the sky resembles a backlit canopy with holes punched in it...

So last night I called up a few friends and we decided to catch the Incubus show downtown at the amphitheater. As we learned last year, when we checked out Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, there really is no point in paying insane ticket prices and service fees and dealing with large crowds of people when you can sit on the guardrail by the bridge just across the railroad tracks and the acoustics are perfect.

There were other likeminded people with the same idea, friendly assorted hippies and metalheads having a musical tailgate party with lawn chairs and beer who came around and told us we could see better over by their side. It was a perfect night, clear and warm, the skyline and the bridges lit up, and listening to great songs and nostalgia tripping to back in the day.

I was a huge Incubus fan in high school, back in the days when I was wearing really baggy pants and too much jewelry, when that was about the only good thing on Clear Channel and I had yet to immerse myself in college radio. Some of the earlier albums sound a little dated now, but their sound has evolved so much. I guess they're like the Soundgarden of my generation, huge albums with a lot of hits, and enough weirdness to keep it interesting. Hopefully Brandon Boyd doesn't go the way of Chris Cornell.



But they put on a great show, it sounded perfect, and we were also massively entertained watching high school kids attempting to sneak in by shimmying down the bridge onto the other side, climbing the fence, scaling trees, and jumping over the restroom while being chased by beefy security guards in yellow shirts.

A good time was had by all, and it was just what perfect summer nights in Cleveland are made of... cheap thrills, good people, sweet music.

Setlist (youtubes for some of the favorite cuts)

Pardon Me
Nice To Know You
Anna Molly
Stellar
Megalomaniac
Circles
Love Hurts

Just a Phase

Drive (acoustic)
Make Yourself (acoustic)
Dig (Acoustic)

Redefine
A Certain Shade of Green
The Warmth

Quicksand
A Kiss to Send Us Off
Wish You Were Here

Aqueous Transmission


Encore:
Are You In?
A Crow Left of the Murder
Let's Go Crazy (Prince cover)