Sunday, July 31, 2011

Incubus Live in Manila 2011

I actually had one other thing to post first prior to this one. But I think I'll skip that one for now and get right to blogging about the awesome Incubus concert I watched back in July 28, 2011.

I took a halfday leave from work that day just go to the concert. Joseph, Sarah, and I got into my trusty suki cab driver's chariot around 7:00PM to head to Araneta Colliseum. When asked Bert (the cab driver) if he thinks we'll make it to the concert venue by 8:00PM (music start), he looked at me and said "matrapik eh". But Joseph told me to not despair as concerts always have a opening act and they never start on time anyway.

We were so excited to watch Incubus that we didn't even wait to pull up to the gate of the venue yet. We got and started walking instead of putting up with the last leg of traffic. When we got to the entrance, the guards apparently do not allow cameras to be brought in the venue. This presented a problem for Joseph and Sarah as they just bought a DLSR. I brought my Zoom Q3HD which fit nicely in my pocket. So the guards didn't bother flagging me about it. I headed inside and stepped out to the smoking area to talk to Joseph through the metal barricade. With all the confusion of other people trying to get in, I told Joseph to just hand me his DSLR. So that they can get past the gate easily. That worked. LOL!

Joseph and Sarah were about to head to the entrance where our seats were the closest. But I stopped them saying "Okay, I need to buy a shirt before going in. They'll run out for sure by the time we come back out after the concert." So that's what I did. Luckily, the shirts being sold were actual concert tour t-shirts. I'll be wearing that shirt proudly to work tomorrow. ;)

By the time we got seated. The opening act just started playing. To my surprise, it was "superband" Franco that was fronting for Incubus. No wonder Gabby from Urbandub was tweeting that he was already at the venue watching Incubus do a soundcheck. That was the first time I have ever seen Franco play live. And I became an instant fan. I've been crunching over their song "Castaway" obsessively since then. The sound of the band was similar to Urbandub given Gabby and Jan-jan were at the helm for guitars and drums. But the difference is the vocals. There was something smooth about the vocals that makes the vocal melodies permeate in your head.

After a short break, Incubus finally came on stage. This is when I realized that the venue was sold out and packed, because of all the cheers, shouts, and screams when Incubus came up. I readied my Zoom Q3HD so I can take video. I also prepped my Belkin Tune-Talk/iPod combo so I can record audio for the entire concert for good measure.

Unfortunately, I was stupid enough to think Eveready batteries would suffice while taking 1080p video with my Zoom Q3HD. My video camera would die mid-song and reset because the batteries couldn't power the device enough. I wasn't feeling well that day, and the 7-11 I went to on the way home from work didn't have anything else but Eveready batteries. So I didn't bother going to another 7-11 or a Ministop to buy another brand. My mistake. Never again.

I was pissed. But Joseph and Sarah tried cheering me up. It was Incubus after all. And enjoying the band's music was the primary objective first and foremost. So I shrugged off the chip on my shoulder and started enjoying.


I did manage to take video of one full song that night. I thought of dialing down the video quality down to 720p. And that was enough to last one song. Phew! At least I have some form of evidence (other than the concert ticket) that I actually went to the Incubus concert. Here is that video of their song "The Warmth" below. (I know I failed to include the word "The" in the song title. I'm just too lazy to re-edit and re-upload).




The band remains to be as tight as in all their studio albums. I was surprised that Brandon Boyd could still sing everything, high sustained notes and all, after all these years. I didn't sit down for the entire concert, from start to finish.

After the concert, we decided to go Handle Bar in Makati for some grub. To my surprise there was quite a few people there, and there were bands playing. Coming from watching Incubus, most bands would end up being lack luster in comparison. So I won't bother jotting down my comments on the 2 bands we watched at Handle Bar that night. The food, as usual, was great there. I got to eat steak! Joseph had a rather large burger, and Sarah got a big serving of pasta.


The vocalist of Mr. Bones and the Boneyard Circus was there, with a female companion. That female companion happened to be Nicole from General Luna. She was donning a rather tasty and loose backless top. I suppose those two are a couple now given how they were to each other. My dreams foiled. LOL! I know I can't get a girl like that anyway. It was enough to ponder the idea at times.

After downing a few beers, we decided to call it a night because Joseph and I had work the next day (or should I say in the next few hours). The power couple dropped me off at my place and they headed home as well. When they got home, Joseph tweeted about good music, good people, good food, and having a good life.

I tweeted back to him saying "It starts with good people bro!".

He replied "indeed".


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