I was lucky enough to attend the July 7th
edition of the "Crow Left of the Murder" Tour featuring Sparta and Incubus
last night, and it had plenty of awesome high spots (and a handful of low
ones too), not to mention a backstory behind it all that has too many twists
and turns to count. Here are some of the thing that went right (or maybe
even went wrong).
Remember that backstory I spoke of? When
this tour was first announced in late April or early May Incubus was scheduled
to headline with a strange opening act; Aussie garage rockers the Vines.
Despite my doubts as how well the two bands would meld together on stage,
I purchased a ridiculously steep ticket at $34.95, and prayed for the best.
About a month away from the big night, the Vines were announced to have
dropped off the tour for reasons of "excess stress." To understand the
irony of that press release, one should recall at that time that
the Vines had combusted onstage, walked out on one another, and insulted
a club full of fans on one of Australia's biggest radio stations. Finding
themselves banned from being played on one of the most important radio
networks in their home country, rumors of the band breaking up began to
fly and as of this time have not fully been resolved.
I jumped for joy when shortly after this
travesty it was announced that sonic dream pop rockers Sparta would be
replacing the Vines on tour. If you don't know of Sparta, they are one
half of the much heralded At The Drive In breakup, alongside The Mars Volta.
Arriving early at the arena, I had high
hopes for Sparta's stage show as I had seen them before and I felt they
were pretty good. Taking the stage at about 7:30, Sparta totally killed
any hope I had for another good showing when they played an absurdly short
20 minute set of about five songs. To further complicate things, the band
played four songs from their upcoming sophomore release, Porceline.
As the album is still about five days from
release as of the time of this writing, only a Sparta fan with ESP would
have been able to enjoy the songs the band played onstage. With not even
the most die hard of fans knowing the words, the band played to a largely
unresponsive crowd that didn't know what to do with the act playing onstage.
If it's any consolation to Sparta, the first four songs they previewed
for the upcoming album seemed fairly promising. I was a little happier
when the bass lines for one of my favorite Sparta tunes, "Air," began to
cascade over the seemingly bored and edgy crowd as a wavy light effect
draped the band in it's glow and a Sparta swan banner. The crowd, along
with me, seemed to enjoy hearing this song, as a fair amount of people
began to sing along. I can't help but feel that Sparta's set was a major
letdown due to it's limited length.
I saw this in a local newspaper, and at
the time I didn't realize what had been said exactly: "Sparta frontman
Jim Ward lashed out at the distant and suprisingly cold Van Andel Arena
crowd, saying 'It's real easy to take some {expletitive} when you're way
out there; This is what I'm doing with my life. Why don't you go
up here and do something?' to a group of very vocal hecklers."
After probably a hour of setting up, Incubus
took the stage and busted out one of their newer singles, "Megalomaniac."
The political references of the song were probably lost on the fans as
the entire floor finally livened up and began to jump in unison with each
and every chorus. This foreshadowed a massive set Incubus would perform
over the course of about the next hour and a half. I was amazed to see
that Incubus would keep their catalog of A Crow Left of the Murder songs
surprisingly medium, saving only power ballads "1984" and "Talk Show on
Mute" for the closing pieces of the set and playing "Sick, Sad Little World",
"Pistola" and "Priceless" somewhere in the middle. I personally felt that
A Crow Left of the Murder was one of the weakest albums released by Incubus
in recent memory (though a welcome hint of a return to older styles) and
I was shocked that the band didn't support it more, opting instead to play
a group of tunes spanning the band's decade or so long history.
All of the older Incubus albums were given
at least minor representation, but the main two of the night were easily
the band's mainstream breakout Make Yourself and equally popular follow
up Morning View. Incubus pulled out Morning View singles "Wish You Were
Here," and harder edged rocker "Nice to Know You" early on to keep things
rolling. Melancholy ballad "Just a Phase" was one of the highlights of
the night; a myriad of colors swirled on frontman Brandon Boyd as he showcased
his often underrated singing voice for the crowd in perfect ballad fashion.
Funk jam "Are You In?" was snuck in later in the night, and was played
in extended form to allow Dj Kilmore to scratch like mad. Make Yourself
gave us singles "Drive" (in a piano laden remixed version featuring two
solos) and one of the encore songs "Pardon Me" which closed the show
with a bang. S.C.I.E.N.C.E. was also given chances to shine, as "Vitamin",
"Idiot Box" and "A Certain Shade of Green." were given stage time to allow
older fans to recollect the good old days.
All in all, this was a fairly good show.
My only complaint was the fact I shelled out nearly $40 for two bands,
one of which played a mere five songs. Incubus played a marvelous and memorable
set that started to drag before the encore, (one of the songs was the theme
to "Sponge Bob Square Pants" Incubus style) and by the end of the night
it was with only a twinge of regret that I went home. I hope for the sake
of other tour stops Sparta is given more time, and that Incubus keeps playing
songs off of all their albums, not just their mainstream hit ones.
Posted by Erin:
I would kill to see Incubus live. I went online once when they came to D.C. but they had some stupid time limit thing on the computer to get the tickets and I did'nt have a keyboard I had to click everything using the keyboard mouse so I lost them. They were good seats too as soon as they said they were going on sale at D.C.101 I was up there. I have five CD's of theres and if I ever have the chance to see them again I will. Incubus has been my favorite since I first heard them. And I'm not the type of person to have a favorite anything. BRANDON IS HOTTT!
Posted by phillp:
whoever says sparta sucks doesn't know crap about good music. www.myspace.com/acrowleftofthemurder
Posted by James:
I experienced incubus live in Kansas City 04. In the last 10 years of live music, I must say that they may very well be one of the best shows I have seen as far as clarity in sound of instuments and vocals. However I was a bit let down by the lack of slap/pull/pop sounds coming from bens bass.The science album just doesnt work without. Dont get me wrong the man is genius in his own way, but What happened to funk.
Posted by Mark:
Lets set a couple of things straight shall we? First of all, I willing to be a fair amount of money that you are an ignorant close-minded radio fan, and as such, you have no Sparta CDs and couldn't comment on their frontman's vocal talent, which I believe equals or exceeds that of Boyd. They did play "Nowhere Fast" and screw you for thinking otherwise. I do know my incubus sh*t as I have every single one of their albums, and I know sh*t when I hear it, as the case is with the highly lackluster "Crow." As for the 1984 mixup, kiss my arse as I recorded almost every song (including that one, just as two seperate songs) in an hour and a half set from memory. I am not even sure what you are pointlessly b*tching about, as by now this review is three months old, and it was kind to both Sparta and Incubus. So in conclusion, go away and complain somewhere else silly rabbit.
Posted by justin:
you are a dumba**, spartas vocals suck, and the reason the sparta frontman said that thing to the crowd was because somebody said, get off the stage, we want incubus. But you made a couple of mistakes, nowhere fast was not played, and as you put it ballads such as "1984" and "talk shows on mute" were played. ha they dont have a song 1984, but talk shows on mute does have a reference to 1984. learn your sh*t. and REAl incubus fans, do not think there new album is weak, they reinvent themselves, thats what they do, every album sounds completly different, and crow is no different. It is amazing. It might be lacking some of the good old dirk bass lines, but ben will step up, give it time. well anyway, learn your sh*t before you go off talking about it, and sparta sucks, they should have only had one song.
Posted by Mal:
I went to the concert in SA,TX on 9/13, though sparta wasn't opening for them..it was the walkmen..and they stunk..but hell I went for Incubus not for the openers..the show was awesome..
Posted by Dobray:
Sparta really sucks. I fell asleep while they opened for Incubus
Posted by Sabrina:
Well, I was up close and personal snagging floor seats at Rupp Arena, in KY last night when Sparta and Incubus performed. It was my second time seeing Sparta, since they also opened for Pearl Jam last May. They were great, the music was pumping. The crowd from my standpoint was into them quite a bit. They are an awesome band, but I don't think they get enough credit for it though. Onto other things, I was a little dissapointed that "The Vines" were nowhere to be seen. When I first found out that they would be the opening act, it was an added bonus. But since they were a no show and bailed out, it pretty much ticked quite a few people off. But, as soon as Incubus hit the floor all that was forgotten. To sum things up, it was a great show and I loved every second of it.
Posted by Sabrina:
Well, I was up close and personal snagging floor seats at Rupp Arena, in KY last night when Sparta and Incubus performed. It was my second time seeing Sparta, since they also opened for Pearl Jam last May. They were great, the music was pumping. The crowd from my standpoint was into them quite a bit. They are an awesome band, but I don't think they get enough credit for it though. Onto other things, I was a little dissapointed that "The Vines" were nowhere to be seen. When I first found out that they would be the opening act, it was an added bonus. But since they were a no show and bailed out, it pretty much ticked quite a few people off. But, as soon as Incubus hit the floor all that was forgotten. To sum things up, it was a great show and I loved every second of it.
Posted by Sarah:
I'm seeing Incubus tonight in Ciny! Hope it's a good show. I've been a fan since Fungus Amungus. I'm feeling ancient at 27 with all of the teenie boppers. But hey, I'm the same age as the guys I'm going to see! Don't care for Sparta...hope their set is short.
Posted by debbie:
hey, no matter what....aclotm is a step out of the mainstream for incubus. It's raw and melodic at the same time. my show is sept 14 at american airlines, dallas tx. every word to every song from crow....i'll be the most hip 36 year old there....ha!
Posted by Michael:
ahh i wish sparta and incus were playing in houston... i love sparta and incubus is a really great band... if only they were here
Posted by Anuj:
Just caught them @ NAtionwide Arena (Columbus, OH). Sparta played a 35 minute set, sparse just as you said. The crowd was unresponsive mostly b/c they never heard of Sparta. Luckily there were no hecklers. The songs sounded good to me, actually. Then after a long 45 minutes of setting up (during which roadies were heckled) out came Brandon and crew. They started off with "Megalomaniac" and played pretty much the same set you talked about. However, quite conspicuously, "Pardon Me" and "Stellar" were left out. Other lowpoints included Brandon taking off his shirt in a desperate attempt to please the teenyboppers sitting in the seated sections. And I was dissappointed to hear nothing off their early stuff (as sampled on Fungus Amongus).... I kept hoping that they'd play "You'll Be A Hot Dancer" but.. it was not to be. Highlights included the (color-changing) twinkling stars backdrop, and Jose Pasillas's wonderful 5 minute drum solo. It was quite Bonhamesque, for the young drummer's hair length and physical stature made him almost a dead ringer for the legendary Bonzo. Another LZ homage was a 2-minute improv on "Whole Lotta Love"'s opening riff, which was accompanied by scrathing aplenty, courtesy of DJ Kilmore. It was a good show, giving the crowd exactly what they eanted. Most sung along to even lesser known tracks like "Idiot Box" and "Circles". The band itself looked only a trifle road-weary. Mr. Boyd seemed to channel Adrien Brody thru his wiry stature, while Jose looked almost like a mexican Homie in all white. The crowd really appreciated the "good times", as Brandon called 'em. Despite the initial indifference to Sparta and the fact that there was just one encore, it was a success. Not bad for my 17 year old self's first ever concert!
Posted by Mark:
Sparta has more mainstream leanings then The Mars Volta...however, they are still a huge step above most more comercial acts, at least in my opinion lol.
Posted by Anuj: Hmmm.... they're coming to my town day
after tomorrow. I guess I'll go and get tix. I haven't heard anything from
Sparta or ATDI yet(I've only heard "De-loused...") so I guess it'll be
good just to check them out. And the only song worth it from ACLOTM would
be 'Sick Sad Little World'. My fave is the SCIENCE/Fungus Amongus era Incubus.......
I guess i should check them out.