Bembang! Magazine | April 2004 | Issue 02

Incubus: a bonafide rarity

March 12, 2004, 08:30 PM, date with Brandon. I set the calendar on my mobile as soon as my cousin Therese handed me my Incubus concert ticket. 2,036 pesos slashed off my allowance and I'm not even a spit away from Brandon. I will be seated on row 21, seat 23, premiere right! Well, so much for not buying earlier than 3rd week of January! But anyway, just hearing them live even if they're an inch tall from where I will be seated or tiptoeing perhaps, I was sure my hard earned money after hours, days and months of work on my lifeless, low paying job will be worth it and more.

My ticket: Row 21, seat 13

A day before my date, I made sure I'd file a leave of absence from work just so I could finish my homework -memorize the lyrics from "A Crow Left of the Murder…" album Big thanks to my sister and her boyfriend who surprised me with the new CD 2 days before the concert! Y'see I'm a fan but just rotten poor.

Friday! I guess I checked the clock 358,645,765 times waiting for 8pm to smack me right on my ass. When my friend Gia and I got to the venue, I located my seat but was bloody disappointed with the view. I mean, what view?! I can't see a thing! It was faaaaaaaar right & Gia would be seated faaaaaaaaar back! So we hung out or at least pretended to hang out at the center aisle. I spotted my cousins and a couple of local rock stars, celebrities, and models. Now, I was starting to earn back my 2,036 pesos with all the eye candy *wicked grin*. More and more people started to "hang out" by the aisle as if waiting for a friend or looking for their seat. The ushers kept on telling us to move back so we'd move an inch back then move a foot forward again. As soon as we sensed that the show was about to start, all of us "center aisle people" ran towards the front. I was practically dragging Gia before she turns into an ash gray aisle carpet in her cute lil ensemble. Thanks to mine & Gia's stick-thin figure, we were able to make our way up to row 2 center aisle. Ha!

Take it off! Take it off! Take if off!

Incubus played Megalomaniac first. Thanks to that karaoke music channel, I was able to sing along, jump, push, and head bang with everybody. I was starting to taste the fruits of my moolah! A Crow Left of the Murder followed. I'm so glad I did my homework or I'd be left out just staring and daydreaming about Brandon and our cute lil kiddies. Chart topping hits like Wish You Were Here, Circles, Warning and Drive, which Brandon claimed they haven't performed in a long time, were also played. A few "classics" like Vitamin (where Brandon played the conga and jammed with Jose and Ben), A Certain Shade of Green and Idiot Box added up to the already hyper and high state of the crowd. Brandon also performed Pantomime, a timid solo in guitar. He admitted to have performed this song only four times in his entire life so everybody was dead silent and in complete awe while listening to every strum from his guitar and every word coming out of his mouth. I swear from that song on I was in a state of nirvana… not only from the smell of grass that was passed around by the guy standing beside me but from the prodigy that I was witnessing and was starting to unfold at that very moment They sang 7 out of 14 songs in the ACLOTM album -Talk Shows on Mute, Pistola, Here in My Room (which I believe truly showcased Brandon's voice as a tone above the rest), Priceless, and Turbo Geek (sick, sad, little world), which was supposedly their last song. But due to unrelenting public demand and we, Filipinos, sure know how to lick some ass when we all started singing Happy Birthday to Ben Kenney (bassist), Incubus wrapped the show up with two more songs --Are You In? and Pardon Me.

I wish you were here…up with me on stage *sigh*

I was hoping they'd play Stellar, I Miss You, Echo, or Nice to Know You; but anything from Incubus heard and seen live was enough to make it the best 1 hour and 40 minutes of 2004. Brandon, Mike, Ben, Jose, and Chris has proved once again that their music -insightful lyrics, loud guitar riffs, smooth turntables, funky bass, and precise drum rhythm-- makes them out of the ordinary and one step above their predecessors.

Article written by: Mari Dominique Francisco

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