Photos: Incubus brought a Morning View to Starlight last night

Daniel Fuchs, Andrew Dodderidge,
Incubus Starlight Theatre 19

Incubus. // photo by Daniel Fuchs

Incubus
with Manchester Orchestra and Paris Jackson
Starlight Theater
Tuesday, July 8

After a rained-out evening in Oklahoma City a day prior, Incubus returned to the stage as fierce and unnerving as ever to a just about sold-out crowd at Starlight Theatre this past Tuesday. Six years ago, the California natives hit 1999 record Make Yourself received its well-deserved 20th anniversary tour, rummaging through Uptown Theater, and the longtime alternative rockers were back for more with a front-to-back playing of the subsequent Morning View.

The gorgeous summer night was chock-full of highlights, including the wholeheartedly satisfying acoustic numbers spread throughout Morning, like “Blood on the Ground,” “Mexico,” and “Aqueous Transmission” – which saw the trio of vocalist Brandon Boyd, Mike Einziger and Nicole Row meet in the middle of the stage, and at the top of the stage by drummer Jose Pasillas. By the time “Drive” made an appearance while the group went through six hits to end the night, the lucky front-row fans got the same experience from the three.

Going from black leather jacket to white tank top to shirtless throughout the 100-minute set, Boyd’s presence was undeniable. There was no mention of the OKC rainout that likely played a role in the increased output and intensity, only quick quips from the frontman, like “I should do this every Tuesday” and “this is Nicole’s first show with us” (a blatant joke). Row, their new bassist who began touring with the group in 2023, transitioned her way from the left side of the stage to the very top near Pasillas via a ramp most of the night, while Einziger remained a statue, until “Aqueous” found him relaxing 7,500 with his famous pipa playing.

The real highlight for me came from “turntablist” (or at least that’s what his shirt said) Chris Kilmore. Cuts like “Nice to Know You” and “Have You Ever” get an improvement in a live-setting from the upsetting expectations of that sound, and Killmore was into it from the first minute. It was an all-in-all group effort from a band who, in more recent years, has lost its way in the studio – releasing just two mediocre-to-poor LPs in the last 18 years.

Just an hour before, with the crowd still piling in to a degree, Andy Hull  – who is no stranger to headlining Uptown Theater – brought his dramatics to the stage. Manchester Orchestra played a 45-minute opening set comprised of A Black Mile to the Surface, The Million Masks of God and Mean Everything to Nothing material, all concluding with standout hit “The Silence,” which left Hull knocking over the mic stand and throwing the mic and his guitar on the ground after singing “let me open my eyes and be glad that I got here.”

Bassist Andy Prince, who we spoke with earlier this week, led the way for the Atlanta natives, throwing two-to-three picks into the front rows of the audience every cut, screaming into the oblivion on tracks like “Telepath,” and pumping the crowd up between songs. It was true rock star behavior, and it felt like every track was the last track he was about to play in the band, and that he likely would have the same type of energy if the crowd was just 500 people.

Even though “The Silence” and certain Black Mile songs would certainly play better in an intimate environment – being in the sixth row, I’m not entirely sure how receptive I would’ve been to it perched up towards the terrace area – every minute of it felt like a statement, like Hull wanted to rip something out of his soul to cleanse himself of past experiences and convince himself of poetic ramblings.

Paris Jackson, famous model and daughter of musical legend Michael Jackson, opened the evening with a short 20-minute set with just herself and an acoustic guitar, reminding everyone she did indeed deserve to be there, and possibly in a bigger spotlight. A Phoebe Bridgers comparison is keen, and her collaboration with Manchester a few years back further proves it.

Full album run-throughs have been all the rage in the recent years of concert production. I still remember the days when the specialness of a “10-year Anniversary Tour” felt like a rare circumstance. Now they are commonplace, and almost expected. Bands like Incubus are doing them to celebrate the 24th anniversary of a record not even considered their greatest contribution to the late ‘90s/early 2000s rock scene. And I’m all the way here for it.

All photos by Daniel Fuchs

Incubus

Incubus setlist
Morning View
Nice to Know You
Circles
Wish You Were Here
Just a Phase
11am
Blood on the Ground (Acoustic)
Mexico
Warning
Echo
Have You Ever
Are You In? (Phil Collins “In The Air Tonight” outro)
Under My Umbrella (Rihanna “Umbrella” intro)
Aqueous Transmission

The Hits
Megalomaniac
Anna Molly
The Warmth
Vitamin (Portishead “Glory Box” outro)
Drive
Pardon Me

Manchester Orchestra

Manchester Orchestra setlist
Pride
Keel Timing
Bed Head
Shake It Out
Cope (“I Can Feel a Hot One” intro)
The Gold
The Sunshine (“Telepath” intro)
The Silence

Paris Jackson

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