Back in high school, I was a regular patron of rock concerts that came to town. In my various outings, I came across a band called Incubus twice… once as a member of the OzzFest 2000 line up, and once a year before as an opening act for the Black Sabbath reunion tour (along with Pantera). Both times they were outweighed by their metal counter-parts, and both times I was a little underwhelmed with their performance. To be honest, all I really remember is some dreadlocks and a bongo drum or two…

But that was a different time. I was much more of a metal-head back then, and it’d be nearly impossible for any young band to go on before a legend like Pantera and leave with any sort of dignity. That being said, I was curious to see how they’d do a decade later when they made an appearance here in SacTown.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect all these years later… and to be fair, I often confused them with The Deftones (who I saw at OzzFest ’99, around the same time). They managed to draw a decent crowd for an outdoor concert in October (it rained the day before). Several thousand showed up for the gig, and they seemed pretty amped to check out the band.

Screams of “Take off your clothes, Brandon!” were heard as I mingled about during the performance. I’m not really sure who Brandon was (I assume a member of the band?), but I am pleased to report that all males in the vicinity remained fully clothed.

And speaking of the audience, I couldn’t help but notice that pretty much everyone in the crowd was at least in their 20’s. That made me feel a little bit better, in that I’m not the only one who hasn’t heard much from these guys since high school. But then, music these days isn’t what it used to be… perhaps I’m just getting old?

But I will say… after checking out their performance, these guys have aged well. Their sound was solid and tight, with a good amount of energy and some quality audience interaction. I recognized a good handfull of their songs, which is saying a lot considering I was never really a fan, and those songs that I recognized sounded great.

They’ve got a long way to go before they reach Pantera Status (and let’s be honest, they never will)… but they made fine background music to a beautiful Fall evening under a full moon in Northern California.

Plus I got my ticket free, so it’s hard to complain! Check out my full photo gallery here.