Words and photos covered for New Noise Magazine. Original posting can be seen here complete photo gallery below.

It was a year in the making, but Incubus finally played the Walmart AMP. The original show was supposed to happen last year with Sublime With Rome but was canceled due to unforeseen circumstances. However, they were able to make it up this year with a great opener, Coheed and Cambria.

Even though this lineup was for a few dates, this may have been the best lineup for these two rock bands. First, you have Coheed and Cambria, who might just be one of the best rock bands out there. Going on almost 30 years, Coheed and Cambria quite frankly melted everyone’s faces with their guitars and Josh Eppard drumming. They opened their set with three songs from Vaxis II: A Window of the Waking Mind, an album that most agree is conceptually amazing. As the opening band they mainly jump from Vaxis II to songs from Good Apollo I’m Burning Star IV back to Vaxis II. Except in the middle of their set, they play “A Favor House Atlantic” from In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth.

Usually, the crowd attendance is low for the opening act, or they don’t care for the opener, but for Coheed, the crowd was just as big for Incubus, and the singing was just as loud. If someone wasn’t a fan of Coheed before, once they played “Welcome Home,” I am sure they are a fan now. Singer Claudio Sanchez came out with a double-neck guitar and at the end of the song proceeded to play the solo with the guitar over his head. Doing something like that on a regular guitar is one thing, but two necks definitely won the crowd over. No matter what your music tastes are, seeing Coheed and Cambria live is something worth doing; they are truly one of the greatest rock bands out there.

Incubus are one of those bands that came to rise during the late ’90s/early 2000s when alternative music and nu-metal bands were at the top. Incubus was lumped into this group for they had elements of that music, but when you dug deeper into their music, there was so much more to explore in their sound. They honestly were ahead of their time, and as some of those other bands faded, Incubus continued to grow.

As the members stepped on stage, the crowd’s cheer was deafening and the band broke into “A Kiss to Send Us Off” off Light Grenades. Following were two songs from arguably fans’ favorite album Morning View, with the last one being “Nice To Know You,” which showcases Brandon Boyd’s vocal range. From there, the band would play some of their songs from the Trust Fall Side B EP. The band started releasing EPs more based on how they felt their music should be put out. For a band like Incubus, they have been releasing albums nonstop, and they wanted to change it since they don’t think albums hold the weight like they used to. Regardless, the songs they are releasing are just as good as their previous efforts and the crowd reaction is just as excited as when they play a song like “Wish You Were Here.”

In the middle of their set, they played a cover of “Come Together” by The Beatles which has been in their set for some time now and is executed perfectly. The next set of songs all came from different albums where Incubus played something from every album except 8. The band are at the top of their game while playing these songs, and even though bassist Ben Kenny is sitting out from recovering from a brain tumor, fill-in Nicole Row from Panic! At The Disco is doing a great job. They would then bounce between Morning View and Make Yourself, with an encore of “On Without Me” and “Drive.” Incubus are a band that shouldn’t be dismissed; they are much more than their counterparts that came out in the early 2000s, and they still hold strong to this day. They are the full package, great songs, insightful lyrics, and an incredible live band.