Monday, March 10, 2008

Incubus Live at Manila 2008: Light Grenades Pacific Rim Tour

I know I set this blog up for sketches and drawaings and random stuff, but I'll make an exception just this once.

Last Feb 9, I went to see the Incubus concert at Araneta Center. It was definitely one of the best days of my entire life. I’ve been a fan of Incubus since I was in college and I’ve always wanted to see them live. (I don’t even know how to blog about the experience properly, I’m still dazed.) Their music is so exhilarating it sends you into a state of euphoria a gazillion times faster than a slice of Belgian chocolate cake can.


Brandon Boyd’s voice was…well…I can’t even find a fitting word to describe it. It’s something you only hear in your dreams. His voice carries you to another world, where nothing else matters but the music and the message and you. It’s mesmerizing…captivating…spellbinding. When he sings, he does it with so much passion, I was fighting the urge to either cry or fight my way down to the stage and lick his sweat off his body (hehe). Okay, I wasn’t even going to talk about his body because this experience is really not about that…but oh-my-word!! He took his shirt(s) off and I thought I was going to faint if not for the jerk who drenched me with beer. Bastard. Anyway, he took his shirt off during the encore and I was screaming like a silly sissy fangirl. WHY did he have such a sexy body and such an entrancing voice? Is it even legal to be blessed with both? (also, does he have a carpet fetish?)

Then there’s Michael Einziger. The unbelievably amazingly talented Mike. When I first heard Incubus, I swore to myself that before I die, I have to be good at guitars like him. I’ve kinda forgotten about that and ditched guitar-playing after college. But holy moses, he played the bandolin (or something that looks like it, maybe a koto, I'm not sure if that's what it was) last night and I was flabbergasted at how he made it sing so beautifully, it made me want to forget about my stupid mascara and cry (but of course I didn’t because I didn’t want to look like some loser on my way home). Aqueous Transmission was one of my favorites in the encore performance. I can’t even think of a proper word to describe how captivating the song was. It was a good ending to the gig. It left me wanting more. Now I can’t wait for their next concert or next CD.

*fangirl scream*

Ben Kenney, Jose Antonio Pasillas III and DJ Chris Kilmore were amazing too.

DJ Kilmore was so good at was he does, he was even doing exhibitions, playing with his turntables with his back to them, jumping with the rest of the band, and still producing perfect effects.

Ben Kenney, (one of my two fave bassists in the world) was also equally astounding. He reminded me of Tetsuya Ogawa of L’Arc~en~Ciel (my second fave, next to Ben). He didn’t just do an accompaniment to the rest of the band’s performance, he made the bass sing and stand out!

Next there’s Jose Pasillas III. What’s a band without the world’s best drummer? (And I’m not just saying this because I’m biased, but he really is one of the best drummers I’ve ever heard.) I was really pissed I didn’t hear about Incubus doing a live show here in Manila right away. When our friend was buying tickets, the nearest seats were all sold out! Jose threw his sticks to the crowd, I couldn’t help but curse as I watched them hold his drumsticks up for all the world to see! (Mike also threw his pick. 3 times, I think. Next time, I have to be near the stage, I swear! GRR!)

The set (not in order):

Quicksand (Light Grenades) -
i loved this one. it's entrancing.
A Kiss to Send Us Off (Light Grenades) -
this one got me jumping and going nuts
Nice to Know You (Morning View) - a classic.
Wish You Were Here (Morning View) - another classic.
Vitamin (S.C.I.E.N.C.E.) -
OMG EPIC! i LOOOVE this song!
Favorite Things (S.C.I.E.N.C.E.) -
hm, not one of their songs i often listened to, but it was nice to hear it again.
Talkshows on Mute (A Crow Left of the Murder) -
the song that rocks my sister's socks off. :D not really one of my faves, but still an incubus classic.
Drive (Make Yourself) -
of course everyone was singing along. the sonog that helped them skyrocket up the charts.
Pistola (A Crow Left of the Murder) -
OMG panalo!!! ..my pen is a pistolaaaaaa whooo!
Anna Molly (Light Grenades) -
one of the most popular songs in their new album (which I love, by the way. There's always something new. something FRESH from this band. they'll never be hasbeens.Everything's great, from Fungus Amongus to Light Grenades)
Oil and Water (Light Grenades) -
i love he message this song conveys. :D
The Warmth (Make Yourself) -
is there anything i don't like? gosh i love all of their songs!
Sick, Sad Little World (A Crow Left of the Murder) -
especially this one.
Megalomaniac (A Crow Left of the Murder) -
hokay. this was the one that got the boys really wild. i got drenched in beer! effing bastards.

Encore:

Stellar (Make Yourself) -
epic.
Circles (Morning View) -
i wasn't able to get a video of this. one of my incubus faves pa naman boohoo.
Aqueous Transmission (Morning View) -
oh my gosh mike rocks i swear! i told my bf i'd trade him for brandon but i could trade brandon for mike! he's just pure genius! and to think he just had an operation for CTS.

The concert lasted for an hour, give or take. (Not counting the front act). Bitin!!! And it was a tour for their latest album (Light Grenades, November 2006) but they didn’t even sing Dig, one of Light Grenades’ biggest hits. I only had my phone camera with me and the battery was almost dead. I was reluctant to keep clicking away for two reasons: I wanted to record the whole performance of Dig (which never happened), and I wanted to really enjoy the concert for myself. I figured didn’t even need good pictures. I was there. This was the best day of my life, as much as I wanted to share it to the world, videos (even if taken with the best cameras) couldn’t even do justice to the whole experience. You have to BE THERE to REALLY experience it. I’m still on a high. I can’t describe how ecstatic I’m feeling.

The whole experience was orgasmic!

*walks off in a daze*…

[sidenote] Azrael and Ryan Orosco were there too. They were seated on the row in front of us. Sensha na sa inyong dalawa sa sobrang lakas na mga tili ko ah. :D [end sidenote]

pictures in my multiply photo album. =)


Oh, and here are some sketches I did while I was waiting for Lee to pick me up for the concert.


Maho of Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad

Yondaime Hokage: Namikaze Minato of Naruto

2 comments:

fran said...

wow! so jealous! he took his shirt off huh? did you do anything about it? hahahahah!

ang saya! its something to tell the grandkids -- ang cool ni grandma. =)

karaiwashi said...

WTF I don't even have kids, bakit grandkids na agad????

I was screaming so loud and I was on the brink of bursting to tears! Tapos si mike threw 3 picks at different times and jose threw his sticks after aqueous transmission. so envious of those who got them. =(

Next stop nila hongkong. pucha if i had money id go there. you know how big an incubus fan i am. :D