As the mission control board communicated to those in attendance the successful re-entry of STS9 into Earth’s atmosphere, each band member walked out on the stage Friday night at Red Rocks Amphitheatre donning a space helmet for what would be the group’s 20th performance at the legendary Colorado venue. No small feat, and something that was clearly not lost on the gentlemen and lady of STS9.
As the band went into a first-time played “Supercluster”, the opening track from their recent release The Universe Inside, led by Alana Rocklin‘s uber-funky bass bombs, you could tell the band was locked in from the first note. “Out of this World” finished the album’s 1-2 punch, with guitarist Hunter Brown experiencing some minor technical difficulties. Zach Velmer and company then took it way back to 1999 with a beautifully played “Frequencies 2 – 3”, which was part of the live Brown Album when the band simply went by Sector 9.
Special guest vocalist Maureen Murphy was a fitting addition to the show, as the singer joined STS9 on a cover of The Isley Brothers‘ “Between The Sheets”, with many in the crowd singing the chorus to Notorious B.I.G.‘s “Big Poppa”, bringing some of that East Coast flavor to the mountains. That led into an Artifact-era gem in “ReEmergence”, which witnessed some deft tickling of the ivories by keyboardist David Phipps, before segueing back into the final notes of “Between The Sheets”. “Vibyl” saw STS9 drop into a downtempo glitchy jam of Grandmaster Flash‘s “The Message”, before ending the set proper with “New Dawn, New Day” and the echoing melodic tones of Brown’s guitar creating a dreamscape that would lead into set break.
“Simulator” opened the second set, and saw Saxton Waller‘s light show take things to a whole other level, with an array of beautiful colors creating something out of 2001: A Space Odyssey. All the stage needed was a monolith, and anybody would have been fooled into thinking they were in the middle of a Kubrick mind-fuck. Another old-school joint in “Grow” was straight out of a smooth jazz handbook, taking you on the greatest elevator ride of your life.
We saw two more debuts from The Universe Inside sandwiched in between “The Rabble” and “Blu Mood”with “Elsewhere” and “Sun, Moon and Stars”, the latter of which featured Murphy on vocals once again, taking the STS9-nauts into a realm ruled by futuristic disco funk. Needless to say, “MOD > Modular Improv > MOD was straight filth that had people getting down and slapping the floor.
New(ish) number “World Go Round”, which appears on Universe and has been in the live rotation for a couple of years now, ended the second set, leaving mouths agape to be picked up at a later time. For the encore, Artifact number “Better Day” led into the debut of “Light Years” to put a rather tasteful, ethereal touch to the end of what was a truly memorable 20th Red Rocks performance for STS9. Congratulations to the band on such an incredible accomplishment!
The group will conclude their two-night stand at the Rocks tonight. Check out full video of the show, courtesy of J Mar:
[all photos courtesy of Aaron Bradley Photo]
Setlist: STS9 at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO – 9/9/16
SET I:
Supercluster(*#) –
Out of this World(*%) –
Frequencies 2 – 3
To The World
March
Gobnugget –
Between the Sheets($&) –
Reemergence –
Between the Sheets
Vibyl(@)
New Dawn, New Day
SET II:
Simulator –
Grow
The Rabble –
Call Jam –
The Rabble
Elsewhere(*)
Sun, Moon and Stars($*)
Blu Mood –
MOD –
Modular Improv –
MOD
World Go Round
ENCORE:
Better Day($!)
Light Years(*)
Show Notes:
* = first time played
# = band wearing space helmets
% = HB technical difficulties throughout song
$ = w/ Maureen Murphy on vocals
& = Isley Brothers Cover
@ = extended jam of Grandmaster Flash’s “The Message”
? = Modular Jam
! = Alana on Stand Up Bass