaves its way through a looped vibraphone line. The tune varies in pace and is greeted with some low register synth lines about halfway through. ‘Jabez’ continues it’s search for what ‘Metameme’ was looking for, and discovers it in the next song, ‘Moonsocket.’
With effects creating an environment ripe for an alien takeover, STS9 busts out ‘Moonsocket.’ The song slowly and powerfully builds up steam, adding instruments and sounds when necessary and then explodes over the loudspeakers just before the four minute mark. All that really happens is a simple guitar riff, but it is the one consistent that holds the track together. Behind the repetitive guitar notes is what appears to be a jazz organ on acid and some funky slap bass lines. The guitar motif is cleverly arranged to vary frontwards, backwards, sideways and then back to their original setup. Once this groove is exhausted, the band plateaus for a brief period of time, switching keys and tempos, pushing forward through an ascending power struggle of guitar and piano. Then it’s right back into the pre-established motif, with an entirely different, yet equally great, background arrangement. STS9 are masters of knowing how to accomplish the same feat in a multitude of fashions.
After being taken on the ‘Moonsocket’ journey, the audience now finds themselves lost in a deep sea of space and air, that being, ‘Looking Back on Earth.’ Call it a ‘break in action’ if you will but it serves the purpose of readying the crowd for certain perfection in ‘Kamuy.’ Filled with dancehall beats and synthesizers, ‘Kamuy’ is everything it should be. My only gripe with this version is that it features the obligatory drum solo, that may or may not still be going on. Up next are ‘Empires’ and ‘New Soma.’ The concert could have done without these two tracks as they are nothing to write home about. ‘Empires’ gets a little funky towards the end, but both tunes are weighed down by some very heavy, industrial synth.
The suite of ‘Evasive Maneuvers Pt. 1 > Surreality > Evasive Maneuvers Pt. 2’ is well done but comes off as a tease. ‘Evasive Maneuvers’ is pretty much ‘Kamuy’ sped up and without the guitar motif. ‘Surreality’ offer some light and airy variations during its segue way, but Pt. 2 finds a way to resolve back on to some fast paced grooves. ‘EHM’ pits an 11:32 battle of polar opposites with dark, menacing synth prevailing in the end. Confusion and tension are filled in ‘EHM’ and forms a nice little battle for the audience to witness. Next is ‘Lo Swaga,’ which remarkably comes off as unpolished and very coarse. Of the countless versions of this song I’ve heard, it’s always been spot on. For whatever reason, ‘Lo Swaga’ is peppered with several botched notes in it’s introduction. After the rust wears off, the song peaks as the band does some handy work balancing improvisation and it’s central riff.
‘Music, Us’ finishes off the show, and in a proper farewell. The song dabbles with a ‘Love is All We’ll Ever Need,’ sample and features piano as the main instrument of choice helping to accomplish a sincere yet relaxing jam. ‘Music, Us’ does venture off to a couple places, but never strays to far away from a relaxed, electronic, jazzy, sample-ridden groove. I imagine this song being played on repeat in a modern coffee house in Amsterdam.
The point to drive home with STS9 is that the sum of their parts is always better than one singular song. Their songs are made better by the way in which they are surrounded at their show. It’s never about hearing the ‘hit’ or the ‘single.’ There are none. On a more personal note, two of my favorite STS9 tracks, 'Aimlessly' and 'Instantly' are nowhere to be found, yet this show still oozes with greatness. Sound Tribe's shows are ultimately not about the band or their songs, it's about creating an experience, and Atlanta was certainly treated to a memorable one. While I can hear what occurred through this second hand release, I can only imagine what it would have been like to be at the party. The drugs had to have been flowing.
Tracks
1.) F-Word
2.) Be Nice
3.) STS9
4.) Biggs
5.) Metameme
6.) Jabez
7.) Moonsocket
8.) Looking Back on Earth
9.) Kamuy
10.) Empires
11.) New Soma
12.) Evasive Maneuvers, Pt. 1
13.) Surreality
14.) Evasive Maneuvers, Pt. 2
15.) EHM
16.) Lo Swaga
17.) Music, Us
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