STS9 continued to share their 2020 Visions with Atlanta on Sunday and Monday with their third of four nights at The Tabernacle and their special, all-improv “Rave Spell” set at Ravine.
Billed as 2020 Visions, STS9’s ongoing year-end run in Atlanta features four shows at The Tabernacle on December 27th (with sub-ID), 28th (with ExMag), 29th (with Toubab Krewe), and 31st (with Modern Measure) in addition to the first-ever “Rave Spell” set at Atlanta’s Ravine on Monday, December 30th. Each night represents a different stage in the life cycle of a tree: Seed, Sprout, Root, Rise, Return.
Sunday, the “Root” night featured a mix of songs both new and old. They began the first set with two selections off their 2008 release, Peaceblaster, “Empires” > “The New Soma”. That segment led to “Totem”, off their latest album, 2016’s The Universe Inside, before segueing to “Pianoir”. A three-song segue of “Walk to the Light” > “Potamus” > Gobnugget” closed out the first set.
Tribe kept the dance floor moving with a high energy second set. “MOD” > “Breathe In” started things off before an “ABCees” > “Rise Above, Get Loud” > “ABCees” sandwich commenced. The powerful rhythm section of bassist Alana Rocklin, percussionist Jeffree Lerner, and drummer Zach Velmer seemed to consistently lead the band while Hunter Brown (guitar/keys), and David Phipps (keys) layered endless danceable melodies.
The second half of set two contained some much older tracks, literally bringing the band back to their “roots.” Velmer led the band into “Common Objects Strangely Placed”, the liquid track from one of their earliest releases, Offered Schematics Suggesting Peace. This led to another early track, “Vibyl”, from 2005’s Artifact. The band stuck to their roots with “Hubble”, off their first album, Interplanetary Escape Vehicle, before closing out the second set with a bouncing “The Rabble”. An encore of “Dance” left fans buzzing and wanting more.
They provided more, of course, the very next night (12/30) at Atlanta’s Ravine. The smaller and more intimate venue was the site of their all-improv “Rave Spell” show. While the band has mounted this type of improvisational exercise on various occasions, normally dubbed “Wave Spell“, the dance music-focused “Rave Spell” was the first of its kind.
Fans packed into the tight quarters to watch Tribe dazzle with over two hours of four-on-the-floor and breakbeat improv. The “Rave Spell” show took listeners on a ride through space and time, blending drum and bass, jungle, and a variety of other electronic music genres with their unique instrumental sound.
Scroll down to check out a selection of fan-shot videos from the STS9 “Rave Spell” show and a gallery of photos from “Root” night at The Tabernacle.
The five-night STS9 Atlanta New Year’s run wraps up tonight, December 31st, with the band’s fourth and final night at The Tabernacle. For a full list of upcoming STS9 tour dates, head here.
Setlist: STS9 | The Tabernacle | Atlanta, GA | 12/29/19
Set One: Empires* > The New Soma > Totem > Pianoir (outro jam), Walk to the Light > Potamus > Gobnugget$
Set Two: MOD& > Breathe In > ABCees > Rise Above, Get Loud > ABCees, Common Objects Strangely Placed^ > Vibyl > Hubble, The Rabble
Encore: Dance
Notes:
*Once Told teases
$Hubble & EB fakeout jam
&Modular Jam
^GLOgli teases
Setlist: STS9 | Ravine | Atlanta, GA | 12/30/19
Set: Rave Spell
