A car crash of pressure and sweat upon the skin, lungs taking in an undeniably anxious air, heart rate reaching soul-crushing speeds and you’ve got the weight of a thousand people’s expectations all resting upon you. Sound daunting? If you said yes, you’re beginning to understand “sci-fi rockers” Coheed and Cambria’s plight. Over the past three years, Coheed and Cambria has toured the United States and Europe relentlessly, recorded and released two successful albums and, in the process, become bigger than most bands could ever dream of being. As a result of all of this, the band is seen to be something like the “saviors” of its genre, and tonight, at the Gypsy Tea Room, it’s going to be held accountable for all of this.
As the first band of the night, mewithoutYou, started, it became obvious that the majority of the crowd was unsure of how to react to what it was experiencing. Built up around classic rock-punk influenced guitars, singer Aaron Weiss dismantled conventional concepts of melody with his spoken and screamed word approach to singing. Songs careened violently back and forth with raw cadence, between the melodic and bittersweet to the frenzied and forlorn, creating an unique atmosphere. While some audience members seemed further confused by the end of the band’s set, anyone willing to lend an “open-minded ear” was smitten and appreciative of the music’s truly distinct nature.
Following the impressive openers came pseudo progressive-rock quartet Dredge. As it took the stage with its instruments and pomposity in hand, it proceeded to carelessly drone on for 40 minutes. The music wasn’t all together dismissible, as the bassist had some interesting parts, but the rest of band took most of its cues from past Tool records and not from itself. Eventually, the venue seemed to agree with much of the crowd and shut off the sound, forcing Dredge offstage, and, thankfully, out of hearing range.
Next up came scene innovators The Blood Brothers, who gladly desecrated and destroyed any pretension left by Dredge. With its raucous and gritty sound ready, it ecstatically dove face-first into its set with the opener “Trash-flavored Trash.” Lead vocalists Johnny Whitney and Jordan Billie shared singing duties throughout the set, crashing through Whitney’s high-pitched squeal and Billie’s low, soulful crooning. Choosing to play mostly new material from its latest record, “Crimes,” the band’s ability to transform its jarring guitars and frenetic vocals into infectious melodies with such prowess caused the crowd to rejoice.
Finally, as the house lights turned an all-encompassing blood red, Coheed and Cambria took the stage, thanked all for coming and started into the nurturing tune “Always and Never.” From the minute they began, the crowd was within the hypnotic control of Coheed’s epic guitars and high-pitched, grand vocals. Lead singer and guitarist Claudio Sanchez guided the audience through 80s-era guitar ballads, complimented perfectly by his oddly sweet voice, and shattered any preconceived notions of the band in the process. The greater duration of its set consisted of impressive and ambitious musical theatrics to create, in a sense, a world and concept totally unique to it. While successful in all of this, the true highlight of the set came in its softer, more introspective songs like “Wake Up,” where Sanchez’s vocal knack for displaying exquisite vulnerability can best be heard.
The ability to not break beneath the weight of fame is a true gift, but the way Coheed and Cambria and most of these bands played tonight exhibits something often unnoticed and totally intangible: true talent. Striking out into new territory isn’t just brave, it’s necessary for the continuing evolution of music, and for that we are the one’s who should be thankful.
