The concept of the Las Vegas entertainment residency continues to evolve. Global superstar headliners like Celine Dion, Britney Spears and Ricky Martin aren’t the only acts making the Vegas stage their headquarters; The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel has joined the party with limited engagements featuring rock bands like Def Leppard, Journey and Guns ’N Roses.
But Incubus, which rose to rock stardom in 1999 behind hit album Make Yourself, has never done anything like a residency before. So it might surprise you to see the sometimes funky, sometimes serene, sometimes hard-rocking group lined up for a five-night run at The Joint.
“Honestly, it was something that was a little bit intimidating,” says frontman Brandon Boyd. “It’s a big bite to take, but that challenge intrigued us. It’s an opportunity to stretch out a bit more than we have before. The most we’ve ever done in Vegas is two nights, and we may have done three nights someplace else. But we’ve never done five anywhere. Maybe we’ll see who else has residencies at that time and see who wants to come sing with us.”
Incubus won’t need guest performers to fill up its Hard Rock sets. Boyd, guitarist Mike Einziger, drummer Jose Pasillas, DJ Chris Kilmore and bassist Ben Kenney released their eighth studio album, 8, in April, a well-received collection of mostly straight-ahead rock tunes including lead single “Nimble Bastard” and the equally catchy “No Fun.”
The six-year gap between 8 and previous album If Not Now, When? was the longest time between recordings in the group’s 26-year career. Something must have clicked when Incubus finally reunited to put the record together, because Boyd says the current plan is to do away with the downtime and get back in the studio as soon as possible. “It’s almost like we rediscovered how much fun it is to be in a band and make music, so I think you’re going to be seeing a more prolific Incubus again,” he says. “When we were kids in our 20s, there was no downtime, it was about eight weeks to write, eight weeks to record, then right back on tour, then do it all again. We’re not trying to hit the road at that pace anymore, but there’s going to be more music and more singles.”
Incubus is known for tweaking its best-known hits—like ballad “Drive” or 2004 anthem “Megalomaniac”—into varied versions during its live shows. But Boyd says they’re looking to go a little deeper for Las Vegas. “We’re always interested in not repeating ourselves, even when we’re doing a normal tour like the one we just came off. We want to change it up every time, so there will be five very different sets in Las Vegas. We don’t like to put together a show like machine work, we like for it to be something that leaves room for chaos and mistakes. That’s when the fun of performing live music comes in, the places you don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Hard Rock Hotel, 9 p.m. Oct. 7-8, 11 & 13-14, starting at $49.50 plus tax and fee. 888.929.7849
