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A double shot of alternative aggression
and experimentation

Incubus/ Deftones
Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Tinley Park, IL
July 23, 2015

Deftones

Incubus

Story and photos by Andy Argyrakis

Both Incubus and Deftones are two of the most groundbreaking alternative bands that first rose to recognition in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but nearly an entire generation later, each act is still firing on all cylinders. The co-headline outing made its way to the recently renamed Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Tinley Park to deliver almost four hours of aggressive action to a packed pavilion and pretty well populated lawn (especially for a weeknight).

Even if it's been a couple of years since Sacramento's Deftones delivered its seventh studio album "Koi No Yokan," Chino Moreno and company's dedicated fan base remains, many of whom shouted the explosive singer's name across a ferocious blend of alternative metal and experimental rock. In fact, the group came across like a sheer cyclone of sample-laden sounds throughout cuts as wide-reaching as "Minerva," "Diamond Eyes" and "Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away)," all enhanced by heightening smoke and screen synchronization draped against the setting sun.

By dusk, the band was barreling through "White Pony" powerhouses "Digital Bath" and "Change (In The House Of Flies)," though this tour also seems to be going well beyond the main catalysts to Deftones' ten million album selling territory. Alongside the hits, "Needles And Pins," "Beware" and "When Girls Telephone Boys" popped up on this tour for the first time in years, adding enticement to catch the guys sometime this summer prior to the release of their next sure-to-be raucous record.

Although Incubus did have the new EP "Trust Fall (Side A)" to tout, the fellow Californians' made sure to spend tons of time on already established material, starting with the ever so appropriate "Nice To Know You." From there, the undated past seamlessly intermingled with the provocative present as the fresh "Absolution Calling" fit snuggly beside "Are You In?," while 2011's "In The Company Of Wolves" earned extra attention as front man Brandon Boyd donned a cape and ominous mask to illustrate the song's psychedelically eerie atmosphere.

And yes ladies, the now 39-year-old singer otherwise strutted around the stage bare-chested as he belted out chart-dominating favorites "Wish You Were Here," "Pardon Me" and "Drive," the latter of which found fans singing louder than the band. Incubus also reworked other regulars, interspersing a line from Nirvana's "Come As You Are" within "Megalomaniac" and even a bit of The Beatles' "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" into "A Crow Left Of The Murder" to further give the all around ingenious pairing a grand send off.