Incubus Performed “Morning View” In Its Entirety For Austin!

Incubus headlined at Moody Center in Austin, Tx on September 7th, 2024 with support from Coheed and Cambria on their Morning View Tour!

Incubus is an American rock band originating from Calabasas, California and was formed in 1991. Their current lineup consists of lead vocalist Brandon Boyd, lead guitarist Mike Einziger, turntablist Chris Kilmore, bassist Nicole Row, and drummer Jose Pasillas.

Incubus originally released their critically acclaimed studio album Morning View on October 23, 2001, and were met with an outpouring of love and acclaim from fans and industry alike. The album has been RIAA certified double Platinum and spent 60 weeks on the Billboard 200 peaking at number 2.

On October 6, 2023, the band announced the re-recording and re-release of the acclaimed double album entitled Morning View XXIII. This inspired a 2024 US Arena tour, performing their iconic album “Morning View” in its entirety, plus the hits. This tour has only 10 dates at select cities.

Boyd speaking about “Morning View”:

“Roughly 23 years ago we rented a house at the sea to do an art experiment. The novel and expansive environment combined with a healthy dose of momentum helped us find that ever sought after FLOW state and the songs that became known as ‘Morning View’ have since become indelible and deeply important parts of our lives.”

“This album helped propel our little art experiment called ‘Incubus’ into a way of life and here we are today, some 23 years later, about to introduce a new/next phase of it’s existence. ‘Morning View xxiii’ is a re-recording/re-think of the 2001 album and is the result of our desire to honor this burgeoning legacy but also reimagine it as musicians who have been lovingly performing these songs night after night for the last 23 years.”

Incubus began their set by performing “Morning View” from front to back, starting with their leadoff hit “Nice to Know You”, then “Circles” and massive hit “Wish You Were Here”. This actually being the same exact first three songs they played the last time they visited Austin back in the summer of 2022.

“Just a Phase” segued into the next portion of the set with “11 am” to follow next. After redirecting, the band positioned themselves comfortably in what felt like a “campfire circle” center stage, to perform “Blood On the Ground” and “Mexico” stripped down acoustically. This rendition of “Blood On the Ground” came as sort of a surprise, but this was the only way to authentically perform “Mexico“. The pure raw energy and emotion could only be played acoustically.

Next up were “Warning” and “Echo“, which garnered a huge response from the crowd. These deeper album tracks were loved by the audience. Boyd’s voice resonated not only through the arena, but echoed through the minds and souls of every individual standing in attention.

Boyd explains how he wants to live in Austin:

“Do you guys like living here? Every time we come here as a band we’re like cruising around and we’re like ‘can we move here?’. Y’all have fucking bats! That’s so cool. It is right? That’s how you know a place is cool. If there are fucking bats that come out every night.”

“Have You Ever” picked the pace back up and changed the energy of the room for what was to come. “Are You In?” was played next, but with a twist! A snippet of Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” was mixed in seamlessly. It goes without saying the iconic drum part was not only performed, but executed perfectly by Pasillas. This was only the first cover to be performed. Immediately following, was yet another snippet for “Under My Umbrella“. As I’m sure you might have guessed, it was a cover of Rihanna’s “Umbrella” to start the track off.

Einziger’s response when asked if Steve Vai gifted him the pipa from his personal collection:

“Correct, the pipa. It’s a four-string Chinese lute that we used to create the song ‘Aqueous Transmission’ [the closing track of Incubus’ fourth studio album, 2001’s ‘Morning View’] and yes, it was given to me by Steve Vai. I noticed it sitting in a corner in his house and I asked him about it; I said, ‘What is that?’, and he told me that it was given to him as a gift when he was on tour in Asia at some point, and we kind of like moved on from that, like, something else in our discussion. And right before I left that day, it was, like, ‘Hey, take this,’ and I was, like, ‘Woah, I can’t take that from you.’ He was, like, ‘No, no, no, take it, just promise me you’ll write something cool with it.’ And so, I took it and brought it back to [the studio], we were recording at the ‘Morning View’ at the time and I brought it back and kind of like straight away pulled it out of its sheath and we wrote ‘Aqueous Transmission,’ like, right away.”

Finally, the moment everyone had been waiting for. Well, at least the moment I had been waiting for. Einziger started plucking away at the pipa to begin the journey of “Aqueous Transmission“. The first time I heard this song I thought to myself “This is one of the most beautiful pieces ever written”. It captivated me the same way hearing it performed live as it did many years ago. Its relaxing aura and peaceful sound always brings my mind to ease. Boyd’s soft voice utters “I’m floating down a river” and you truly feel like you’re descending along with him. This concluded the “Morning View” segment.

Boyd expressing the band’s gratitude:

“It’s been a real trip. Thank you. I don’t think any of us could have ever imagined you all embracing it the way that you have. We’re deeply grateful. We love you.”

After performing the album all the way through, the band took a collective bow. Although the “Morning View” portion of the show was complete, the show was far from over. They performed the hits “Anna Molly”, “Karma, Come Back”, “Come Together” (Beatles cover), “Pardon Me”, and “Drive”.

Twenty-three years after “Morning View” was conceived, the album was performed seamlessly and Incubus were as vibrant as ever. This tour was a true testament to the band’s timeless sound.

incubushq.com

Setlist:

Morning View:

Nice to Know You
Circles
Wish You Were Here
Just a Phase
11 am
Blood on the Ground (acoustic)
Mexico
Warning
Echo
Have You Ever
Are You In? (with a snippet of Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight”)
Under My Umbrella (with a snippet of Rihanna’s “Umbrella”)
Aqueous Transmission

The Hits:

Anna Molly
Karma, Come Back
Come Together (The Beatles cover)
Pardon Me
Drive

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