Listening to Sound Tribe Sector Nine (STS9) is listening to the future of rock ‘n’ roll. While its music isn’t rock n’ roll per se — the all-instrumental band plays breakbeat electronica akin to DJs such as Prefuse 73 and LTJ Bukem — STS9 is like Rock ‘n’ Roll 2085.

Its intergalactic combination of analog and digital instruments made The Rave actually live up to its name last Thursday, Feb. 9.

STS9 isn’t the first group to use a live band to play music typically reserved for DJs. Roni Size/Reprazent, a British collective of DJs that revolutionized drum and bass, used a live drummer and bassist to augment the assortment of computers and samplers they have used since the early ’90s.

STS9 takes that idea and flips it, using computers to augment their five-piece ensemble. Outside of drummer Zach Velmer, every member of the group has an Apple G4 used to add atmospheric sounds and bass so deep the foundation shakes.

What makes STS9 different is that it brings the backing band to the forefront. To wit, Velmer is the band leader. Brought out of the shadows from the back of the stage where drummers are usually relegated, Velmer’s machine-like precision is out in front, dictating the tempo and leading the group.

While Velmer is a unique talent, STS9 is a collective. There is hardly any soloing, as each band member locks into a groove, adding different elements until the songs build into a euphoric peak.

The group had strayed away from jamming like this in recent years. Their latest studio album, “Artifact,” took a more laidback hip-hop approach compared to the more jam-orientated “Interplanetary Escape Vehicle.”

Now that the band has mastered the songs from “Artifact,” they have begun to stretch them out, taking the time to find a groove and build on it. STS9 also integrated several new songs into its two sets that featured electrifying synthesized keyboard riffs from David Phipps.

The band faltered a couple times during the show, however. STS9 might be the next evolution of rock ‘n’ roll, but its rock-oriented songs like “Open E” killed the energy in the room.

Guitarist Hunter Brown often relied on the pentatonic scale for many songs, which lead to the music feeling repetitive. Brown’s dependence on this scale pattern left many yearning more variation. But with this type of music, it isn’t about blistering solos; it’s about keeping rhythm and being just one part of the overall sound.

The crowd at The Rave was restless, at best. The audience didn’t bring the energy usually found at STS9 shows, although there were pockets of people dancing hard, trying to goad the others into joining in.

Everyone who was ready to keep the party going went to the after-show concert featuring the Madison trio Tripod at the Onopa Brewery in Riverwest. With STS9 ending at 12:30 a.m., most didn’t make it to Onopa until 1:15 a.m., shortly after Tripod took the stage. The band was just warming up when the bar abruptly and inexplicably cut the band (and the bar patrons) off at 1:40 a.m.

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