This past weekend, I had the opportunity to check out the experience that is Sound Tribe Sector 9. I’d heard tales of its glory, but had never made too much of an effort to go out of my way to see what the fuss was about. My brief time spent with their soundcloud didn’t have that kind of impact. I suspected before, but now can confirm that laptop speakers or a song of theirs coming up on shuffle is a disservice. Hit the jump for more + a couple videos.
Showed up in time to catch the last bit of Tycho‘s set. The dreamy vibes went perfectly with the video backdrop behind them, moving seamlessly between images of nature, silhouettes, galaxies, etc. I schemed at one point with a friend how we could get one of those put up as a wall in our bedrooms. The video I got (below) gives me the feeling of stopping for smoke breaks on a coastal roadtrip with 0 worries. I really loved their own silhouettes against the backdrop as well. It serves as a kind of spotlight for them. Nosaj Thing uses a similar setup to great effect.
Tycho is also a really sick artist under the moniker ISO50. I finally scored one of his prints that I’ve been eye’ing for a while.
After a 20 minute bathroom/beer break, the dudes from Atlanta hit the stage. I can’t say this enough, they managed to turn the Palladium into a mini festival. Everyone was visibly feeling good and ready to groove. An eclectic mix of people. Plenty of space. No aggressive people moving through the crowd. As for the music, I’m not going to attempt to categorize it, because I don’t enjoy failure. Every synthesized sound, melody, bass line, and drum beat was intertwined perfectly. I took turns focusing on each instrument and felt an appreciation for every note. I guess that’s what happens with that many years of experience as a live instrumental “jam” band. It was every bit of a party as an EDM show without the thumping 4×4. The lights & LED screen did their part in enhancing the whole experience. The ~3 hours really did fly by; very rarely does a show that long leave you wanting more. Really eager to see them again in an outdoor open space, especially considering every show of theirs is different. If you want to relive the experience or just want to purchase the show for your enjoyment, you can buy it at 1320 Records.
