Photo by CJ Foeckler
As early as 6 p.m. (one hour before the doors opened) the line to get into the Riverside Theater stretched down the Milwaukee Riverwalk, past Rock Bottom Brewery and looped over the Wells Street bridge, leaving the stragglers at the end of the line to commingle with the Bronze Fonz. It has been years since Incubus visited Milwaukee, and it was clear that the band’s prolonged hiatus from the city had made this quite the anticipated event.
But anticipation would turn out to be the theme for this amped up crowd as the minutes continued to elapse with no sign of life on stage. The original “With Special Guest” billing for the night had evolved into a solo show, and the band certainly took its time making an appearance. More than two hours elapsed between the time the sell-out crowd filed in and the band took the stage. When your pre-show playlist repeats three times, it means you should do one of two things: Add a few more tunes to the playlist or get your asses on stage!
But as the curtains drew and guitarist Mike Einziger (his silhouette bathed in a deep blue) chunked out the opening riff to “Privilege,” all was forgiven. The band hesitated very little between songs (and talked even less) as they tore through hits and crowd pleasers from across the spectrum of two decades worth of albums. “Megalomaniac,” “Anna Molly,” “If Not Now, When?” and “Pardon Me” sprung forth before the band really even said hello, the sound quality (which started out a bit rough) steadily improving with every song.
Incubus is a band that has spent plenty of time on stage throughout its life span, and the members show it. Each individual is not only intensely enjoyable to watch in person, but also displays the musical chops that can only come from decades of repetition. This repetition also seemed to wear on the band at times, though. Apparently needing to spice up mega hit “Drive,” Einziger ripped into a shredding distorted version of the normally subdued guitar solo. Following a stretch of songs during which singer Brandon Boyd miffed some lyrics, the shirtless heartthrob playfully mused, “What is to blame for me forgetting half the words? Pot? I’ll blame the economy.”
The band then spent a fair amount of time dipping into a bit of its slower fare (including a few gorgeous samples from last year’s If Not Now, When?) before rallying to close out the set with blistering renditions of “Switchblade,” “Wish You Were Here” and “A Certain Shade of Green.” The set unofficially ended with an extended jam version of “Sick Sad Little World,” which featured a profound display of Einziger’s unparalleled mastery of the guitar and his effects pedals. After a short, refreshingly genuine appeal for an encore from the crowd, the band came back out with the beautiful “I Miss You” before officially putting an end to an electric evening with “Warning.”
