STS9: Axe The Cables

I went into this show thinking that "anything could happen", but knew that it had the potential to be great. I am not a super fan of STS9... in fact, the last time I saw them was Red Rocks '07. Like The Joker, I have not been impressed with anything the band has done in the last few years but really enjoy their early stuff.

The band had asked anyone with Will Call tickets to show up between 7:30pm-8:00pm to "avoid delays". They obviously were not prepared to handle the crowd because they didn't open the doors until just after 8pm and were scrambling to get setup to let people in. Katie and I found ourselves surrounded by a lot of young kids who were either drunk or spun. This was disappointing to me because anyone who came ready to "rage" was probably not going to have a good time. Eating molly at this show seemed like a bad idea.

When it came time for us to get our tickets, they couldn’t find my envelope. Thankfully, Crawford (a guy I know who works for STS9 management) was working the ticket table and knew that I had bought tickets. He handed me two tickets for FRONT ROW, CENTER! We could not have been any closer, or more center! From now on Crawford will now be known as "Brahford" - what a guy!

Setlist:

SET 1:

New Soma
the following
Dem be
Re:Stereo
New song...still untitled
approaching
Glen Tells Kengo
From now on
lo swaga

Set 2:

Kamuy
the fog
Equinox
Satori
Between 6th and 7th (feat. Dom from Big Gigantic on sax)
986 ft tall trees
moonsockets>
so it goes
breath in

encore:

Life Sweet Breath

The music was really well done. You could tell that they had practiced for this show because the music was tight. Being a musician myself, I get off on studying the communication between band members and always find myself looking for mistakes. The guys were all smiles, really tuned in to each other, and very focused - flawless.

The entire show was absolutely stellar, but the second set really took me to the place... The place? its in your soul... You know, "that place"... I was taken to a new level of musical appreciation. Anyway, I'm not good at going thru each song and explaining why it was good, just get the SBD and listen for yourself. A buddy of mine summed it up perfect with, "if you like good music, I'm not sure how you could not have loved last night!”

The point really is that I was able to forget about everything I have known STS9 to be. I was able to forget about the spunion circus that follows them. I ignored the fact that I have not enjoyed recent music from them. I focused on the music that was played in front of me and did not need any substance but my ears to enjoy it. It was very refreshing, but most of all it was beautiful. There were several times throughout the night that I had chills or even a little moisture in the eyes.

The band recently announced that they will be playing another acoustic set on Jamcruise. Make sure you check it out!

You can check out a few pictures that we took HERE