Incubus
I won’t lie to you. There was a time in my life, rather musical growth, when Incubus made music that was instantly memorable and full of an energy making them impossible to dislike. I remember when Fungus Amongus came out and spun my ears around like they were accessories to a Mr. Potato Head doll, thereafter making me purchase nearly all of their late 90s releases. Some might say they’ve fallen victim to the Weezer-like syndrome of “better when younger” but they showed no signs of serious aging on the Lands End Stage Friday night .
Although I had never been to an Incubus concert prior to my Outside Lands experience, it was easy to see the band still had many loyal, energetic fans who squished tightly together for their set. They tore through more than a dozen songs in an hour’s time, including opening the show with “Pardon Me” and “Nice To Know You” to sprinkle some blast-from-the-past tracks onto the crowd’s eardrums.
My favorite aspect of their entire set was the fact that the same energy present on Fungus Amongus was also with them Friday evening. Perhaps they bring that type of intensity to all of their live sets, but they jumped around and gyrated amongst themselves in a manner that created an atmosphere of genuine fun and enjoyment. On top of it all, lead singer Brandon Boyd claimed to “have a cold” and was “scared to sing” but took the advice of Mike Einziger to “just get drunk”. Boyd did just that, polishing of two bottles of red wine within an hour - “Red red red wine, makes me feel so fine!”
The California-born rockers did a nice job of mixing old, new, and favorite tracks in a manner that didn’t lose the crowd’s interest. Aside from jamming hits “Stellar” and “Wish You Were Here”, Incubus pulled a festival habit in closing their set with a great cover of Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy”. Even though I’m not as fond of Incubus as I was years ago, I’m delighted they possess the same captivating qualities live that made them so memorable during my youth.
