Incubus Took Fans Down Memory Lane Thursday in Saint Louis

Sean Derrick November 17, 2019November 17, 2019 0 Comments Brandon Boyd, Incubus, Saint Louis concert review and photos, Stifel Theatre

–by Sean Derrick

It’s hard to believe it has been twenty years since Incubus dropped their breakout album Make Yourself that propelled the band from clubs to arenas and stadiums seemingly overnight. But twenty years it has been, and the band decided to celebrate that milestone with a thank you tour of smaller venues for that more intimate feel. Such was the case Thursday at a sold-out Stifel Theatre in Saint Louis.

The band’s set opened with a five-minute video collection of home video and interviews of reminiscing how the album changed their lives and granted them the opportunity to travel internationally as a band. That was interlaced with live performance video of the band’s breakout year. Vocalist Brandon Boyd commented that it “felt like the first time we found our identity as a band.” With that the album cover appeared and the crowd went nuts.

Backed by three large video screens and five smaller ones above Incubus (Boyd, guitarist Mike Einzinger, drummer Jose Pasillas II, keyboardist/dj Chris Kilmore, and bassist Ben Kenney) easily flowed through the album like a hot knife through butter: smooth.

The band seemed to enjoy playing it as much as a parent welcoming their child back for the holidays.

The imagery helped set the pace for adding visuals to the music. Ranging from jilted video relays of the band members to psychedelic images for songs like “When It Comes”, perfectly appealing to the audience’s eyes.

Boyd steered clear of speaking too much during the set, save for the occasional “Thank you” and to introduce their newest single “Into the Summer”. This single is a departure from the band’s mainstay musical stylings, inasmuch as “Drive” was. If you haven’t heard the song it has a definite pop vibe to it, with a very Duran Duran feel. I actually closed my eyes and imagined Simon Le Bon singing and thought “I’m at a whole new concert”. Don’t take that as a bad thing or an insult. The musicianship of Duran Duran was really good (listen to John Taylor’s bass line to “Rio” as just one example) and you can see it is a compliment.

Boyd got artistic during “Sick Sad Little World” when he wore a masquerade mask for the last couple minutes of the song. Boyd and the band dug deep in the wayback machine to pull out “Vitamin” from their 1997 album S.C.I.E.N.C.E., which has become a staple in their set.

They closed the main set with the rocker “Megalomaniac” (prophetic again, given the current state of affairs) and completed the show with an encore of “Dig” and “Wish You Were Here”.

It was a tight set with good imagery and great vocals. Otherwise, a typical Incubus solid show.

Le Butcherettes opened the show with a vividly artistic set that immediately reminded me of Bjork. I kinda dug the artistry mixed with the energetic sound, even if it was bathed in deep red light throughout.