Headstash

STS9 - Dec. 27 - "The boys are back in town and it feels like 1999."

Headstash Magazine will have daily coverage of Phish, STS9, The Disco Biscuits, Umphrey's McGee's New Year's Runs as well as SnowGlobe festival in California. We'll also have in-depth coverage of Lotus, The New Deal, moe. and Pretty Lights.

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STS9's New Year's Eve run will take them back to The Tabernacle in Atlanta, Georgia for five nights after a two-year hiatus from the venue. Stay tuned for coverage from all the nights.

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Photo Credit: Josh Cohan

December 27 – The Tabernacle – Atlanta, GA

Set I: Tap-In, Equinox, Mischief of a Sleepwalker, Dance > Inspire Strikes Back, Squares and Cubes, Ramone and Emiglio, Hubble
Set II: Four Year Puma > Kaya > Open E, And Some Are Angels, Evasive Maneuvers > Kamuy, Monkey Music, Moonsockets
Encore: STS9

Crowd Atmosphere: The balconies of The Tabby was literally shaking as anticipation built for the show to begin. The lights darkened and Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back In Town" rang out as the house music, eventually giving way to Ray Charles' "Georgia On My Mind" as the band walked out on stage. As expected, the crowd erupted and continued to with every prompting. Everyone in attendance was amped for a special show and STS9 delivered.

Best Song: Open E (the "newest" song of the night was perfectly placed and brought the house down with its harsh breakdown)

Bustout of the Night: Kaya

Photo Credit: Josh Cohan

Best Jam: "Kamuy" drum solo

Best Segue: Kaya > Open E

Best Moment: The walk-on to "Georgia On My Mind." The significance of The Tabernacle, this area and their fanbase is not lost on these guys at all.

Sloppiest Moment: Moonsockets

Lights Review: Saxton's lights were on point as always, but understated allowing the band as a collective to take center stage rather than overshadowing them (literally). The LED screens were bigger than ever and featured images of nature, space and old-timey ballroom dancing when appropriate. They never felt overwhelming or detracted from the music/lights.

Twitter Recap: The boys are back in town, and they left their computers backstage for the night. 'It felt like 1999.'

Other Notes: From the walk-on music, to Murph's pre-show Facebook hype promising no repeats for the run and no computers tonight, this show was meant to be a special event. It was a calculated move on the band's part and the only thing that didn't feel planned were the patient breakdowns and drawn-out jams. The show was a conceptual masterpiece.

Tycho live band was the perfect, mellow music to set the tone and ease everyone into the week of music. The introspective downtempo music evoked organic images hours before they would adorn the LED screens.

The Tabernacle was rocking as STS9 took the stage, opening with a pulsating "Tap-In" that felt just right for the moment. The always emotional song sounded more poignant than ever as all five members built up and dropped the beat with ease.

Photo Credit: Josh Cohan

After a jazzy "Equinox" with picturesque images of flowers blooming during the lighter beginning and silhouetted, monochromatic images during the darker ending, the band launched into "Mischief of a Sleepwalker."

The LEDs featured a black and white film of ballroom dancing during "Dance" that sped up along with the accelerating build-up. The segue into "Inspire Strikes Back" was clean and fluid and had the crowd moving as one to each synth peak.

During Phipps' improv-heavy keys solo in "Ramone and Emiglio," Murph, Hunter and Zach were all mimicking his fingers as he tickled the ivories. It was a small gesture, but it showed just how much they were feeling the music and inspired by each other during this performance.

A long and soaring "Hubble" ended the first set and sent people to the bathrooms and bars with smiles on their faces.

At this point, every song played was pre-2002 - an old-school fan's dream setlist. The playing was contemporary STS9 and each version felt different than how it was usually played.

A funky "Four Year Puma" opened the second set and showcased Saxton's dynamic skills behind the lighting board. A dark and cacophonous "Kaya" - the bust-out of the night - followed and led to a grumbly segue into "Open E."

Photo Credit: Josh Cohan

Perhaps the highlight of the night due to its excellent placement as the pick-me-up raging song the crowd was itching for, "Open E" was also the "newest" song played all night (2004). STS9 juxtaposes light and dark themes no better than in this song and the schizophrenic light work by Saxton only amplified the crowd's explosions as they released all their pent up energy.

A satisfying "And Some Are Angels" came before a full-blown "Evasive Maneuvers" into another complete song in "Kamuy." Jeffree's percussion solo was long and skillfully performed. Zach flashed a glowing smile as he joined in.

A sultry and smooth unique-sounding "Monkey Music" followed and Murph wryly announced "It feels like 1999 up here."

"Moonsockets" ended the first set and an "STS9" encore sent people to their hotels and apartments fully buying into the hype.

The entire show felt rehearsed, but not at all in a bad way and the music was fresher than ever. Murph has already intimated that tonight's show will be an "Artifact" show, so stay tuned for more coverage of this special run.

- Nick Rhodes

 

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Stay tuned as we continue to review STS9's New Year's Eve run and all your favorite bands as they countdown to 2012.

What did you think of the show? Let us know in the comments section.