East of the Sun: STS9 Live at The Eastern (rescheduled NYE celebration)!
If you have followed my column over the years, you might be familiar with the band, STS9. If not, STS9 is an instrumental band that has been uplifting lives since 1998 with their blend of funk, jazz, drum and bass, hip-hop, electronic, psychedelic music. The band began its musical journey back in 1998 when they started playing in the Atlanta/Athens area. I remember first going to see a band playing downtown Augusta called Sound Tribe Sector 9 because some of my friends were going. Figured why not? I had no clue about this band and well personally I was not into this type of music at the time. After seeing them perform this night, I knew that I was going to see them again sometime down the road.
Now fast forward to present day, I cannot count how many sets/performances that I have witnessed by STS9 at either a festival or just while they toured. But I can safely say that each time I have seen them, it has been a wonderful journey through their music. The band consists of Hunter Brown (guitars/keyboards), Zach Velmer (drums/electronic percussion/programming), Alana Rocklin (bass), Jeffree Lerner (percussion/keyboards/programming), and David Phipps (keyboards/synthesizers/programming). They have released seventeen (17) LPs and four (4) video/DVDs.
This time around, I was fortunate enough to attend nights two (2) and three (3) of STS9’s East of the Sun four (4) night-stand at The Eastern for their rescheduled New Year’s run. The opening support went accordingly: 06/03 - an all-improv Wave Spell set from STS9 and 06/04 - No Stress aka Paul Horton.
Night two (2) was destined to go down in the annals of STS9’s history as they embarked on a sonic journey that many fans alike drool over- an all-improv Wave Spell set from STS9! This is a chance for the entire band to showcase their individual talents throughout the entire improv set.
Check out the set list for Night 2 below:
Set I: “You Don’t Say” > “T.W.E.L.V.E.”, “Lo Swaga”, “Looking Back on Earth”, “Squares & Cubes” > “Monkey Music”
Set II: “Oil & Water” > “The Spectacle”, “Poseidon”, “Golden Gate”, “Wave Spell”, “Menacer” > “Four Year Puma”
Set III: Improv
Opening for STS9 on night three (3) was No Stress aka Paul Horton who was born in Athens, Alabama and he may look familiar to some. He plays keyboards with none other than the Alabama Shakes and also tours with Brittany Howard (Alabama Shakes lead vocalists/guitars) on her solo career. His latest release is entitled Prelude No. 1 (released March 2nd, 2021) which “presents the fruits of a cleared psyche that blends everything from hip-hop and jazz to glitch and transcendental ambience”. No wonder STS9 asked No Stress to join them on tour, this LP is fantastic from start to finish! No Stress also has released (February 4th, 2022) an EP entitled No Stress + Coupler: Reinvention No. 1 that deserves a listen. Head over to the Official Spotify page for No Stress today to check out some tunes! Or check No Stress out at their Official Bandcamp if that is more your style.
STS9 did not waste any time during the opening for Night 3 bringing some heaters that included “March”, “Move My Peeps”, and “Worry No More” during the first set. As much as I personally love when STS9 does an all-improv Wave Spell set, I really feel Saturday was better in my opinion. Nothing against the fire that was made on Friday for Night 2, but Night 3 was something special!
Check out the Set list for Night 3 below:
Set I: “Really What?”, “March”, “Move My Peeps” > “Tap-In”, “Worry No More” > “Enceladus” > “Worry No More”
Set II: “Big Basin”, “Peoples”, “Dusk” > “Bussin” > “Elevators*, “Like I Do”, “What is Love?”, “Circus”
Encore: “ABCees”, “Firewall”
Show Notes: * First time played since 2019 12.30 (Ravespell)
Can’t get enough of STS9? Then check out these previously published STS9 reviews located at www.concerthopper.com: Tribesgiving: STS9 w/ sub-ID (Night 1 of Just Thanks) & Shining Rock: STS9 Goes Back to the Forest! You can also subscribe to STS9’s Official Bandcamp page and listen to recorded albums plus hundreds of classic live shows (with current performances added frequently just like East of the Sun).
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