Returning once again to the Manchester Apollo, Incubus bring their unique brand of Nu Metal adjacent/funk/psychedelic rock weirdness as well as Shoegaze newcomers, Softcult.
Canadian Shoegaze outfit, Softcult, opened the show with a dimly lit set armed only with extensive pedal boards, a massive wall of dreamlike noise and incredibly important things to say about the state of the world and their experiences as a largely female band.
Softcult are relatively new and only have two EPs out at the moment so their set is the best way to experience their music, it is very much reminiscent of Sonic Youth and similar bands of that ilk without being self indulgent or overly long.
Opening with ‘Another Bish’, the band gives a vibrant and lively performance despite playing such spacey and ambient music that is perfect to get lost in. At no point does their set feel phoned in or disingenuous or disconnected from the crowd.
Before beginning their final song, vocalist and guitarist Mercedes Arn-Horn begins a poetic rant seemingly entitled ‘You Should Have Killed Me When You Had the Chance‘ about living in defiance of your abuser as a survivor; before ending the show with ‘Uzamaki’, an absolutely beautiful track that leaves an audience with heavy concepts to think about and process while they wait for Incubus. An amazing time is being had by all throughout their set and a massive chunk of the audience, including myself, would welcome them back to Manchester as a headliner in the future.
Taking to the stage shortly after, Incubus began strongly with ‘Nice to Know You’, accompanied by swirling psychedelic colours and visual elements in the screen behind them. The band are carried by these visuals throughout most of the show during long ambient instrumental breaks.
Incubus have the same hard task that every band thirty years into their career have and that is putting together a setlist to satisfy an audience – they did a satisfactory job on this tour thanks to a rotating setlist and no new album to tour.
Most of the set was comprised of tracks from their biggest albums: Make Yourself and Morning View which made for an interesting set, particularly for newcomers.
Their strength lies with their incredibly tight rhythm section made up of José Passilas and Ben Kennedy. The band never missed a beat throughout the entire set and almost all of the best moments belonged to them, most notably being the dual drum solo between Passilas and Brandon Boyd who helped deliver a percussive accompaniment as the two traded off solos.
The band mostly kept to themselves and got on with the show with minimal interaction with the crowd but one of the more unique elements of the show were the VIP ticket holders. Barriers were set up on either side of the stage and the VIP ticket holders watched the show from the side of the stage – they brought a lot of energy that the band was missing.
Ending the show with ‘Drive’, Incubus delivered a huge singalong moment that captures the vibe of the show and brings some unity to the audience as they all belt the lyrics and leave on a grand bonding moment.
Incubus shows may not be the most engaging places for the uninitiated but their set is definitely unique at times and has plenty of its own merits. Even if they aren’t for everyone, at least they helped introduce Softcult to many people that wouldn’t have otherwise found them.
