By Jessica Klausing
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| Claudio Sanchez photo by Jessica Klausing |
Who doesn’t love them
some Sci fy/Fantasy inspired music?
Coheed and Cambria played to an ecstatic crowd at the Hollywood Palladium on Tuesday. Fans waited in line for over five hours just to ensure a good spot in front of the progressive rockers. The night kicked off with three opening bands: Silver Snakes, I The Mighty, and Glassjaw.
Coheed and Cambria played to an ecstatic crowd at the Hollywood Palladium on Tuesday. Fans waited in line for over five hours just to ensure a good spot in front of the progressive rockers. The night kicked off with three opening bands: Silver Snakes, I The Mighty, and Glassjaw.
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| Silver Snakes photo by Jessica Klausing |
Silver Snakes took the
stage first. These guys reminded me of an early Deftones garage band. It felt like a
time warp back to my middle school years in the early 2000s. The aggressive
rhythm section fused with the gut bellowing choruses gave off an immaturity
vibe. Alex Estrada can fill a room with his half growl, half scream vocals
though! The sound was pretty decent if screamo is your thing.
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| I The Mighty photo by Jessica Klausing |
I The Mighty was the
next act to follow. The venue was already starting to get packed at this time.
These guys were my favorite openers of the night. This quartet hyped up the crowd
with their ambitious energy. Lead singer Brent Walsch encouraged plenty of
pushing and shoving. Much to security displeasure, he invited fans to try to
jump over the barrier to get onstage. Of course, nobody tried this in fear of
getting kicked out. Walsch admitted to being a huge Coheed fan by showing off
his band inspired key tattoo.
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| Glassjaw photo by Jessica Klausing |
By the time Glassjaw
came out, fans were already going berserk. You would have thought that these
guys were the main headliners. The band showed off their esteemed brand of
hardcore metal and experimental rock. Many of the fans were proudly singing
along to “Tip Your Bartender” and their latest “New White Extremity.” Lead
singer Daryl Palumbo was bouncing around like a jackrabbit throughout the
entire set.
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| Claudio Sanchez performs "Ghost" photo by Jessica Klausing |
At
09:30PM, Claudio Sanchez and his unruly mane took the stage with lead guitarist
Travis Stever. The duo opened with the acoustic “Ghost,” as blinding
fluorescent lights shone down upon Sanchez. Fans cheered and eagerly pushed
forward in an attempt to get closer to the stage. The seasoned rockers kept on
with the graceful pace of the song. Those calming vocals and delicate guitar
strumming were only just building up the anticipation ready to burst in the
venue.
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| Josh Eppard photo by Jessica Klausing |
As soon as drummer Josh
Eppard and bassist Zach Cooper took stage-- all hell broke loose! The band
launched right into “In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3” to bring the pace
back up. Jumping, pushing, thrashing, dancing, crowd surfing are just a taste
of many antics to expect at Coheed shows.
One notable highlight
was the excessive crowd surfing action during “No World Tomorrow.” Fans were
flying towards the stage as if it were the end of times. This writer even
received a minor injury from a soaring super fan.
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| Travis Stever photo by Jessica Klausing |
The band toured in
favor of their newest album, The Color
Before the Sun. Half of the set list consisted of the brand new songs.
“Blood Red Summer,”
“Island,” and “Everything Evil” followed the band’s traditional progressive
rock flow. Sanchez has a one-of-a kind falsetto that just commands the attention
in the room. His band mates are rock solid technical musicians. I can easily
see why devoted fans would want to wait in line for hours.
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| Coheed and Cambria perform at the Hollywood Palladium photo by Jessica Klausing |
Coheed really stands out because of
their unique ability to create something different. It is not too often you
hear space agey synthesizers in today’s music. Sanchez captivated our
imaginations with his powerful storytelling based off of his science fiction
comics, The Armory War.
“The Favor House
Atlantic” and “Here to Mars” were examples of this artistic imagery. Coheed
really gets the point across with a mesmerizing LED light show. The lights were
constantly changing colors and spinning out in different directions. It was a
trippy experience!
“Peace to the Mountain”
slowed things down with its calm, reflective message. “I learned to keep
quiet/How to keep my distance/Afraid to let strangers in/How to keep my
secrets.”
The band closed out the
night with their biggest hit, “Welcome Home.” Sanchez shredded shamelessly on
his double neck guitar while fans wailed out the “woahs.” This powerhouse metal
ballad was the perfect note to send fans off.
SETLIST:
1. Ghost
2. In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3
3. Blood Red Summer
4. Island
5. Everything Evil
6. Key Entity Extraction V: Sentry the Defiant
7. A Favor House Atlantic
8. Here to Mars
9. The Hard Sell
10. No World Tomorrow
11. Atlas
12. The Audience
13. Peace to the Mountain
ENCORE:
14. You Got Spirit, Kid
15. Eraser
16. Welcome Home
