Band: Coheed and Cambria
Date: May 4, 2010
Venue: Fox Theater
City: Pomona, CA
Coheed and Cambria
Photos by Nicolas Bates
Written by Lindsay Murphy
Coheed and Cambria commenced their colossal set with “The Broken” and slid into “Here We Are Juggernaut,” both off their latest album Year of the Black Rainbow(check out our review in the May issue of RUKUS).
Frontman Claudio Sanchez put on a passionate performance. With every chance to break away from the mic, he jumped across the stage in a spasmodic, kicking frenzy. Sanchez’s distinctive mass of curly hair shrouded his face for the first few songs, but he finally tamed it with a headband. His fingers flew across guitar strings on songs like “Guns of Summer,” and at times, he played behind his head and even with his face.
Travis Stever’s guitar emblazoned with Coheed’s “Keywork” emblem, depicting the fictional universe that inspires the narrative behind the band’s series of concept albums. Hidden in the back, the band’s touring keys player Wes Styles appeared somewhat indolent. Tiered above him on risers like an Olympic medal ceremony, Chris Pennie showed some incredible drumming on songs like “World of Lines.”
A huge screen plastered the wall behind the stage flashed revolving videos. Some songs featured obfuscated images of the band layered on top of scenes showing twitching witches, kissing kids, and curious squirrels. An animated skeleton swayed on the screen for several songs, perhaps alluding to “When Skeletons Live,” although they did not play the track.
Although a band of few words between songs, they did express appreciation for their legion of fans. Antithetical to Circa Survive’s earlier performance, Coheed cultivated a commanding stage presence without assuming rock star personas.
Fans participated throughout the set, using their hands to form birds and guns, and pumping their fists to punctuate important parts of songs. Vehemently singing along, at times their voices nearly drowned out Claudio’s.
Coheed played a solid spread of songs, spanning all five albums but focusing on their most recent. Crowd favorites included “Al the Killer,” “No World for Tomorrow,” and “In Keeping Secrets.” The epic ending to their extensive set climaxed in an encore featuring “Far,” “Welcome Home,” and “21:13.”
Between the two bands, their new songs all translated well live, and the audience emphatically clung onto every note. Circa Survive and Coheed and Cambria put on performances worth catching.