Photos of STARSET at The Gramercy Theater
All photos taken by Ana Santos
in New York City, NY on October 25th, 2019
It’s been almost two years since STARSET was last in New York City, then at the tail end of their tour in support of Vessels. With its third album, Divisions now out on Fearless Records, STARSET has undergone yet another striking evolution and with it, another chapter to the fascinating sci-fi lore that’s been interwoven into the band’s narrative since 2014’s Transmissions.
Having traded in the by now staple spacesuits for a Mad-Maxian dystopian aesthetic, this new era of Divisions demonstrations benefits from additional production both on stage and off. The idea of a conceptually-driven band isn’t new, and while very few truly manage to pull it off without feeling contrived, STARSET does a remarkable job with its use of technology to create a viral-like campaign surrounding every album release in a way that does not detract from the music.
And the music itself? Explosive.
With an uncanny ability to consistently improve and sound better and better with each tour, STARSET sounded phenomenal in New York City. The band sounded tighter as a whole – heavier – Bates’ vocals stronger, the inclusion of string instruments adding a new level of complexity to older songs I never realized I needed.
While the setlist naturally focused more heavily on new songs from Divisions, there was a hearty helping of older stand out tracks like “Monster,” “Carnivore,” “Telescope” and the finisher “My Demons” to make longtime fans happy.
After experienced most of STARSET’s New York City area demonstrations since late 2014, I’m constantly excited to see the band and gain more traction, improve and evolve. I can’t wait to see what’s next.
STARSET is:
Dustin Bates (vocals)
Brock Richards (guitar)
Ron DeChant (bass)
Adam Gilbert (drums)
Siobhan Cronin (violin & keys)
Mariko Muranaka (cello)
Setlist:
01. A Brief History of the Future
02. Manifest
03. Monster
04. Echo
05. Where The Skies End
06. It Has Begun
07. Telekinetic
08. Kashmir (Led Zepplin cover)
09. Perfect Machine
10. Trials
Intermission
11. Carnivore
12. Bringing It Down
13. Telescope
14. Other Worlds Than These
15. Frequency
16. My Demons
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