Coheed and Cambria – Gig Review 5th May @ The Metro, Sydney

Coheed and Cambria
The Metro, Sydney
May 5th, 2016
Supported by Closure in Moscow

 Judging by the tremendous line up outside of the Metro (believe me, it took me thirty minutes to get in) I can only assume that everyone was as excited as I was to get the night started. Walking up those steps into the mass of bodies before the stage and seeing a plethora of Coheed and Cambria shirts, tattoos and oddly enough, snapbacks, only made it all the more rousing. However, before we go into that, enter Closure in Moscow.

 The band walks on stage, front man Chris de Cinque wearing one of the most garish jackets I have ever seen, looks at the crowd, raises a hand and the songs instantly start. Personally, I really dig Closure in Moscow and by the end, of their set, it seemed everyone else did too. Song after song, their avant-garde sounds and the stylishly cool robot dance moves (not joking) got the crowd motivated, energetic and bopping their heads. From memory, the only words the band said outside of a song were “This song is slower and longer, so get your hips moving.” The crowd responded, and that’s all that really matters.

Minutes before Coheed and Cambria took to the stage, I looked behind me and realised just how the packed the floor really was as that murmuring, excitable mass of sound once again filled the room. Eventually, the room dimmed, the smoke machines did their thing and a silhouette graced the stage. The crowd cheered deafeningly before Claudio Sanchez started the set off with acoustic wonder ‘Ghost’ off their latest, The Colour Before the Sun. His voice, so smooth and melodious, awed the crowd before the lights dimmed once more.

Fan favourites ‘Blood Red Summer’ and ‘Devil in Jersey City’ were loved all round, everyone on the floor singing and jumping to their hearts content while newer songs ‘Island’ and ‘Eraser’ well received throughout; the crowd moving and responding to the bands charisma. It’s odd to say the band has charisma, as they spoke very little, but without a doubt, Coheed and Cambria breathe it, ooze it, all over the stage. All of this ramped up as the opening of ‘The Hard Sell’ began, bleeding into ‘No World for Tomorrow’, obvious treasures of the setlist which had everyone crooning and leaping on each other in an instant.

The band’s encore, what the night had been steadily building towards began after deafening shouts of “Coheed” and raucous unintelligible screams. ‘You Got Spirit, Kid’ and ‘Everything Evil’ moved some bodies but the moment that Claudio Sanchez strapped on that god like, double necked guitar, the crowd erupted in hysterics. The opening notes of ‘Welcome Home’ graced the crowd and they collectively exploded into the air. Bodies flying, arms flailing, voices breaking, the song drove the crowd into a frenetic milieu of bodies. Before you know it though, the song ends, the lights turn on and the band exits the stage. Everyone reverting back to their senses and gathering their sweaty, injured bodies to make their way home, happy and exhausted after seeing Coheed and Cambria  play an amazing show.

Setlist –

Ghost
In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3
Blood Red Summer
Island
Devil in Jersey City
Key Entity Extraction V: Sentry the Defiant
A Favour House Atlantic
Here to Mars
Eraser
The Hard Sell
No World For Tomorrow
The Crowing
Peace to the Mountain

Encore
You Got Spirit, Kid
Everything Evil
Welcome Home

By Dylonov Tomasivich