+Live +

Incubus

Margaret Court Arena

It is a chilly Melbourne evening as crowds steadily flow into the arena for 90s juggernauts Incubus and Live. Having last toured Australia in 2018, Incubus are the first up for the double header.

Wasting no time, front man Brandon Boyd launches straight into things, ramping the crowd up with ‘Nice to Know You’ and kicking things off.  Boyd has always been known for his on stage presence where he seems completely immersed in the music, almost in a trance like state.  Occasionally he checks on the crowd to see if they’re having a good time, and its a resounding yes.  Moving through the set list, Boyd covers quite a few songs from other artists as segways into his original music. The audience are treated to ‘Come Together’ the Beatles hit, a topless Boyd singing in a lower register for the song. His versatile voice and dynamic range are perfect for the song. Likewise for ” Riders on the Storm”, and incredibly ” Glory Box” a popular Portishead song that he personalizes to suit.

Brandon Boyd has always been captivating to watch, and his voice is nothing short of sheer perfection during the entire performance. He doesn’t stop to banter with the crowd much, but when his performance is this enjoyable it’s really not needed.

After a short break, +Live+  arrive to a thunderous bass line that shakes the stage and anyone in its vicinity.  The band kick off with ” Hold Me Up” and launch right into a greatest hits set list with  ” All Over You”  ” Freaks” and ” Shit Towne” following in quick succession.

The sound has been cranked up to 11 for this set and the stadium is virtually shaking as people are hit with a wall of sound. Incubus warmed everyone up, and + Live+ bring it home. Front man Ed Kowalczyk is absolutely drinking in the atmosphere that he is creating, and is completely in sync with the band.

The night has been a fantastic trip back to days where musicians relied on sheer talent, instead of Social Media likes and Auto Tune and has been nothing short of an incredible display of sensational music. Both bands hark back to a time when good song writing was appreciated, people were expert musicians and being able to captivate an audience with an impressive vocals meant something.  Brandon Boyd and Ed Kowalczyk  are both front men that can captivate an audience and keep them entertained for an entire set.

Words and images by Amanda Lee Starkey