| Coheed and Cambria |
| with Eleventh He Reaches London |
| 22/3/2006, The Hi Fi Bar, Melbourne. |
|
In my old age I'm getting a bit lazy on the old concert reviews, so no lead up, no mood setting or ambience here, just straight into it. The support band was "Eleventh He Reaches London" who were just pretty ordinary. They *could* be good in time I feel, but were just a bit so-so really.
Coheed and Cambria came on to their signature melody in it's latest form ("Keeping the Blade"). The stage went black and projectors cast an electrical storm onto white sheets draped over their amps - a very simple and clever effect. During the course of the night the projectors were used very effectively, projecting animation in the CO&CA themes, and at times turned around to cast and move the band logos around the walls of the Hi Fi Bar. Ultra cool stuff. I'd never realised how well written the Coheed songs are for the live format. I had some hesitations over hearing them "stripped down" without all the layers, but they worked extremely well, and the crowd provided a lot of the vocal assistance. ...And they didn't really do without the layers either - they used sampling and a keyboard player to good use. The setlist of the night (close enough to the order played): * Keeping the Blade * Welcome Home * Ten Speed (Of God's Blood and Burial) * Cuts Marked in the March of Men * Apollo I: The Writing Writer * Ring in Return * A Favour House Atlantic * Blood Red Summer * Once Upon Your Dead Body * Wake Up * Everything Evil * Devil in Jersey City * The Suffering * In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth * The Willing Well IV: Final Cut (the LONG version) They did a really bizarre thing as well half way through the set. The band left the stage without a word and the sound techs came back onstage and re-did their checks. It was kinda like the break you'd expect with an encore, but in the MIDDLE of the concert, and when they came back out, it was like them starting the concert again. The band played with incredible technical finesse. It far outstripped my expectations - these guys are really technically proficient. The bass player played really fluidly - and really high (the sign of a musician's musician :D) And the guitarists were spot on - I mean solo's that were just as good as the studio version, and an array of effects, including a talk box (one of my favourite guitar accessories). In fact the final song (The Final Cut) was an extended jam, probably 20 minutes or so, of impressive improviseations. Reminiscent of The Mars Volta (when they get their shit together) or Pink Floyd. An excellent way to end the night. In summary, an awesome night - something that I had HUGE expectations for, and that I could've been severely disappointed in. But the band delivered on all promises - a daunting performance. If I had've been in Melbourne on the Thursday night, I would've gone again. I hope they become frequent visitors :) |