A FAN expresses love for Incubus front man Brandon Boyd. Pocholo Concepcion
A confession: We never closely followed the career of the rock band Incubus, even as it gained a wide reputation as a hot live act since the late 1990s.
We finally saw the band in concert three years ago, blown away by the carefully crafted music and the sight of female fans adoring front man Brandon Boyd’s charismatic moves and Michael Stipe-like singing. In fact that was how we regarded the Incubus sound—very much reminiscent of Stipe’s band, REM, only more intense and verging on heavy metal.
If Incubus plays nu metal, as the music of Led Zeppelin heirs is called, it’s not something that blasts one’s ears from screeching guitars and screaming vocals. Incubus has that, too, but we don’t know how the band is able to play loud music in a pleasing manner. Maybe because it combines elements of funk and hip hop, with a bit of punk.
We tried listening more intently to the music at the band’s return engagement last week at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. We went home as converts.
Looking back at what happened was like recalling how we fell in love with rock ‘n’ roll in the first place.
The anger in Boyd’s voice was heartfelt on “Megalomaniac,” as guitarist Mike Einziger, turntablist/keyboardist Chris Kilmore, bassist Ben Kenney and drummer Jose Pasillas laid out hard-edged rhythms that yanked our nerves.
Psychic vibe
It was an aural assault that drove the throng around us into fits of ecstasy. Especially the women. At one point, a middle-aged lady screamed out the lyrics to “Pardon Me,” her eyes
NU METAL with a twist: Incubus adds hip hop and funk to its loud but pleasing sound. Photo courtesy of Ovation Productions
closed and hands spread out like she was absorbing a psychic vibe from Boyd.
We were drawn as well to the magnificent mix of hip hop and grunge in the song. Spinning and scratching records while the front man howled on the mic used to be exclusive to rap acts, but Kilmore shattered the barrier and meshed it beautifully with Einziger’s jagged riffs.
We couldn’t get enough of that turntable-guitar interplay; its sci-fi soundtrack squeaks and hypnotic patterns on “The Warmth” got us into a momentary trance.
The frenetic tempo on “Look Alive” pushed everyone’s adrenaline level so high, it felt like our heads would zoom past the Big Dome’s ceiling. We saw two girls huffing and laughing when the song ended.
When the hit single “Drive” came on, it seemed like all the couples around were professing love for each other as Boyd sang, “Whatever tomorrow brings I’ll be there…”
Again, Einziger’s guitar work bowled us over, its staccato tempo and Jeff Beck sound highlighting the mood on Sick, Sad Little World.”
Near the end of the set, as Boyd got to the line about “worst fears” on the song “Isadore,” we wished the paranoid lot who warned us about Incubus being a band with evil intent were at the concert. Maybe they would’ve gone home as converts, too.
If Ovation Productions keeps bringing in acts of similar caliber as Incubus, it would make a lot of people happy.