Brandon Boyd of Incubus at La Zona Rosa photo by staff photographer jeff barringer |
Hometown: Los Angeles, Ca.
http://www.enjoyincubus.com/
Incubus Concert Photos
Saturday, January 18, 2007
La Zona Rosa (Austin, Texas)
also:
Albert Hammond Jr.
Fans of the band Incubus got a real treat this week when they brought their HUGE entourage (I counted four buses, two semis and at least two vans) into Austin's La Zona Rosa nightclub, in what for them would be considered an intimate set.
Parking wasn't the only thing that was limited as anyone approaching the venue was destined to be accosted by roving gangs of ticketless teenage girls.
Seriously.
I got asked well over 100 times if I had extra tickets, and what tickets were available from the few scalpers were going for $200 and up. One individual was turned away after buying a phony "will call" for $500 off of EBay. According to James Wetz, member of Direct Events publicity team, the online tickets for the show sold out in an incredible 12 seconds.
Mike Einziger of Incubus at La Zona Rosa photo by staff photographer jeff barringer |
Was the show worth it? Certainly the hard core Incubus fans that got in thought so, but what did they get for their money? An incredibly tight performance by Incubus for one thing. Both the sound mix, and the band's performance, were album perfect and flawless. Fans also got a set list to die for. Interspersing songs from their new
Light Grenade album with songs many would consider their "greatest hits," the band started off slowly with "Quicksand," then launched into "Kiss to Send Us Off," and then "Wish You Were Here."
Our three songs expended, we photographers were shooed out of the pit, and I left the venue to secure my cameras. I missed "Have You Ever" and "Paper Shoes," but the walk to my vehicle was accompanied by the off key singing of the ticketless teen girls' choir that had formed outside the venue gates.
I returned just in time to catch them mid-song in "Anna Molly" from the new album. They kept on playing, stopping to switch to acoustic for "New Skin" and "Drive." Other crowd favorites included "When it Comes," "Dig," and "A Crow Left of Murder," as well as both "Light Grenades" and "Earth To Bella" from the new disc.
Brandon Boyd of Incubus at La Zona Rosa photo by staff photographer jeff barringer |
By the time Incubus moved into their encore, the show was well over an hour, and they finished up their set with "Pendulous Threads," "Pistola," and "Megalomaniac," doing a total of nineteen songs. The audience was ecstatic, crowd surfing the entire night. Incubus has a very complex and intricate sound that pushes the boundaries beyond the mainstream "pop" world, begging, borrowing, and stealing from a variety of genres. It was neat to see them shift back and forth from pop, to metal, to hip hop, and do it so effortlessly and note perfectly. I don't think anyone was left disappointed.
I was not able to cover the opener, Albert Hammond Jr., touring solo rather than with the rest of The Strokes. He sounded pretty good from the bar .
It was great to run into Jay West and Moondog working the show; it's always fun to compare notes and pictures side by side. Thanks to James Wetz and Emily at Direct Events for hooking me up with the photo pass and to the guys in Incubus for letting me shoot their show.
Chris Kilmore and Mike Einziger of Incubus at La Zona Rosa - photo by staff photographer jeff barringer
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