IRVINE, CA — Last year, the California band celebrated the 20th anniversary of their incredible Morning View album, the album borne in Malibu, California, with its softer ambiance, aggression, and grooves. Standout songs like “Are You In?”, “Nice To Know You”, “Mexico” and “Wish You Were Here” are featured on this album, which the band was happy to showcase during their comeback summer 2022 tour at the FivePoint Amphitheatre in Irvine, fresh out of the pandemic.
The band opened with “Nice To Know You” to “Circles” and “Wish You Were Here.” As I snapped a couple of photos from the front VIP pit, the fans’ energy was something else.
The thing about fans of Incubus is I feel they are some of the most chill people you’ll ever meet. As fans are often a reflection of the type of people Incubus is and stands for, the heavy rock ambient moodiness to feelings of peace and serenity that Incubus often writes about were felt.
As lead singer Brandon Boyd sang, “I lean against the wind, pretend that I am weightless / And in this moment, I am happy, happy,” we all couldn’t help but share that same sentiment.
From songs spanning the commercial success of their 1999 third album Make Yourself such as “Stellar,” “Pardon Me” and “Drive,” to 2001’s Morning View and “Megalomaniac” from 2004’s A Crow Left of the Murder… to their album Light Grenades with songs “Dig” and “Anna Molly,” which debuted at No. 1 in 2006, the band’s commercial success still stands to this day.
Brandon spent the majority of their set on his stool, the wind blowing through his luscious locks as he sang with carefree ease and joy to a crowd that knew every word. He shared an acoustic moment with guitarist Michael Einziger on the song “Mexico,” to which they shared a lifelong buddy embrace and fist pump. Drummer Jose Pasillas held the drums down with power and ease as Brandon got to share a cajon moment with him. Bassist Ben Kenney and DJ Kilmore both rounded up the five-piece act to commemorate a band that has been so timeless in our early 2000s music scene with an eclectic sound that has spanned many genres — from alternative to heavy metal and funk to psychedelic, pop, and trip-hop.
It’s really quite special and humbling to be a part of a show and band family that has moved so many souls within your generation with their music. I personally found myself picking up the guitar at just 13 and learning the song “Drive” more than 15 years ago, using it as an opening prayer song for one of my high school religion classes (ha, have time’s changed). But even then, their music and words cut so deep into our consciousness, even as a little girl inspired by the words: “Lately I’m beginning to find that when I drive myself my light is found.”
In their last song before their encore, I found myself singing back the words “We all have something that digs at us, at least we dig each other” and “Remind me that we’ll always have each other when everything else is gone,” as Brandon talked into a crowd of fans feeling as elated as myself. These are words in times of darkness in my younger life that cut so deep and gave me peace of mind about my current ailments.
He continues: “If I turn into another, dig me up from under what is covering, the better of part of me.” The song encourages us to lean on each other in moments of loss and desperation, reminding us that we all really need each other at the end of the day.
In “The Warmth” from Make Yourself, Brandon sings:
“The humanity I know, watched the warmth blow away
So don’t let the world bring you down
Not everything here is that fucked up and cold
Remember why you came while you’re alive
Experience the warmth before you grow old”“The Warmth,” Incubus
In a time when I’ve been feeling extra heavy from a post-pandemic world and ailments of growing older and trying to find peace of mind with where I am and where I feel I’m meant to go, Incubus served as a gentle reminder for me to keep holding onto the warmth inside of me.
With their encore and an amphitheater full of dedicated fans, the band closed off with “Warning” and “Drive,” humbly reminding us that “whatever tomorrow brings, I’ll be there, with open arms and open eyes.”
It sometimes blows my mind how many good people exist out there, how good meets good, and how I’m happy and humbled to share this space with other like souls. Thank you Michael Einziger of Incubus, a big inspiration of mine, for the opportunity to come and hang at your show. Moments like these, as unexpected as they come, remind me why I do what I do. Thank you.
Keep up with Incubus and its upcoming tour dates at incubushq.com.
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