Let's get weird.

I saw Incubus live for the first time since my honeymoon in 2007 this weekend. They haven’t lost a beat. Brandon is still as handsome as he can be to a straight man and a voice to match. Jose is still a fantastic drummer, and Mike a guitarist. They had a fill-in bassist as Ben is recovering from brain surgery and she (Nicole Row, a session guitarist for the likes of Miley Cyrus, Dua Lipa, and Panic! At the Disco) absolutely killed as well.

They played old (and every person of the thousands of us sang every word), they played new, and surprisingly, they did a couple of covers. They snuck in a piece of The Doors' Riders on the Storm, and their rendition of the EPICALLY sing-a-long-able Come Together was a crowd favorite. It was an absolutely nostalgic, dope show from the time opener Coheed and Cambria (epic and timeless in their own right) took the stage until Incubus finished their encore.

As great as the show was, it got me thinking… got the ole’ wheels turning if you will. It was a surprise to hear Incubus, which set the tone for the post-grunge 90’s wave of anti-pop music (That is, aside from rap-rock and nu-metal. That’s a whole-other article), to play classic counter-culture rock of their musical forefathers. I mean, I’m not complaining, it was awesome! But who else is blurring the lines of generational, even genre-crossing musical offerings? After what I’m pretty sure was a contact high from the concert cleared, I remembered there’s some good ones going strong. For the sake of time and your short attention span (don’t lie to me or yourself), we're getting into my top 3 genre and time-bending musicians. Let’s get weird.

3. The Hu

Via thehuofficial.com: In 2019, an NPR story put a spotlight on “a band from Mongolia that blends the screaming guitars of heavy metal and traditional Mongolian guttural singing,” accurately highlighting the cultural importance and unique musical identity of THE HU. Founded in 2016 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, THE HU, Gala, Jaya, Temka, and Enkush, are a modern rock group rooted in the tradition of their homeland.

The Hu makes my top three not only for mixing metal with Asian cultures that typically aren’t as welcoming of Western recreations, but also for their amazing cover of Metallica’s Sad But True. Go watch the video. I don’t know whether to laugh or be very, VERY scared. They did it all in their native language! Well done, boys. Keep on Monglian-ing.

2. Electric Callboy

Seriously. What in the bowl cut frat boy is this?

Chad-core? Club Metal? Whatever’s going on, we can always scream, “DAT-DAHDADDAH! DAH-DAT-DAH-DADDAH-DAH!”, and feel a lot better.

1. Steve ’N’ Seagulls

These boys bring it. Their wiki page describes them as “a Finnish country band, playing bluegrass versions of well-known hard rock and metal songs.” I think that pretty well hits the mark, but you’ll never know what you’re missing until you actually see them. Find a tour online, find them on social media, but probably the easiest thing to do is look them up on YouTube. I guarantee you can sing almost every song you find a video of and being from the South I find a great deal of comfort in their bluegrass sound. They masterfully perform tons of U.S. rock classics. Pretty dope considering they’re from western Europe and don’t speak great English. Plus, one guy has a coyote-skin hat and another plays an anvil with a hammer. They are atop my list of genre and time benders because, well, duh.

What did I miss? Have you listened to these listed? Let me know what you think. Email me at shane@theoffbeattimes.com or comment/message us on Facebook or Insta. Thanks for reading, and again for keeping it weird.

-Shane