It's Their Third Time Here, But It's My First Time Seeing Them

February 10, 2018

Finally, I got the chance to watch Incubus after failing to come to their concerts in 2008 and 2011 due to reasons that I cannot recall (I lied, money.. it was because of money).

Long story short, at first, I wanted to buy the ticket for Incubus concert right away. But one thing led to another and I decided to spend my paycheck on something far more important. So, yeah I became a quiz hunter for this one. I took part in 5 or 6 quizzes, but ended up winning one from medcom.id.

I had to dress up in my most ‘rock n roll’ style, somehow I came up with this concept. I was sooo ashamed of myself when posting this photo, but thinking that many people clicked like, I did not want to delete it now ha ha.

Quite embarassing, but whatever~

I have won concert ticket in the past, Fall Out Boy in 2013. I got two and had to pay 10% of the actual ticket price. Since I got two, I paid like Rp 90.000. But with this Incubus ticket, I did not have to pay for anything at all! So thanks again medcom.id.

I asked my friend to take me to and from the show by motorcycle (poor him he got soaking wet because of the rain after dropping me off at the venue, but your effort is very much appreciated, man). I was basically alone but ended up meeting some of my friends whom I met at the Foo Fighters concert in Singapore.

The venue itself is at Gambir Expo in Kemayoran, North Jakarta and it was outdoor. I got there around 4.30 pm and waited for the gate to open with my friend in the parking lot. Seeing so many people dressed in black warms my heart, I feel like this is where I belong.

They didn’t have sitting areas, only festivals but divided into two sections: “Festival A” which is closer to the stage, and “Festival”. I got the festival one (can’t complain because I got the ticket for free).

The place itself is quite small, but I did not mind it at all because it means that the concert would be more intimate.

After the gate opened, I rushed to find a bathroom because I needed to pee so badly and I had to ditch my friend who was still queuing alone (I’m so sorry, but I was in dire need to release this juice from my body), because the ones with “Festival” ticket could come in early, and my friend bought “Festival A”.

For some weird reason, I wanted to watch this Incubus show alone. Don’t get me wrong I love going to concerts with friends or at the very least with my sister, but I don’t know… I just wanted to watch this one by myself. I want to absorb the atmosphere and euphoria alone. Yeah I know, I even confuse myself sometimes.

After coming into the venue at 6 pm, in there, they provided drinks and meals like the usual mineral water and beer. But to my surprise, they sold tempe mendoan and pecel. So there I was, waiting for Incubus to come out while watching people ate pecel. I ate pasta because I thought it was much simpler.

Because the show was in the middle of the week, on Wednesday 7^th February 2018 to be exact, not many people came. It was still a lot though, but it could have been more crowded if the show was held on weekends. I don’t know if this is the decision from the band or the promoter. I myself had no problem with it, I took a 2-day leave for over two weeks beforehand, not because I wanted to watch the Incubus concert, but I just needed a break from work for the sake of my own sanity and I planned to go on a solo trip, but fate decided otherwise. Yeaay!

After waiting for almost two hours, the show started at 08.20 pm. They opened with a new song off of their new album “8” titled “Glitterbomb”. I was standing near the press area and had to move forward after a couple of songs because the people were deader than a fish in a dry plastic bag. Let this be a lesson for me or for other people, if you want to feel more energy at a live concert, put yourself closer to the stage. I respect people who decide to stand in the back for their own reasons, but for me it was just not right (in my defence, I thought the crowd would be insane and I had the worst headache at the moment). I perceive music concert as an experience, not merely recreational.

Okay, as for the performance, it was magicaaal. I have seen their live performances through Youtube and DVD and it is always solid. They did not talk much, Brandon Boyd, the vocalist kept saying “terima kasih” tho and it sounded very cute. Like a guy who hands out flyers and after you grab it he says thank you in the most grateful and respectful way.

What I admire from them is that even though they are not talkative, they can engage the crowd just through their music. They played cleanly and there was no hiccup, it was in-yo-face full of awesomeness. I love the way the crowd being so attentive when Incubus played newer songs (like State of The Art, Nimble Bastard, and Loneliest) even though most people did not know the lyrics and going crazy with the older stuff (Megalomaniac, Circles, Anna Molly, and of course Drive). At one point, Brandon did his mandatory routine of taking off his shirt, playing the bongo thingy passionately, and a guy just mindlessly shouted “STAHP.. I CAN’T TAKE IT” or in Bahasa Indonesia “STOP.. AKU NGGAK KUAT”, I burst out laughing upon hearing that. Bro same, I too am nggak kuat.. damn it he’s hot for a 41-year-old.

In conclusion, It was a great show. I can’t stop thinking about it so I have to write this down so I can re-live it over and over again.

After two hours, they closed the show by playing “Warning” after delivering “I Miss You”. It was such a sweet surprise! Because first, it is one of my favourite songs ever and second, I had no idea they would play “I Miss You” because I checked setlist.fm and they did not play it at all in their previous shows.

The sound quality was good, everything was balanced and the simple round screen for effect added the solemnness of the show. Ah~ I miss going to music concert like this one and I’m glad that I got to watch Incubus live.