โMan your own jack hammer!โ the crowd screamed in time with Claudio Sanchez as Coheed and Cambria tore up Music Farmโs stage in Charleston last Monday with Pianos Become the Teeth and Moving Mountains. Charleston served as the second stop in their first tour since drummer Chris Pennie and original bassist of the group Mic Todd left the group in mid-2011.
Of the two openers, Pianos Become the Teeth seemed to be the dud. The audience wasnโt very receptive to the unintelligible screaming of the lead singer. I didnโt completely hate it, which I could attribute to my excitement to see Coheed but I digress. A few people standing around me kept saying, โEvery song sounds the same!โ a sentiment with which I have to agree with, unfortunately. The instrumentality was great, especially the drums, but I couldnโt help but feel that the band was being held back by the vocals.
Moving Mountains was amazing, but they still had to work to impress the audience. The crowd was full of overcritical drunkies on this, the night that Coheed came to Music Farm. Moving Mountains played so wellโtheyโre one of those bands that are way better live than on studio tracks. When I heard that they were opening on this tour I have to admit I was underwhelmed, but as soon as they finished playing their first song I threw my preconceived notions out of the window and just enjoyed their set. The emotions that are lost in recorded versions of their songs are so present when played live; itโs difficult not to connect to them as they perform.
Finally, the moment we were all waiting for: Coheed and Cambria strutting on stage and launching right into โTime Consumerโ from their first album Second Stage Turbine Blade. From there they kept warming the crowd up with โNo World For Tomorrow,โ one of their many anthem-y songs that make you want to break down doors and punch everyone. The crowd complied all too eagerly when Claudio screamed, โRaise your hands high, young brother and sisters!โ at which point the pit finally opened up and we all began to fear for the well being of our faces. A highlight of the show was the band playing โDeranged,โ the song they wrote for the Batman: Arkham City soundtrack. โDerangedโ is a perfect example of the lyrical genius that is Claudio Sanchez. He completely understood that to make a song for that game work, he had to delve into the psyche of the antagonist, the infamous Joker. If you havenโt heard the song, go listen to it right now while keeping in mind the notorious character that inspired it.
Some other performances of note were the well-known song โFeathersโ from Good Apollo Iโm Burning Star IV Vol. 2: No World For Tomorrow and โDevil In Jersey Cityโ from SSTB.As soon as we heard the high-pitched giggle followed by the name of the groupโs past identity โShabรยผtie,โ we all went insane. Another mind-blowing experience on par with โDerangedโ was Coheedโs rendition of Gotyeโs โSomebody That I Used To Know.โ They reinvented in such a way that it could have easily been a track off of one of their own albums. They never cease to amaze me. We also got a nice dose of returning drummer Josh Eppardโs harmonies on โMother Superior.โ To end their set Coheed played what is arguably their most intense and soul-shaking song, โIn Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3โ from the album of the same name. Let me tell you, there is absolutely no feeling on par with hearing that song live. Itโs indescribable. They then left the stage, the audience knowing all too well that they were going to come back for an encoreโthat double neck guitar wasnโt on stage just for kicks. After a rousing chorus of โCoheed! Coheed! Coheed!โ alternating with โThree more songs! Three more songs! Three more songs!โ they finally complied, giving us the first full band showing of โSentry The Defiant,โ a song that Claudio released an early acoustic version of on Coheedโs YouTube channel in February. They then played โA Favor House Atlantic,โ a fan favorite with the trademark Coheed line โBye, bye, beautiful! Donโt bother to write!โ They closed out the show with what is undoubtedly their most well known song, the one that got many people interested in their music in the first place, โWelcome Home.โ Claudio donned his glorious white double-necked Gibson and went to town. At one point during the song he left the stage, climbed up to the green room and leaned out of the window that overlooks the venue. Suffice to say, he got a bit carried away and we loved every second of it.
I was a bit nervous for the band, seeing as half of the members were replaced in the past year, but my nerves were for naught as the new line up proved to be beyond amazing. Josh Eppard was welcomed back with open arms after years of recovering from a drug addiction that caused him to leave the band. Mic Todd, the original bassist for the group, left the band after being charged with armed robbery of prescription narcotics in Boston last year. As Claudio has stated previously, he has been surrounded by chemical dependency for the majority of his life and felt that it was best to move on and let Mic deal with his issues rather than allow them to be exacerbated if he stayed in the band. Filling the role of bassist is new addition Zach Cooper, who more than proved himself on Music Farmโs stage. And never one to disappoint, Travis Stever with his awesome new haircut was the final piece to the amazing puzzle that is Coheed. His harmonies, energy, and banter with Claudio gave us some familiarity that we held onto while getting used to the changes that had been made within the band.
The show was incredible. It was so great seeing the band bounce back from the losses that it suffered in the past year. Iโve never seen Claudio more engaged with the audience and more pumped about performing. I, for one, have never been so excited to be jammed next to strangers drenched in not only their own sweat, but everyone elseโs as well. The greatest thing about a Coheed show is the camaraderie thatโs impossible not to feel during the show. Being right in front of the stage, listening to the music with your hands in the air, itโs impossible not to feel a connection to not only the band but the people around you as well. After all, we are all โchildren of the fence.โ And meeting them for the second time after the show, that was just the cherry on top of a fantastic night.