“I’m kind of nervous, this is my first show in 3 months!” Carina jittered as we hustled down the cold sidewalk of Lansdowne.
“I’m sure you’ll be fine, it’s like riding a bike” As I had no responsibility but to watch so I could write this review, I was far more relaxed. We make our way to the lineup for our search and seizure of suspect sippable souvenirs from the FNX truck. A wave of hot air hits as we elbow through the throng into the Avalon. As she applies her photo credentials, I marvel at the length of the coat check line, which rivals the one outside for entry. As she makes her final camera adjustments, the lights go down and on comes Señor Hammond of the Strokes.
Three notes into the first song, you can hear where the guitar licks in the Strokes come from, as a catchy, repetitive guitar hook blazes through our ears. Throughout the whole set, all I could think of was a mash of the Strokes and a less-inspired Flaming Lips wailing on stage. Not to say that it was bad at all, his set was filled with catchy guitar-driven numbers with easy-to-follow rhythm and relaxed progression through the song. While not my ideal music to rock out too, it would have been fantastic to drive to, as the simple progression and consistent backbeat made me want to zone out and daydream. All in all, a solid effort, but it’s unclear how much he’ll differentiate himself from the band that gave him a chance. A few more quick numbers and he was gone, off to “Get drunk and watch Incubus”, which seemed to be the theme of the night.
As the stage quickly changed to a menagerie of Incubustrements, the crowd welled with new members and a rising spirit. Normally, one is to see Incubus in a stadium with 10,000 of your closest friends, rather than maybe 1,000. The sold-out crowd became a wall of heat, noise and alcohol, as we milled about listlessly waiting for the band to show up. The wait became interminable, waiting until I had just about finished my exasperated text message about how long the goddamn wait was. Just as I went to send, the lights went down and my time was wasted.
Incubus took the stage to the roar of fans that had missed them so very much. Leading in with their new albums first two tracks, it was clear that they were here to tune up for the rest of the tour and get the jitters out of the new songs. Perfectly executing the intro, they launched into the classic “Wish you were here”, which whipped the crowd into a frenzy as we all played singalong. For this song, at least, I don’t think Brandon Boyd even needed to be on stage, as the crowd did a bang-up job trying to take his job. Launching from this into more new songs than old, the crowd stayed with him lyrically as many were tossed about on top. Just as the crest came, so it fell, and they launched into a few acoustic songs, including a particular stirring Drive (again with audience accompaniment) and some inspired solos.
Just as we were beginning to feel nice and relaxed from the lulling sounds of the acoustic guitar, they started turning the amps back up with Earth to Bella 1, providing an excellent bridge into some more rambunctious songs before ending with the excellent Dig (after a nigh Phish length Sick Sad Little World anyway). Incubus is many things, most of all professionals, so the pacing and execution were right on, with few mistakes, and even fewer words from them. While the encore was also quite good and filled with energy, one couldn’t help but feel they were running through the paces. I would have liked to hear more older songs and maybe a cover, but irregardless it was a fantastic show.
Walking out to the war of the radio station stickers (FNX, WBCN and WAAF were all there), I couldn’t help but think it was the best Tuesday I’ve had in a while.
Michi
February 02, 2007 14:02:42
Thank you for a great review and kickass photos! <3
