Incubus Still Has It

The Set List

By Brian Washburn

Bands grow older. This is not a debate or even a surprise for even the most naive Rolling Stones fan. The debate comes when the question arises about when a band should hang it up or just keep trucking along. Many bands have played together for decades and still rock. Some have cut it short in their prime when they had so much more to give. However, there are those who ruin it for the rest of us and keep strumming away when they know they were DOA seven years ago when their sophomore album peaked.

Even though Incubus has been around for more than a decade and found enormous radio success about a decade ago, they still have what it takes. Even with six studio albums and a cult of fans nationwide, the band still has the drive (no pun intended) to keep moving along and showing off what they do better than 99 percent of bands out there today: play their instruments and display their talent.

With the release of their greatest hits album, “Monuments and Melodies,” the quintet has hit the road for an enormous summer tour, much like each of their tours over the past 15 years. But this time, there is something different in the air. Many fans (including myself) have speculated this tour might be their last for a while, even though they have been quoted as saying they will write a new album while on tour. The aroma was there, though a sense of nostalgia the first time you heard Incubus and their catchy, yet experimental, genius rock.

The band came onstage to a near full parking lot at Kansas City’s City Market and exploded into their first song of the night, “Privilege,” a fan-favorite from “Make Yourself,” which is rarely played live.

As soon as guitarist Mike Einzinger strummed his guitar, every fan moved harder and faster than most have in their entire life. The music was just the same as every fan remembered from the first time they heard the band, except for one tiny aspect: the band looked noticeably older than they had in the past.

Einzinger, along with vocalist Brandon Boyd, bassist Ben Kenney, DJ Chris Kilmore and drummer Jose Pasillas, featured their grownup looks for this concert. However, the musical ability did not stutter one bit, especially Boyd’s vocals.

Boyd has consistently been overlooked as one of the greatest vocalists of the past two decades. His voice has not changed one bit. It is phenomenal how the man can blast as high as he can on Incubus hits like “Pardon Me,” “Megalomaniac,” and the frequently overlooked “A Certain Shade of Green.” It is equally as amazing when he tunes it down a few octaves in classic live slow songs like the band’s mega-hit “Drive” and “Dig.” Boyd’s voice withstood the entire nearly two-hour show and was the centerpiece the band shows off when you witness the Incubus experience live.

But this is not to say the other members aren’t equally as talented as their frontman. Kenney has the most dynamic bass ability of any modern rock band’s bassist out there, and he

See Washburn Page 17

Bands grow older. This is not a debate or even a surprise for even the most naive Rolling Stones fan. The debate comes when the question arises about when a band should hang it up or just keep trucking along. Many bands have played together for decades and still rock. Some have cut it short in their prime when they had so much more to give. However, there are those who ruin it for the rest of us and keep strumming away when they know they were DOA seven years ago when their sophomore album peaked.

Even though Incubus has been around for more than a decade and found enormous radio success about a decade ago, they still have what it takes. Even with six studio albums and a cult of fans nationwide, the band still has the drive (no pun intended) to keep moving along and showing off what they do better than 99 percent of bands out there today: play their instruments and display their talent.

With the release of their greatest hits album, “Monuments and Melodies,” the quintet has hit the road for an enormous summer tour, much like each of their tours over the past 15 years. But this time, there is something different in the air. Many fans (including myself) have speculated this tour might be their last for a while, even though they have been quoted as saying they will write a new album while on tour. The aroma was there, though a sense of nostalgia the first time you heard Incubus and their catchy, yet experimental, genius rock.

The band came onstage to a near full parking lot at Kansas City’s City Market and exploded into their first song of the night, “Privilege,” a fan-favorite from “Make Yourself,” which is rarely played live.

As soon as guitarist Mike Einzinger strummed his guitar, every fan moved harder and faster than most have in their entire life. The music was just the same as every fan remembered from the first time they heard the band, except for one tiny aspect: the band looked noticeably older than they had in the past.

Einzinger, along with vocalist Brandon Boyd, bassist Ben Kenney, DJ Chris Kilmore and drummer Jose Pasillas, featured their grownup looks for this concert. However, the musical ability did not stutter one bit, especially Boyd’s vocals.

Boyd has consistently been overlooked as one of the greatest vocalists of the past two decades. His voice has not changed one bit. It is phenomenal how the man can blast as high as he can on Incubus hits like “Pardon Me,” “Megalomaniac,” and the frequently overlooked “A Certain Shade of Green.” It is equally as amazing when he tunes it down a few octaves in classic live slow songs like the band’s mega-hit “Drive” and “Dig.” Boyd’s voice withstood the entire nearly two-hour show and was the centerpiece the band shows off when you witness the Incubus experience live.

But this is not to say the other members aren’t equally as talented as their frontman. Kenney has the most dynamic bass ability of any modern rock band’s bassist out there, and he can do it all while dancing around all over the stage. Pasillas is sbout the most diverse drummer out there and he is consistent on stage. Einzenger is one of the few in the business who can truly be called a genius at his craft. And Kilmore still gives the band that ’90s vibe they popularized when they hit the scene back in the day.

For an Incubus fan, the most apparent accolade about the night had to be the set list. While there was the cliche hits such as “Drive,” “Megalomaniac,” “Wish You Were Here,” “Pardon Me” and the atrocious “Love Hurts,” the band threw in cult favorites like “A Certain Shade of Green,” “Idiot Box,” “Sick Sad Little World” and the epic closer of the night, “Warning.”

Incubus might be getting older and their music might not be as loved or revered as it once was, but the band is still one of the best live acts currently touring. They might soon go on one of the dreaded “indefinite hiatuses” every fan hates to hear, but they still have one thing 85 percent of modern bands have no clue about today: musical talent and how to create great songs.