Happy New Years. To really get this year off to a good start, Incubus performed at the Warfield last night and it was the best fucking show. Kate and I slept in from our early morning class to re-sync our bodies with the natural world. Last night’s show was a transcendent.
My back is tied up in knots, my neck is about to fall off, my leg is cramped up and I was elbowed at least three times in the head but none of that matters. All of that stuff is petty. I joked around with Kate saying I couldn’t have been injected with AIDS and the show would be well worth it.
The crowd was awesome and the band’s faces lit up several times to acknowledge how loving we are. During Sick Sad Little World, of all songs (my all-time fave that I will take with me to the grave) Brandon through a water bottle right over my head and it landed in Jun’s jacket. People were grabbing at him and when I was reaching for it to help him out, somebody’s hand already beat me in between his legs. Sounds wrong, I know. It’s Jun. Who cares. But Jun has that bottle.
I can go on and on and on about how badass the show was and how all single boys and girls could just hook up at any one peak of the song and just conceive a baby out of sheer passion for Incubus’ music, but I won’t.
The other mental trip is the mind games you play. I woke up last morning and was excited as hell. I had a final presentation for a class, which we nailed, but all I can think of was the getting to the show. Fellow classmates and the teacher commented for a well-delivered speech but it was really out of my passion for Incubus.
The whole trip from waking up, sitting through 4 hours of class, then presenting in the last 30, driving to SF, waiting in line (we were 2nd in line) being rubbed up against as you constantly claim your spot at the security rail, sitting through the opening band, waiting for Incubus, and you wonder, “Am I really hyping up Incubus for myself? How can they possible outdo their last shows. How can they possible reach new heights for me to just take my love for them into the 12th dimension? The hints of doubt start to reoccur in your mind.
Then the show starts. The timing in which each song was played, the energy of the band, the energy of the crowd, killer music and being just a couple of feet away from Brandon, all that went away. I was tripping out (I don’t do drugs, I swear) but I was on a music high. During “Sick Sad,” I spaced out and I was just floating—literally. There was so many crowding around and pushing that I can lift my feet off the ground and use that pressure to hold up this 150lb. filipino.
I couldn’t carry on with the day without replaying the concert in my head. It doesn’t seem real. I keep wanting to revisit the magic of the night and if I didn’t have any prior commitments for today and tomorrow, I’d be at the 2nd show at the Warfield right now. That crowd has a tough one to follow. We were awesome.
Top Shows
1. Incubus @ the Warfield
2. Sia @ Bimbo’s
3. Zero 7 w/ Sia and Jose Gonzales @ the Fillmore
*2 and 3 are tied. 2 was pretty emotional for me at the time with the whole mood of Sia’s music and the death of my Lola. Emo, I know, but it’s real.
Groupie love
During Albert’s bands’ (guitarist of the Strokes) performance, I spotted Mike in a dimly lit corner, offstage, while he was scoping out the openers; I waved and he waved back I knew he waved at me because I was the only one staring at Albert Hammond Jr’s gigantic shadow towards the right end of the stage, which led me to spot Mike.
Brandon’s water bottle.
Kilmore spotted me when I gestured “Yo!”
Brandon and I locked eyes during “Nowhere Fast” during the breakdown. Brandon looking eye-to-eye is a rarity since he either stares into space or has his eyes closed when he sings.
I almost had Jose’s tom head until the towering white guy twisted it out of my wrist. I had one hand on it and he had two. I should have let my wrist snapped; he would have let go.
Paul got Mike’s blue tortex pick (recall when I got Mike’s green tortex pick from the HP Pavilion show 2.5 years ago).