Written by Todd Spoth
Jan 19, 2007 at 08:00 PM
ImageThis was the first show of 2007 for me, and boy was I excited to finally get the live music year rolling. More excited to see some good live music in general, rather than the actual bands on the bill.

I guess I had forgotten just how big a following that Incubus had, as my jaw dropped to find the line into the venue at least a few hundred yards long. There were only two bands scheduled to play, Albert Hammond Jr. (of Strokes fame) and Incubus. I always liked Incubus’ previous radio hits, however never really bothered to delve that far into their musical repertoire. I did however take the time to listen to a few of the tracks off their latest album and was rather uninspired.

Albert Hammond Jr., guitarist for the post-punk/indie sensation The Strokes, took his music solo and now fronts a group bearing his namesake. The group definitely had a few good catchy numbers, but as a whole the sound and the music of this genre is getting old, in a fast way. The long hair, the “vintage” blazers, the gross overuse of fuzz/muff effects pedals; even the jokes praising the use of illegal substances are a bit much. The lead guitarist was entertaining to watch and even had me tuned in with his staccato guitar riffs. The singles off their new album “Yours to Keep” aren’t bad, however instead of ending their set with one of these, their final song resembled a tired Jimmy Buffett melody, which totally obliterated any decency they had managed to build over their decent at best set.

After a plethora of 80’s hits warmed up the packed crowd, Incubus took the stage, one by one. The music and performance, although not exactly my taste, was tight and heavy. Everyone was having a grand time and making sure they got their $40.00 worth. I must make 2 points before I end this rather short and sweet review. First, Brandon Boyd is terribly shorter than he appears on television and his pseudo; creepy-guy mustache didn’t help his cause either. He looked like a pre-pubescent teenager that dawned the guise of an art critic, complete with vintage sweater. Secondly, their a quick glance at their lengthy set-list prior to the show made no mention of their previous hits, “Pardon Me” or “Stellar”, which I believe are two of their best. I know that they have quite a few songs, but these songs were staples of their previous albums and it is quite odd that they would abandon them like they did.

-Todd Spoth (www.toddspoth.com)