Live Review

Incubus – Alexandra Palace, London

• 8th Nov 2011

I walked into the rather spectacular Alexandra Palace with a sense of excitement and anxiousness fighting for a place in my stomach. I was so excited at the thought of seeing Incubus for the first time in about eight years and I was nervous they could never achieve the super high standards I’d set for them in my mind.

I needn’t have worried, from the moment the first strains of “Privilege” hit my ears I was back to being number 1 fan girl. Just in case that hadn’t won me over a quick follow up with “Wish You Were Here” and “Pardon Me” quickly reminded me of all the reasons I fell in love with this band in the first place.

As much as I loved the “Morning View” and “Make Yourself” references in the set, my highlight definitely had to be and acoustic “Love Hurts” slap bang in the middle. It was just beautiful and everything and more than I could have asked for from a band that were quickly registering themselves as my favourite again.

The band looked happy to be back on stage and with Brandon deciding he would only sing “Londooon” every time he mentioned the place, he certainly appeared to be pleased they were back in the UK.
The biggest sing along of the night came with the last chorus of “Drive” when the delectable Mr. Boyd (still fully clothed at this point, much to my disappointment) turned the microphone to the crowd. I don’t think there was a single voice in the house that wasn’t belting back the lyrics. Rapturous whooping followed and the shirt finally came off. The bare chest Boyd that we’d all been waiting for strutted around the stage for the final two songs.

The crowd were whipped into a frenzy during “Megalomaniac” and the band went out on a high. What an incredible way to finish a show, surely they couldn’t come back for an encore after finishing on such an unbelievable buzz. Oh, but they did! After “A Certain Shade Of Green” and “Tomorrow’s Food” they were gone and the crowd were still buzzing.

What an extraordinary performance by an awesome band.