Starset at the Gramercy Theatre

Originally from Salem, Ohio, Dustin Bates earned degrees in electrical engineering and avionic engineering. He worked as a research associate in aerospace technology for the U.S. Air Force, and taught engineering at the International Space University in Paris, France. All the while, he followed his calling to rock music, and co-founded a band called Downplay, which started as a cover band and recorded an album of original songs in 2005. Consistent with his passion for astronomy, Bates conceived a science fiction theme for his new band, Starset, in 2013 in Columbus, Ohio. Expanding on a science fiction platform, Starset's cinematic music and multimedia launched from a mysterious "Message" received from space foretelling the details of the human race's imminent demise. Starset's third studio album, Divisions, was released on September 13, 2019. Starset presently consists of vocalist/guitarist Bates, lead guitarist Brock Richards, bassist Ron DeChant, and drummer Adam Gilbert.

Starset returned to the Gramercy Theatre tonight after a two-year break, furthering the band's fantasy concept while blending symphonic hard rock, riff-centered guitar work, and ambient electronica. Starset's dystopian narrative was now set in a tech-enslaved Earth in 2049, and so the band members replaced their spacesuits with post-apocalyptic battle fatigues for most of the set. Aided by Siobhán Cronin (violin, keyboards), Mariko Muranaka Friend (violin, cello), and numerous back screen projections, the transmission (Starset lingo for "concert") opened with "Manifest," the first single from the new album. Half of the 16-song set featured songs from that album, along with seven songs from the previous two albums, plus a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir." Bates commanded attention with strong vocals that climbed from whispers to angst-driven shouts. The band's music similarly escalated from violin and cello introductions to bombastic djent-guitar explosions. Missing, however, was a discernible storyline; throughout the concert -- sorry, transmission -- only those in the know could comprehend the "Message."

Setlist:

1. Manifest
2. Monster
3. Echo
4. Where the Skies End
5. It Has Begun
6. Telekinetic
7. Kashmir (Led Zeppelin cover)
8. Perfect Machine
9. Trials
10. Interlude 1
11. Carnivore
12. Bringing It Down
13. Telescope
14. Other Worlds Than These
15. Frequency
16. My Demons