Instrumental power house Sound Tribe Sector 9 brought their unique mix of intergalactic electronic funk to the Main Room at First Avenue on Sunday night. Formed in Atlanta in 1998, the band has made its bones touring heavy, they are a staple on the festival circuit. These guys have raised tons of money for great causes, including a concert for Hurricane Katrina victims that raised over $20,000. Way ahead of their time, in 2006 the band started touring in a carbon neutral tour bus and powered their shows with renewable energy. Sunday night was a rare opportunity to see STS9 in an intimate setting.
Supporting STS9 on the tour was White Cliffs and they hit the stage right at 8PM. This solo musician/producer from Brooklyn describes himself as a “Musical chef cooking saucy jams for your face” and he didn’t disappoint Sunday night. Tapping into backing track to supplement his vocals while he jammed on his guitar, White Cliffs filled the Mainroom with a sonic serenade as the crowd filtered in.
Coming on at 9:15 sharp the Tribe opened strong with “Golden Gate>Mashup”. These guys were jamtronica before it was a thing, and 10 minutes and one song into the set, STS9 had turned the Mainroom into a giant rave. The show was a retrospective of the bands career, with the crowd favorites “The Spectacle” and “Monkey Music” causing quite a ruckus. The collective of musicians is basically leaderless, each member complimenting the other creating a swirling galaxy of sound.
While the music was truly amazing, the light show rivals one of the best currently on tour. Melding perfectly with the other worldliness of the music, the lightshow transported the dancing audience to another dimension. The colors were amazing, highlighting writhing bodies in every corner of the Mainroom.
20 years of space travel have made STS9 the premiere jamtronica act in the galaxy.
Set 1: Golden Gate>Mashup – Arigato – Squishface – Balancing – Kamuy>The Fog – The Spectacle – Enceladus – Sun, Moon & Stars
Set 2: March >You Don’t Say – Monkey Music > Ramone – Peaceblaster>Modular> Scheme – Rabble
Encore: Beyond Right Now>Metameme
