Tonight, I was lucky enough to be able to get a pass to the sold out Hordern Pavilion for the 90/00s extravaganza of Incubus and Live.
A completely packed Hordern went nuts as the lights went down for Incubus as they eased into their set with a gentle intro of Quicksand. Then kicked into Nice To Know You. With rapturous applause and cheers, Incubus kept the energy high with Anna Molly which had heads banging and bodies bouncing all over the floor. Vocalist Brandon Boyd was in great form as he led the crowd in a joyous sing-along of Stellar with smiles and cheers all round. Sick, Sad Little World was up next, what great energy, especially combined with video images displayed through very trippy filters on the backscreen emphasising the feel. Circles sounded fantastic and spread the energy from the floor all through the seating with people rocking out everywhere. The string team of Mike Einziger (Guitar) and Nicole Row (Bass) combining to create a powerful sound. The Warmth brought a really floaty, stoner feel and another massive sing-along. Pardon Me had the crowd get their phones in the air desperate to catch a memory they could keep forever as they sang along at the top of their lungs. Nicole Row then led the band into a killer rendition of Karma, Come Back. A surprise cover of The Beatles Come Together sounded slinky and sexy greeted with a monster reaction from the audience, absolutely fantastic. Brandon Boyd stating “He wished he they wrote that song “ but in my opinion they made it their own. Classic track Are You In was next, Incubus seemed to play with the structure giving it a loose and jammy feel while throwing in a slice of The Doors classic Riders Of The Strorm for a great crowd reaction. Vitamin was fantastic especially with the mad percussive duel between Brandon Boyd and Jose Pasillas. A short version of Glory Box by Portishead led into Echo quite a lovely track, the dynamics of Nicole Row and Brandon Boyd’s vocals working together to add fantastic layers. Another percussion break led into another surprise cover of the legend David Bowe’s Let’s Dance, a truly spot on cover that had hips swinging all over the place and Brandon Boyd pulled off a great Bowe. The big hit of Drive had the biggest crowd reaction so far with voices echoing off the walls. Closing with another big hitter in Wish You Were Here, Incubus had the crowd in the palm of their hands all night. An uplifting and great performance.
+LĪVE+ have been one of my favourite rock artists ever since hearing Throwing Copper back in the 90s. It’s been decades since I’ve been able to see them live, so I was truly looking forward to this set. Lit up with fantastic background graphics LĪVE take the stage to huge cheers and begin with Hold Me Up from the 25th Anniversary Edition of Throwing Copper, a strange choice in my opinion but a great song. All Over You had the crowd singing as loud as they could, a killer track. Ed Kowalczyk sounded as strong as ever. Another Throwing Copper track was up next and as they launched into Selling The Drama and the crowd erupted. LĪVE were obviously having a great time onstage as they danced around while playing perfectly. Ed Kowalczyk expressed how much fun it was to be back down under, as they cast us back to ‘97 with Freaks, what a rocking track. As Ed waxed lyrical about how beautiful Darling Harbour is and how lucky we are, LĪVE launched into Shit Towne which got a giggle out of me. One of my favourites in Run To The Water was up next such a gorgeous and powerful song, the crowd was bathed in a deep blue light with their voices and hands raised high. As LĪVE launched into the big hit from Distance To Here, The Dolphins Cry made the crowd erupt and even the seated punters were rocking along and singing. Treating us to a new track written by Goose Blackstone, Leave The Radio On was a chill acoustic country track complete with slide guitar, quite a lovely song. Now, this may be a hot take but I think Turn My Head is one of the best rock ballads ever written so it was moving to hear it live and boy did it live up to expectations. A deep cut from Throwing Copper, White, Discussion was up next another great track which we don’t get live often, so wicked. One of their heavier tracks in Lakini’s Juice got a huge reaction from the crowd and sounded colossal, just so chunky and you have to love a big sing-along. Speaking of heavy rocking tunes, I Alone is yet another stadium sized track and it blew the roof off the Hordern. Of course LĪVE close the night with stone cold classic Lighting Crashes, a truly immortal tune which unified the crowd with clapping and singing along louder than any other moment during the night. Once again people had their phones in the air desperate to capture this magical moment, as it truly was magical, for a moment the band dropped out except for drums keeping time as the crowd took their cue filling the Hordern with their voices. What a way to end a show, phenomenal.
Photos by Marc K/Nell Photography & Review by Jonathan Hurley
+LĪVE+
Incubus
