Incubus at North Shore Events Centre

By REBECCA BARRY

With a decent history in the pop charts and album sales in the vicinity of seven million, you'd expect Incubus to at least look happy about being on tour. But the Californian metal-funk band spent most of their gig trying to convince the half-filled venue they were a serious rock band. Unfortunately there was more bark than bite.

It was always going to be a rhythmically unusual gig, as their side-facing drumkit and turntable-framed set-up suggested, and it did seem a high-intensity affair as they launched into material from their fifth album, the funky A Crow Left of the Murder and the hyperactive Megalomaniac, making good use of their former Roots bass player Ben Kinney. Unlike frontman Brandon Boyd, who went from head thrashing to delicately tucking his hair behind his ears, Kinney possessed an easy stage presence and a sense of humour. Occasionally, he broke out into laidback snippets of Guns N' Roses classics.

But the atmosphere petered out as their attempts to assault the eardrums grew too complex for the songs to withstand. At times there was so much else going on it was hard to know what to listen to as the melody got lost in a swamp of overwrought guitars and drums. Sometimes it was easier to tune out altogether as the songs folded into one another and the decibels stayed in the ear-ringing zone.

It didn't help that Boyd remained somewhat distant from the crowd throughout the performance. He didn't say much, other than a few rushed "thank you's", shutting his eyes and transporting himself - anywhere else it would seem. Although he did redeem himself on the band's bigger hits - Nice to Know You, Wish You Were Here and the stripped back, beautifully breathy Here in My Room.

That self-absorbed manner was matched by the band, who seemed to slip constantly into practice-room-jam-session mode, moving from exhilarating showiness to dull, grooveless jazz. Thank goodness then for Priceless, the instantly infectious, funkadelic metal number that provided some much needed mid-set relief.

It also revealed the individual talents of the band members, as guitarist Mike Einziger launched into a fantastic freaky solo and the rhythm section got stuck into one of their many long-winded jam sessions, Boyd strapping on a bongo drum, and other members wandering around the stage hitting anything they could shake their drum sticks at.

But while they impressed as individuals, Incubus didn't quite gel as a band.