Coheed and Cambria with Between the Buried and Me and Russian Circles(not reviewed) at The Congress Theater

Subtitle: “Don’t close the Coffin yet, I’m Alive”
The Congress Theater:(3/6)
The Congress is like that old pair of jeans with the holes in the knees and the thinning seams that you love because they are comfortable, but you know they aren’t in the best shape. Wonderful atmosphere, very defiantly a venue meant to be a concert venue, but the sound system is woefully bad and the place is in utter disrepair. (Though maybe they’re fixing this--they were renovating the balcony) The bars feel temporary, the bathrooms are almost frightening, and the traffic flow both inside and out is laughable. But it’s home.

The show:

Between the Buried and Me (3/6): While not untalented, Between the Buried And Me made one of the classic new band mistakes. They tried to before they had a good grip on the basics of their genera. This is the double-edged sword of the modern music industry, especially in young bands. Innovation and genre blending are avidly encouraged, and fighting for your sound is considered the pinnacle of strength. I’m all for those things, in fact, nothing impresses me more than a band that doesn’t sound like anything else I’ve ever heard. However, you have to master the basics of your primary genera (in this case metal) before you genera blend. And these guys were all over the place too, with pieces of blues, punk, and (I shit you not, dear readers) something that could only be described as a metal ho-down. It could have been amazing had they really trained at any one of the genres they were using so that they had a really solid platform to experiment from. They were technically decent, the guitar work was good, the vocalist knew what he was doing, but the band as a whole fell apart.

Coheed and Cambria (4/6):
Not Coheed and Cambria’s best show by far, but these guys were amazing. This time they added in yet another layer to their already intense performance: they introduced stage effects. Normally, the set for Coheed and Cambria is minimal, including maybe a lighting effect or two; largely it’s just the band performing, so this was a real change. They also used the voice of the All Mother (a character from their most recent album set) to transition between songs. The effects were carefully orchestrated in a way that did not interfere with one of the most badass bands I’ve ever heard. As a unit Coheed and Cambria has amazing, intricately laired, yet seamless instrumentation toped with a unique and otherworldly vocals makes for a very powerful show.

This show ran the gamut of emotion, from charged fearlessness to quiet sorrow by way of demented mania Coheed and Cambria has really solidified their sound and continues to innovate without losing sight of the fundamentals that make them a fantastic band. Looking out at the crowd was quite a sight. Not many bands can get the crowd pumped on a song that is over a decade old, then turn around and have them sing back verbatim a song that is less that six months old.

The Coheed and Cambria audience, in general, is a fervent lot. The band’s energy is contagious, and the energy the crowd gives back just amplifies everything. This show was no exception. It was wonderful.