Honda Civic Tour

Honda Civic Tour presents Mutemath, Incubus, and Linkin Park

With the summer outdoor festivals winding down, the Honda Tour made a stop in Chicago, IL. This tour has been going strong for over 10 years, with this year’s lineup proving to be one of the best presented.

Opening the show with a short 30 minute set were Grammy nominated Mutemath. Opening with, Sun Ray, off their 2011 album, ODD SOUL, they slowly worked into their frenzy, distortion-filled set. Singer, Paul Meany is very charismatic as he plays the keyboard and guitar. They continued with Blood Pressure and Prytania. Mutemath ended the set with the over the top, Reset off their first album. You will want to be sure to come out early as they came on in Chicago at 6:30 to check out this lively band but would have loved another 15 minutes added to the set. They will also be headlining their own tour in Mid-September. You can follow Mutemath at http://mutemath.com/tour

After 20 years, Incubus still finds a way to stay fresh and popular with the fans since their breakthrough album, Make Yourself. Co-headlining this tour with Linkin Park allows them to play a 19 song set that opened with Adolescents, off their last album In Not Now, When? This tour fits Incubus perfect with many of the fans enjoying both bands. Playing in front of a near sell-out crowd, they set the mood early with Nice to Know You, The Warmth and Megalomaniac. Singer, Brandon Boyd still can get the women screaming with his long flowing hair and good looks as well as a powerful voice that has not changed much. They kept the hits going with Drive, In the Company of Wolves, Pardon Me. They also played to cover songs, Hello and One of My Kind before ending the show with Aqueous Transmission, where guitar player, Mike Einziger plays a Pipa that drifted the crowd off to a relaxed state of mind.

While Incubus’ set was more a laid back, free-flowing jams that allowed people to dance and move freely, Linkin Park came on looking to prove a point and to give a an assault on the mind and ears. Linkin Park’s first album, Hybrid Theory will always be one of my favorite and one of the few albums I can listen to; first to last song and still sound fresh and new. Opening with, A Place for My Head was a perfect choice in getting the crowd to rock as one. Chester Bennington’s voice was amazing - going from clean vocals to his growls and screams that only he could reach, by far the best he has sounded in years. Given Up, New Divide, and With You showcased both Bennington and Mike Shinoda’s duel vocal skills. Shinoda played several instruments and displayed rap skills that would blow away most of these rappers we have nowadays. Playing hits, Somewhere I Belong, Empty Spaces, When They Come for Me had the crowd jumping up and down as they sang along. Earlier, Shinoda misspoke about playing a new song and had to catch himself that it would be played later. The new song was Lies Greed Misery off the new album, Living Things which showcased how Linkin Park is always stretching the Rock genre to produce fresh, new sounds.

Playing over 20 songs, the fans got their money’s worth with Points of Authority, Breaking the Habit, The Catalyst as well as another new song, Lost in the Echo, off the amazing new album. They ended the night with Bleed it Out that features Sabotage by the Beastie Boys before coming back into Bleed it Out. They came back out for an encore of Faint, Lying From You/Papercut and the amazing, One Step Closer. If summer outdoor concerts are to end like this, then I will look forward to every summer going forward.

Review and Photos by Peter Lizano