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Rating: There are concerts you wait a lifetime for. "The Pink Floyd one," you might say. Ehm, no. "Certainly the Led Zeppelin?" Not even. "The Who?" Nope, I have much less renowned tastes. The concert I waited for the most in my life, I confess, was that of Incubus. And for a dozen years, no less, because at the time I couldn't find anyone to go with me, neither at the HJF nor at the Magazzini Generali in Milan. And not even in 2007 did I see them, when I finally managed to get the ticket - again for Milan - but a week before the concert the tour was canceled due to Mike, the guitarist, having tendinitis. I still remember the tears when the news came down, I already had my flight booked... a disaster. Then the hiatus period and oblivion, at least for me who in the meantime was no longer a regular listener. However, when I found out they would be coming to Rome (for the first time), I couldn't help but indulge in nostalgia and pay those 44 euros 44 to be there. And then, after all, the Ippodromo delle Capannelle is right behind my house. The Ippodromo filled up nicely waiting for the entrance of our guys. By the way, never have I seen a slower team of backliners: all well-fed, who knows why, they lingered on stage for half an hour more than the scheduled start time of the concert. If they had to prepare the stage for Bono & co., they would've stayed two months.
Then, at 10:22 pm the Californian quintet led by Brèndone Boyd took the field, and the first song was "Nice to know you." The one who stood out immediately was José Pasillas, precise as a metronome in reproducing the vaguely drum n' bass rhythm of the track. Curious that he plays off to the side from the audience. The excellent Ben Kenney pays homage to the audience by wearing an Italy shirt, and DJ Kilmore from the height of his console scratches just like on the record (when they let him scratch). Right after, they launch into "Megalomaniac," also performed perfectly, and then "Pardon me," which definitely rekindled my old crossover enthusiasms "de nà vorta." Even "Are you in," which ten years ago made me frown, is rendered bubbly and funky: that’s when I realized the band was on fire. At times it felt like listening to them on a record, even though Mike Einzinger was quite sidelined to the right of the stage, and he did not sparkle as one would expect who follows Incubus; no overtime for him.
And then well, Brèndone. He roams lanky across the stage, his long hair and movements so pleasing to the numerous female audience gathered. He has a nice voice, he handles it well indeed. Moments like "Adolescents" and "Love Hurts" are tailor-made for him, though there is a drop during the performance of "Privilege." But how much does this man enjoy himself? He plays around, lingers on his t-shirt, then takes it off as scripted. Roar from the female audience, along with various "Bella Brèndoneeee..." "Arivèstite!" and "Are we playing these bongos?" During the performance of the dull "In the company of Wolves" I was even almost amused: too many gyrations, but after all the track resembles an exaggerated version of Procol Harum's "A whiter shade of pale." It must be said that the three or four songs from the new album seem unremarkable even live, but maybe they serve more as a showcase for the capable Brèndone. Who has also learned to play guitar: in three or four episodes he picked up a white Gibson (during the performance of "Pistola" practically just to show us how beautiful it was) and accompanied Mike, really too much in the background compared to the rest of the crew.
The second half of the concert saw the soft wave continue with "Drive" - slightly muted compared to how I remembered it - but always moving; "Anna Molly," which seemed much appreciated by the audience, and the beautiful "Here in my room." Just enough time for someone in the audience to say "But don't we start the mosh pit anymore?" the energy burst back with "Circles" and "Wish you were here," before the encore with two fantastic "A certain shade of green" - the only track from the now distant album S.C.I.E.N.C.E. - and "Sick sad little world," with a final percussion duet between Pasillas (the dominator of the evening) and Brèndone, finally on the bongos for more than thirty seconds. At midnight many goodbyes and see you next time. Too bad, I would have appreciated those couple of missing songs, especially from the first two records, see "Stellar," "Make Yourself," or "Nowhere Fast," or why not, "Vitamin"... Maybe! Great concert, and they were very close-knit, it’s obvious they’ve grown up together.
Surely a lot of water has passed under the bridge, and now I listen to totally different things, but apparently Incubus still have their loyal following if they also managed to allow themselves to disappear and then return with the 'experiments...' of the latest record. And I have to admit that they still know how to get themselves listened to.
Setlist:
1) Nice to know you
2) Megalomaniac
3) Adolescents
4) Pardon me
5) If not now, when?
6) A crow left of the murder
7) Are you in?
8) Privilege
9) In the Company of Wolves
10) Drive
11) Pistola
12) Anna Molly
13) Here in my room
14) Love Hurts
15) Circles
16) Switchblade
17) Wish you were here
18) A certain shade of green
19) Sick sad little world
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