Summer in Sydney has been a joke, fine and sunny one minute then rainy and wet the next. Unfortunately Friday was the latter, the streets in Sydney were lined with water, the skies were dark and gloomy and people were miserable and soaked. 5000 people still braved the weather and headed down to the Hordern Pavilion to see Sydney’s Papa Vs Pretty and California’s Incubus. Doors opened at 7 and the first 400 to brave the rain and get to the venue early were welcomed with a free Tooheys Extra Dry.
If free beer didn’t make patrons warm and cosy, Papa Vs Pretty definitely warmed things up. The set was only short but the young trio left a great impression on the local crowd leaving many patrons wanting to see the local act again. To keep up the positive vibe the Hordern’s resident DJs spun tracks in between bands. There was already a big crowd inside for Papa Vs Pretty but before Incubus it was like everyone multiplied. There were no longer seats empty in the grand stand or standing room on the ground.
The lights on the staged dimmed and the crowd begin to cheer. This was what everyone had come for California’s nu-metal rockers Incubus who majority of the crowd had grown up listening to. Incubus graced the stage and the next hour and forty-five minutes would be a mix of new and old songs and an all-round great time. They started off with some oldies which were hits with the crowd. “Megalomaniac” got the crowd pumping while “Pardon Me” made things more intimate.
Songs like “Anne-Molly” and “1984” had the crowd bursting out in song. During one of their new songs “In The Company Of Wolves” the sky lit up with thousands of phones and lighters. This combined with an already brilliant light show made the Hordern look amazing and like something out of this world.
If things hadn’t warmed up enough already they certainly did before “Kiss To Send Us Off” when singer Brandon Boyd took his shirt of leaving all the ladies in awe. The gloominess outside was then forgotten as 1000s of grown women turned into 16 year old screaming girls in a matter of seconds.
The end of “Love Hurts” allowed guitarist Mike Einziger to show off his guitar skills with a wonderful guitar solo. Before “Warning” Boyd exclaimed that they had not played song in a while which lead to cheers from the crowd. It was a crowd favourite with everyone singing along.
During “Are You In” they mixed it up with Boyd singing the classic song “Riders On The Storm” made famous by The Doors. The crowd happily welcomed this change and sung along. Classic Songs like “Nice To Know You”, “Drive” and “Wish You Were Here” left everyone singing and created a sense of nostalgic throughout.
After Incubus played what the crowd thought was there final song, there was screaming, clapping and stomping throughout. The sound and energy from the crowd was surreal. After what seemed like a decade Incubus stepped back out to play “The Original” from their latest album and “A Certain Shade Of Green” from their 1997 album S.C.I.E.N.C.E.
21 years later Incubus are still shocking crowds with their unique sound and excellent stage presents. During the whole show they never lost energy and barely stopped for a break. Whether the crowd was there to listen to new stuff or there to relive their childhood, everyone got what they were after and were able to walk out onto the miserable, wet streets of Sydney feeling excited, pleased and happy.
– Marissa Hanson
