OUR BLOG
The DL: After taking down Red Rocks during the 10th anniversary performance Saturday night, STS9 sat down with a smaller crowd before their sold out screening of #ReGeneration to play an intimate 'Axe the Cables' set and it was a beautiful things. Besides the obvious venue change, you could not have a more different feel between the electronic heavy Red Rocks sets and the acoustic light beauty that characterizes 'Axe the Cables'. Murph even said when they came on stage, for them to artistically be able to play the sets they did at Red Rocks, to come and play such a different set at Boulder Theater and have us love both, was such a treat.
The Set: When they opened with "Equinox", if I closed my eyes it almost felt like I was back at Horning's Hideout when they opened their "Axe the Cables" set at ReGeneration in 2011 with the same song. The amazing thing about the acoustic sets is that you can hear the delicacies of each instrument really coming through, Phipps laying it down on the piano, Hunter and Murph strumming away, Zach and Jeffree accenting everything on the drums. You knew you were amidst of sea of serious Tribe fans when they starting playing "Dance" and the crowd couldn't help but come to it's feet with a harmonious "Woo!" as one traditionally does throughout the song. Then into "From Now On," which happens to be this Swaager member's favorite STS9 tune, into the more energetic “Lo Swaga” and “Kamuy” with featured a drum duo from Jeffree and Zach as well as a piano solo from Phipps, respectively.
#ReGeneration: A Documentary Film: This Seattle International Film Festival winning doucumentary was perfectly screened amongst a very receptive Boulder-based crowd. Opening with the Martin Luther King Jr. quote, “We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people,” our minds immediately switched gears from beer-drinking booty shaking to cognizant, concerned global citizens.
What did this quote mean, how should it be interpreted? For approximately the next hour we took in stories based upon the knowledge, wisdom, and personal reflections of some of the country's leading scholars, social activists, and media personalities, including Noam Chomsky, the late Howard Zinn, Adbusters' Kalle Lasn, Andrew Bacevich, Talib Kweli, and many others. The film also profiled a young couple about to give birth to their second child, a group of inner-city high school student and the band members of STS9 and how they navigate through today’s cut-throat society.
Ultimately the message interpreted was younger generations, especially 18 – 29 year olds, have the duty within today’s culture to open their eyes, make their own decisions based off experience, intuition and knowledge… not on mass media, consumerism, and un-empathetic behaviors. #ReGeneration first took a look at the overwhelming need to rely on technology in today’s world; meaning we are glued to a screen at all times whether that be a smart phone, computer, tablet, TV, game console, and more. Our obsessive use of technology may be sheltering the masses from what is really going on.
By touching on other topics such as the dangers of friendly parenting and not setting authoritative boundaries for children, to mass advertising creating a homogenous society where we all look, buy, eat, do the same things – #ReGeneration made each and every person in the crowd internally question if they were doing their part as a member of our global community. As the film neared its end, the subject of sustainability was broached. How can we live sustainably, not just with what we consume, but with our policies and behaviors? While each person needs to answer these questions for themselves, this film achieved what we believe to be its ultimate goal – to bring to life sheltered topics and get people thinking about how they contribute, positively or not, to today’s cultural norms. How is your generation going to re-evaluate its thought process to leave the world a better place for the next generation?
One really couldn't have asked for any better way to spend Sunday evening; from all-out groovin’ and movin’ to a thought-provoking, conversation-inspiring film we left fulfilled and recharged – just the usual way one leaves any STS9 experience!
Setlist: Equinox, ROYGBIV, Dance, From Now On, Lo Swaga, Kamuy
CONNECT WITH US