My First Incubus Experience (without pun intended)

2004 was such a fast year. As I was thinking about the events that really made an impression, this one stands out:

I am an Incubus fan since 2000 but after knowing that they had been around since 1991, I sulked, “where I’ve been all along?” I got hooked when I first heard Pardon Me, a band with a DJ but doesn’t sound hip-hop and a vocalist with a distinctively edgy voice. With their melodic riffs come with a well-written lyrics that makes one really think. In the words of my friend Karen, “intelligently-written”. I could say, prolific. When “Drive” came out, I became an Incubus convert. The song turned out to be
my personal anthem. For a certain reason, I consider it a love song of some sort. It is a very positive personal song that holds an assuring promise, “whatever tomorrow brings I’ll be there, with open arms and open eyes…” it says everything.

It was late December when I checked the Incubus website. There I learned that Manila was part of their Asian Tour for their new album promotion. In the heart of a fan like me, it was an exciting anticipation. Early January, Megalomaniac was released and heard on NU. Suffice it to say, it mirrors the entirety of their latest album. Late February, I got hold of their album “Crow Left of the Murder”. Karen was able to score the album first and she had a not-so-exciting review about it. Among all their albums, this one was the darkest, in terms of song writing and line-up, but I love the album. Maybe it is not as catchy as “Make Yourself” or “Morning View” but it has a trance-like addicting element in it that you could only get when you listen to the album over and over. Of course, Megalomaniac was a hit but tracks like Crow Left of the Murder and Talk Shows on Mute are also really good. I bought tickets two days before the concert and I find it hard to sleep since then.

Cursing the Manila Traffic
March 12, 6:30 PM –

The show will start at 8:30 but we have to be on the venue early. It was a cool date I could say for me and Mike, our first huge rock concert together, sweet! The traffic along Baclaran could make one down and drained but there was a radio on my head playing “Nice To Know You” that made me feel composed. In few hours time, I would be hearing Brandon Boyd live! The ever-adorable Brandon! I’m a fan! The venue was jam-packed! It was full of hormone-driven college kids wearing the Brandon Boyd impression, tattooed, anorexic, and all. Others have this punk-looking hairdo, which took three hours to finish. College kids are really dressed for the occasion. Karen said, pretend that you’re only 18. Hey, I never get old when it comes to this. As this say, once a rocker, always a rocker! It took us about thirty minutes to get inside only to find out that the stage was quite far. I thought with our ticket price, we could already get a good view. Nevermind. That was more than enough.

Megalomaniac Blast!
No other song could bring the crowd on frenzy than this. I could say a perfect way to start the night! The best thing about the concert was that there were no front acts. It started so sublime and fluid as only Incubus could deliver. Just the lead intro of Megalomaniac and the crowd was sent into trance. Body colliding jumping up and down, nevermind the thick dust, it made the mood even more exciting. Can’t believe I’m hearing Brandon live, it sounds like studio-recorded. God, they’re really good!


Hello boys and girls!
Brandon’s first greeting just melted me! Haaay! What’s even more exciting was that not only the girls were drooling over Brandon but even the guys are obsessed fans as well. Of course, Mike, Ben, Jose and DJ Kilmore have their own respective cult followers. DJ Kilmore is really talented, being able to experiment with the turntable, not just scratches, and being able to synchronize the effects with a kind of distinct mixture.

Stellar Line-up (in random order)
A Crow Left of the Murder – Of course, the title of their tour. One of my favorite tracks in their recent album. The crowd really knew the lyrics well. Sing with me now….un-learn me, ditch what I heard, hide what I learn…

Talk Shows on Mute – This song has a potential to become a national anthem for Incubus fans, “come one, come all, into nineteen-eighty four…” One of my favorite songs.

From the Morning View Album:
Circles – I like this song for its loud, edgy, and solid riffs.
Just a Phase - Brandon’s sexy voice was highlighted
Mexico
Nice to Know You – This song has a tongue-twister effect on me, “better see Gellar bending silver spoons, better see witnessing old nebulae’s in bloom. It took a while to make the lyrics sink in.
Wish You Were Here – for all the fans who were not able to make it in the concert.
Warning- One of crowd’s favorite songs and mine as well.

From the Make Yourself album:
Drive – but of course… one of their best songs ever.
Stellar – “take me in outer space…I will hold you close, if you’re afraid of heights, we can spend the night...” I don’t know but this song has an arousing effect of some sort… I wanna be stellar!

Most of the songs played were taken from their new album, which the hard-core fans really knew well. Well of course, the concert would not be complete without Brandon taking off his shirt. “Take it off!!” the chorus of fans screamed. Strangely, it did not only come from a blushing girls fan but also from the sturdy looking guys at the back. Hah!

The concert ended as good as it started. Hands down. Probably one of the best concerts I’ve experienced in my entire life. Fans came out of the venue looking frenzied, possessing the concert’s afterglow, which their ears and hearts could not contain. The night is still young and the stellar experience has just started.


The Morning After
As we’re heading home the morning after, Mike said, “Incubus still plays in my head.” Yeah, I know, it will always be.

minions of kurt 

Sullen thoughts at the Streets of P.Guevarra

The mind starts to fly when the heart was
consumed by loneliness beyond reason.
Tears are about to fall but are always stopped
by an unknown strength that makes the throat aches.
There is something wrong.
Something is missing, which have long been identified
but still afraid to recognize.
Will it make any difference if the
body is not abused by a void toil?
The thing is, it is here.
Happening in concrete clarity, 20-20,
though the eyes gets blurry with tiredness.
There’s no way of escaping it.
The loneliness, the tears that are about to fall,
the early morning thoughts of melancholy.
To face these would make the mind enduring
and the heart strong but skeptical.
No longer believes in the coming of a vibrant afternoon
like a 90-year old in the acacia tree looking at the horizon at 4.
Just embrace it as long as there’s air, water, light
and all surviving elements life provided as an excuse to make us hold on.
Just embrace it like a ten-year old girl freely
inhaling the smoke from Grandma’s tobacco.
Not knowing that continuous exposure would kill her in the end.
Still, that girl has a choice. To inhale grandma’s smoke in the sala or
to go out of the house, stare at the sun and blind her eyes.