For two bands that have been active for over 30 years, it’s a surprise to discover that they have never toured together until now. The tour matches two bands – very popular with the Gen X and Millennial fans – for slightly different reasons. Incubus were born out of the burgeoning nu-metal crave of the ‘90s, buddying up with Korn in the late ‘90s before releasing their eponymous third album, “Make Yourself” in 1999. Similarly, it was the third album from Līve that broke them big. “Throwing Copper”, from 1994, was a breakout success for the group, levering the fever for rock after the grunge revolution but throwing in a softer edge which pulled in a huge number of fans with tracks like “Lightning Crashes” and the ‘slow build’ post-grunge style they employed.
The decision as to who would play first might have been a tricky one, but a cursory glance at the ‘active’ monthly listeners on Spotify shows a huge swing towards the headliners of the tour being Incubus, so it was that Līve would kick off proceedings in the 100th anniversary week of the historic Hordern Pavilion. (this would end up switching the following night)
Starting five minutes earlier than scheduled surprised a lot of the punters who were still mingling outside the Hordern, but as they flooded inside, the strains of “Hold Me Up” started the show. It was an interesting choice of first song, being a ‘bonus’ track added to the 25th anniversary edition of “Throwing Copper”. We shouldn’t have feared though as they dove straight into “All Over You” and “Selling the Drama” next.
“It’s so great to be back in Sydney after the fires and the pandemic. Thanks for calling!” Lead singer, Ed Kowalczyk, was obviously stoked to be back in the country and would repeatedly thank the crowd throughout. With huge internal ructions within the band over the last few years, Kowalczyk is now the only original member left, which can be a bit off-putting, but when his vocal is the core component of their music, you can be forgiven to ignoring that fact.
In keeping with their style, many of their tracks would start out soft, building to a frenzy, such as “Shit Towne” which turned into an epic rock out, Kowalczyk appearing behind the drummer, arms raised in rock power. He’s an affable and entertaining frontman, the years seemingly not changing his appearance or voice. The double play of “Run to the Water” and “The Dolphin’s Cry” from their fifth album, “The Distance to here” encouraged a huge sing-a-long from the packed Hordern, standing room clogged right back to the bars.
Kowalczyk announced that he was going to “put the time machine away” for a track that was released under the name of Goose Blackstone, “Leave the Radio On”. The country tinged track was a slight departure from the rest of the set, but interesting to hear.
The main set rounded out with “Lakini’s Juice”, easily one of the heaviest tracks the band have released and still a great example of the mesh of sound the band can produce, the new members really nailing the script for the night, staying tight and doing an admirable job at supporting the lead singers strong vocal line.
The encore rounded out with “Lightning Crashes”, of course, the crowd getting the chance to belt out the song that has become an anthem of the mid ‘90s.
Incubus are a band that, it seems, you either love hard or just know a few songs from. It did appear that some people had departed after the set from Līve, but this didn’t affect the vibes in the Hordern.
Kicking off with the strains of “Quicksand” pulled the crowd back into the pavilion before the opening chords of “Nice to Know You” prompted huge cheers. They were suddenly quietened as lead singer, Brandon Boyd, stopped the song and called out an incident near the front. “We don’t fight here. Hey security, get that guy the fuck out of here. Byyyeee!” The crowd reacted positively to the calling out of the offender and they started again, rocking hard to opening track from their 2001 album, “Morning View”. The band were sharp – still contained three original members including the lead singer, drummer, José Pasillas and guitarist Mike Einziger, and were ably supported by Chris Kilmore on the turntable (and some mad long dreadlocks) and Nicole Row on bass.
“Circles”, and all of the changing time signatures and stops, was a big tune but one of the highlights of the night was “Make Yourself”’s “Pardon Me”, with Boyd’s spoken word (would you call it rap?) intro leading to the massive chorus and a reminder of just how good this band can be.
In fact, the set was a repeated sequence of, “Oh yeah, how good is this song?” There was also a bit of reminiscing as the band performed no less than four covers, with David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” probably being the strongest of them. Although, the crowd certainly appreciated the bridge transition into The Door’s “Riders on the Storm” as Boyd took his shirt off. The cover of Portishead’s “Glory Box” was perhaps a stretch too far however.
Overall, the set was a triumph and a reminder of how strong the band are. It’s commendable also that 33 years since forming, the core of the band still remain together. “Drive”, that song we all remember, was performed softly as Boyd sat on the foldback speaker, taking it all in as the crowd carried the tune and “Wish You Were Here” was a huge finish. No encore was needed, the band played a tight 75 minutes and the Wednesday crowd were happy. It’s just a pity that most of us had to work the next day.
The night highlighted just how strong the ‘90s were for music and how happy crowds are to keep coming back for the nostalgia.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
The tour continues at Melbourne’s Margaret Court Arena on Sunday the 14th of April (sold out) and Adelaide’s The Drive on Wednesday the 17th of April. Tickets still available here.
You can see more photos from the night HERE
