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.

Album Review: Afterman: The Descention "This Selfish War Machine"

(4/6 for the album, 5/6 for the album with the book.)

Last October, The first half of this album was realased (Afterman: The Ascension) marking the final chapter in The Amory Wars. The Deluxe Edition included a gorgeous coffee table book, which contained the story and commentary from creator Claudio Sanchez. I waited to finish reading the book until I heard this album. I went back and read the second half of the book along side the album. So, I apologize if this review is a little less streamlined than my other reviews. I also apologize if my hard edge goes soft. There is so much about Coheed and Cambria’s music that hits me somewhere very personal.

Onward, then. 

Musically, Afterman: The Descention does not hold up to Afterman: the Ascension.  Coheed and Cambria’s famous layering is overused in places. However, this piecemeal sound is a reflection of the jarring events unfolding in Sirius Amory’s story. I'm still not personally a fan of how some songs sound Namely, "Iron fist," was far more upbeat than its lyrics called for. I first heard this song several years ago as a stripped down, raw, acoustic track. It was heart rending. I never envisioned this song as up-tempo and discordant as it came out.

I should add this: The album is absolutly brilliant and the story is beyond anything I could ever create. When I criticize this album,it  is always as compared to their other albums. I would call it brilliant in any other band’s repertoire.

Even in it's all of its flaws, Descention still weaves in brilliant throwback to No World for Tomorrow and Second Stage Turbine Blade. Musically, it is deeply complex (wich is a double edged sword in this case) and richly layered.. In addition to the story elements, some of the discordance comes from Coheed and Cambria trying to redefine their sound.

Lyrically, Descention is pure art. Creator Claudio Sanchez may occasionally get caught up in cool sounds and musical effects, but lyrically he is consistently ingenious. Evocative both of the story itself and something raw and human the lyrics are simple and incredibly profound. I could rave on for ages about the brilliance in the analogy of the artist as mad scientist. The current of raw, yet surprisingly precise emotion in the lyrics are just outstanding.

Two tracks took me by complete surprise, not because they were particularly bad or good, but because they were so out of character for Coheed and Cambria. They are happy tracks-- one is an actual love song. In the armory wars stories, it is a very rare thing to see hopefulness, and “Away We Go” and “2 Is My Favorite 1” are saturated with hope and love, a rare thing in the Amory Wars saga.

On the whole Descention was a good, but clumsy album that I suspect is a set up for something bigger still.  

And then there was the book. 

Just like with Ascension, I sat down with the book and read along side the album, as it was meant to be. The art alone is poetic, when you combine it with the lyrics that go straight to your core and the little pieces of commentary Sanchez leaves at the bottom of the lyrics of each song. It is both brutal, and striking. I got about three quarters of the way through the book and Iron fist --the very song I had issues with-- started to play. I lost my ability to act as a detached critic, leaned my head in my hands, and cried. I will admit Sirius Amory's story hits far too close to home for my own liking, but even without the personal element it is an elegant and beautiful story. I was sobbing for the rest of the album despite the fact that both of the above mentioned hopeful and upbeat songs are in that last quarter. It is simultaneously polished and unspeakably raw. It felt like I was reading the notes on someone’s diary. 

Amory Wars is not the war story it started out as. It is a love story with a demented, warped shell. Well played, Mr. Sanchez, well played.

Afterman: The Book(Claudio Sanchez) Part 1

(6/6)
As I said, I'd been eagerly waiting for  Afterman:The Ascension since last march. And the album was brilliant as I expounded  in my previous entry.
Being a big fan of Coheed and Cambria and completely enamored with The Amory Wars  I splurged and got the Deluxe Edition of the album, which came with Afterman(The Book).

While those who ordered the Deluxe Edition got the music downloads right on the release date, the book itself took a little longer to ship due to quality control issues. And it was longer still before I could find time to curl up with the coffee table sized book. (I  was not about to throw that gorgeous book into a backpack and read it on the train.)

My gods that was worth the wait.

All of the things I extrapolated from the video log and my own wild-eyed imaginings were nothing compared to the sheer brilliance of the album along side the book.  Combine a brilliant album with a wonderful story steeped in metaphor and drenched in layer upon layer of music and meaning and you have something breathtakingly profound. Toss in a sprinkling  of the real life inspirations for the songs and you have a vulnerability that you don't see very often in the music world.
Music is so personal, and everyone takes something different from a piece, so it is easy for an artist to wave over the songs that strike a nerve. Author and front man Claudio Sanchez exposes the raw nerve without dwelling too deeply so that the story and experiences inform each other intricately.

I have never seen a piece like this before and I doubt I will again.

If you're a fan, find a copy of this book and throw on the album do it, it is beyond brilliant.

On top of all of the things I’ve mentioned, I would be doing the work a disservice if I neglected to mention the artwork. It is a perfect complement to the music, equally rich and complex. The use of color and contrast alone made my head reel. Every ounce of this piece is rich with subtleties, yet accessible to the new fans.

Coheed and Cambria --Afterman: The Ascension. "This is Our War"

5/6
I’ve been eagerly awaiting this album since its announcement, hell since the release of their B-side last march. I confess my love for the story and my unabashed adoration of the band my have colored some of my criticism

For those that follow the band, this is the first chapter of The Amory Wars  and a prequel to Year of the Black Rainbow (Which was a prequel to Second Stage Turbine Blade). I suspect author and frontman Claudio Sanchez wrote himself into a corner with No World for Tomorrow*. In an interview, Sanchez mention that when he was writing No World for Tomorrow, he wasn’t sure there would be a Coheed and Cambria anymore. Two albums and several tours later, I think it is safe to say they’re still around.

So, when you’ve ended a story, where do you go? There was nowhere to go but further back, to the very beginning.

The stories in Afterman: The Ascension are riddled with complexities that are absent from the plots themselves.  The two stories: That of Domino, a boxer who becomes corrupted by drugs and greed and the story of Sirius Amory, a man driven to the stars by hubris, who unknowingly finds the star system where the Amory Wars happens years latter. They are elegantly paralleled down to even the music itself. Each has a signature musical style. Domino’s story, the story of a man at the bottom of society is gritty, with noisy, distorted guitar work and loud, violent fret squeaks. Sirius Amory’s story on the other hand is filled with airy, spacious high notes and understated precision. The slick feel of corruption is palpable in both stories, and vile, yet unmistakably appealing. Like in other albums, each story has a signature progression that marks the change of characters.  Amory’s almost radar like ping, sits well along side the scraping screaming guitars of  Domino’s story.

Amory’s sound is quite a departure from Coheed and Cambria’s usual sound. As a fan, I was much more prepared for Domino’s sound—the rugged, growling is quite common place on their other work. When  the preview of he title track “The Afterman” was first released, I had to listen to it three times before I could make heads or tails of it. It was a completely different sound. I’d never quite heard anything like it before, from anyone, least of all Coheed and Cambria.

The composition of this album is simply perfect. The pieces of each story, and their contrasting sounds, balance perfectly only blending toward the end in a wonderful culmination.

I have raved about how expressive Sanchez’s voice is in previous reviews, I’m sure. He takes it a step further in Afterman: The Ascension It feels like he is two different people on this album, his acting is beyond brilliant. A maniacal, gremlin like sound hisses and cackles in Domino’s story where there is a wavering, haunted whisper in  Amory’s arc.  Sanchez’s talent for voice modulation further augments the juxtaposition of the two stories as well as their unmistakable parallels.

Brilliant album, though I was disappointed in how short it is, a mere nine tracks..  (A second half is due out in 2013). I am looking forward to their next show and February 2013’s release with great anticipation.

*The full title of the album is Good Apollo, I'm Burring Star IV: No World For Tommorow. However, it is most commonly referred to as simply “No World For Tomorrow.”

Riot Fest Day 2: Coheed and Cambria, and Rise Against.

Venue:

Humboldt Park (3/6):

I’ve been to a verity of outdoor venues and temporary venues. This venue was not very well organized-- the stages were nearly on top of each other. The map was disorganized as well. The stages were also too small for the popularity of the bands performing and the screens were not quite high up enough to be seen further back. It was also verbally inaccessible without a car especially given the fact that it was very close to a rougher area and the only way to get back to the El, let alone downtown, was an odd buss line. It was not somewhere I would stage a festival. That being said, the lineup was phenomenal bringing in artists in the punk and post punk vein with a verity of degrees of fame. I was only there part of the day, but what I did catch was a lot of fun.

  

Coheed and Cambria (5/6): Coheed and Cambria always puts on one of the best shows I’ve seen. With stunning, distinctive vocals, and a striking stage presence, front man Claudio Sanchez is a force all on his own. He also brings stunning guitar work and a maniacal grin to the set. 

The guitarist was also spectacular, keeping up and matching Sanchez’s artistry flawlessly. And the new drummer is exquisite-- I actually find his work better than their previous drummer-- presses yet quick to improvise a solo if necessary.

While this was a mere hour-long set, Coheed was immaculately on top of their game, coordinated and a joy to watch.

The end of the show was something to see, Sanchez leapt into the au dance and played amongst the fans in the front row, then literally vanished. The band kept playing; seeming a little confused at his disappearance but eventually left the stage. It was quite the trick.

In short, these guys are unparalleled musically.

Rise Against (4/6): While not comparable to their previous show at the UIC Pavilion, Rise Against puts on a sincere, energetic show that still remains in my top ten. From a content standpoint, they manage to balance their very strong political and personal belief with musicality and strong lyrics that do not bash the listener over the head. Vocalist Tim McIlrath is articulate, passionate and respects those that came before him musically. Simultaneously, full of conviction and humble McIlrath is a wonderful performer.

And that’s just the front man.

In true punk fashion their music is honed to a specific effect-- To inspire change. Whether it be a slow, thoughtful song or a riotous motivational song, Rise Against has both a brilliant amount of energy and a degree of cohesion not found often in modern punk.  It was a wonderful show. And there was no question how much the abundance was into it. These guys really know how to get the audience pumped. Even in a short, outdoor set it was a wild crowd. It left me feeling more alive than ever.

Wonderful show.

Road Trip Show: Coheed and Cambria with Moving Mountains and Pianos Become Teeth at The Canopy Club in Champaign, IL

Venue (3.5/6): The Canopy Club is my kind of venue. It’s small enough to be cozy but large enough to be a proper crowd. It is neither the nicest, nor the cleanest of venues, though it is far from disgusting. It has its own character and charm. The majority of the space is standing room, but it has a balcony for those who want to sit. The layout was comfortable with ample access to bars and merch.  The floor was also divided in such a way as to keep the pit crowd from running up against those who wanted to stand but not mosh.   This was my second time at The Canopy Club and both times I had a perfect line of sight to the stage. It was nice and intimate.

Where The Canopy Club loses points is the horrid sound system.  While it’s not the worst I’ve heard, it is very unforgiving especially on the vocals and produces a lot of noise.

Overall, it’s a fun venue with an intimate, comfortable feel.

The Show:

Opener, the First: Pianos Become Teeth (1/6)— Oh Gods. I think these guys  are the worst live act I’ve seen. The one point they earned is for the drummer who, despite his other band-mates' complete lack of talent, was actually decent.  I retract any statement I’ve made about screamo not needing talent to be decent.  This was noise.  The front man didn’t even have a strong scream and seemed to be either drunk or high out of his mind.  Being smashed isn’t a problem usually, however it impeded his already tenuous ability to preform. I spent the parts of the show wondering if he was going to simply stager and fall right over.  The screaming was just drunk screeching, not the guttural screams that make scream work.  And the back-up vocals were just as bad.  The guitar work was fair at best and the bass work was just wretched. Despite my usual desire to encourage younger bands I ended up actually falling asleep on my feet during this set.

I took a glance at their album work, as many younger bands don’t preform as well live as recorded.  It was better, however, it was still horrible.

Opener, the second: Moving Mountains (3/6)– In the wake of Pianos Become Teeth’s performance, all Moving Mountains had to do was show up and tune their instruments to be an improvement.  They had a very professional, yet still eager attitude toward performing.  All told they were solid. Front man[dude] has a good scream and still mange’s to make the melodies distinct. The one that surprised me was when their hither to subdued bassist let out an eagle-like scream.   They made a good effort to keep their sound solid and get the crowd moving.

All told decent.

Headliner: Coheed And Cambria. (5/6)– Coheed and Cambria is the band that set the bar in my book for top live show. From how articulate front man Claudio Sanchez is to the technically astonishing guitar work and brilliant stage presence, Coheed and Cambria brings a level of showmanship and talent not seen in many artists.  Sanchez has innate confidence but has a willingness to share the spotlight with his band mates and a young lady who I suspect is his wife. He also has a very strong relationship with the fans and knows exactly how to work with the crowd while not slacking off on performing.  In addition to his phenomenal vocal work Sanchez has a gift for guitar work.  The majority of artists I’ve seen who both play and do vocals stick to rhythm guitar as it is much simpler to do when sinning. Not so with Sanchez, he does a great deal of the lead guitar exquisitely.

Guitarist Travis Stever is a marvel in his own right.  He can do things with guitar work that I didn’t know were possible. He is amazingly talented and brings his own magic to the show. His backing vocals also complement Sanchez’s own tenor voice lending an ethereal quality to their overall sound.

Their energy and sound are always amazing to experience. A Coheed And Cambria show is unlike anything else I’ve seen.

Coheed and Cambria at House of Blues

Venue: House of Blues, Chicago (5/6): I’d been at The Aragon too much and forgotten that HOB had started me on concerts in Chicago back when I first moved here in ‘06. It was the first venue I went to by myself too. I have a deep affection for the place and after the Aragon I’d forgotten how nice it was to be able to see without going on tiptoe or jumping. It is a cozy little venue that I will always come back to and if you ask for a glass of water its free, h is rare.


The Crowd (5/6): The crowd was frenzy like I have rarely seen, even during the first half of the show, which was acoustic. I’ve been around Crowds don’t frenzy during acoustic numbers like this at any other show.

The Show Itself (6/6): The bar has risen for best concert I’ve ever been to. Period. This one blew all the others away. Initially, I was surprised there was no opener. Then the band came out with acoustic instruments, given that I knew the show was themed around their first album Second Stage Turbine Blade, I thought it might just be an acoustic show, which would have been a little disappointing but still breathtaking. They played for about forty five minutes and had a set break, then the electronics came out and they proceeded to rock out.

They were their own opener. Pure guts and brilliance.

I was very skeptical of Coheed and Cambria pulling off acoustic, I felt like something was going to be lost. I was thoroughly and utterly impressed with how precise and articulate Coheed and Cambria were with their instrumentation, especially, Claudio Sanchez’s guitar work. In most cases, if the front man plays the guitar they do rhythm guitar and have someone else handle the more complex lead. Not only did Sanchez manage to put on an amazing, clear voiced vocal performance, but also his guitar work was phenomenal and technically perfect. He was one of the few artists who I could clearly understand even during loud, rock numbers.

I’ve never seen a performance like it before.

And that was just Sanchez.

The rest of the band was incredible. Particularly, Travis Stever, the guitarist* had not only the talent to keep up with Sanchez’s guitar work but also match is insane range.

The acoustic set was haunting, reverent, and utterly beautiful.

By the set break I’d already figured out this was going to be unlike any other concert I’d ever seen. The second half was everything the first half was with an incredible burst of energy and power. Sanchez’s brilliant voice and off the hook dancing further augmented the explosive nature of the show. It had the energy, volume, and dynamic of a real rock show. No holds barred. This band is a force on stage like nothing else I’ve ever seen.

*Among other parts. It impressed me farther that every member of the band (except the drummer) plays no less than four instruments.

Q101 Jamboree: Story of the Year, Janus, Coheed and cambria, Puddle of Mud, Papa Roach, Seether, Three Days Grace

Sorry for the delay folks, Blogger decided it didn't feel like posting for a bit.

Venue(the First Midwest Bank Amphitheater, Tinley Park, IL):(2.5/5) I personally am not a big fan of large amphitheaters, but they’re a necessary evil sometimes when you need to house 28,000 fans. They aren’t as obnoxious as arenas and centrally help facilitate outdoor events, but they tend to be lesser sound quality and overcrowded even for someone who has tolerated arenas.
The sound system was well balanced for a larger venue, but the microphone quality was simply put sub par. I’d expect this from an arena show, where the venue is not meant for music, but if you’re designed for music the vocals should be clear not distorted. It’s unprofessional.
The festival line up was wonderful but the festival itself was a little below average. There was nothing entertaining outside of the music and the random strippers, who weren’t doing much. For a radio-sponsored festival I expected more than ridiculously over priced food. Luckily, my reason for going was the music.

Audience (3/5): typical festival audience not really active until the headline act showed up. However, for Three Days Grace and Papa Roach, they were on fire.

Now on to the reason the rain, really expensive food, (seriously I’ve paid for 2 people on what it cost me for one) and shoddy mics: the show.

It started off with a bang, and kept going. At festivals there is a distinct difference in the treatment/ set length and often quality of the day acts versus the night acts. I was anticipating sitting through shitty music for a few hours.

What a pleasant surprise.

(Due to the shorter sets and a very long day some of these reviews are shorter and hazier than my usual work.)

Story of the Year-- (3/5)(alternative rock) I admit I was still settling in during this set, so my focus wasn’t perfect. I spent as much time listening to front man’s vocals and watching his own energetic dancing as watching the guitarist run full tilt around the drum set, through the back stage and back out front again. It was hilarious, and wonderful.

The music itself was decent, not quite buy the album worthy but good enough for a day act.

Janus-- (4/5)(alternative rock) Exceptionally unexpected amount of energy and outright force on stage. Curiously, unlike many other bands the energy wasn’t exclusively from front man, the entire band was positively electric. I was blown away to the point that I don’t actually remember the visual elements that well. I do remember my hair standing on end and the guitar work being articulate and impressive.
(Lunch break doing the majority of Saliva’s set)

Coheed and Cambria-- (4/5)(other--see below) As a friend put it front man, Claudio Sanchez, is a tiny robot built to rock. Their music is a combination of progressive rock, metal and alt rock. Sanchez’ vocals are, frankly, insane. Strangely intoned, both in pitch and tenure, his voice draws the listener in and made me stop and take a solid listen, a hard thing to master when I’m as tired as I was. The guitar work was wonderful as well. Sanchez also never held still, he was a ball of energy and preformed outstandingly.

Puddle of Mud --(3/5) Being only a casual listener I spent the bulk of their set thinking, “Oh, that’s them?” Puddle of Mud was decent live, very hard to see at that juncture so it’s hard to comment on the performance itself. From an auditory standpoint they were a solid, often nostalgia-inducing band. Lots of energy from these guys, the audience was finally starting to warm up and get into it. They also knew how to balance the set between the songs that every one knew and the lesser-known songs.

(Dinner break during Hollywood Undead, from what I overheard I didn’t miss much)

Papa Roach--(3/5) I admit I lapsed into a food coma and sleep deprivation induced nap during half of their set so no full review. However, I had very low expectations of them based on the few songs I knew. What an improvement! Still the same things for the most part (Teenage angst filled rap-rock), however, they had very good energy and the crowd was really into their set, especially when they played their old stuff. I’d forgotten how much I secretly liked “Last Resort.” They also played “Dead Cell”, which was a nice hat tip to the older fans.

Seether --(2/5) I have two of their albums (Karma and Effect and Disclaimer II) and they are solid, though they sound the same much of the time and I keep confusing them with Hinder (a better band with a very similar sound). I’ve also seen them live before and they weren’t half bad then.
This set however, was different. Somehow they managed to suck the majority of the energy out of the audience. Half the audience was sitting. After the kind of show Papa roach put on, there shouldn’t be people sitting. The front man also has apparently lost his sense of aesthetic entirely.
And did I mention he actually messed up some of the lyrics? Only slightly mind you, but I noticed. I even sat down and watched the screen. Front man, Shaun Morgan just seemed tired for most of the set and the only songs that had energy were covers (although, I do encourage checking out their rendition of “careless whisper” its a wonderful angry version)

And then the amphitheater exploded.

Three Days Grace --(5/5): Three Days Grace hales from Ontario, Canada, so they aren’t often in the US and I’ve wanted to see fro some time now so there was major anticipation. However, after Seether I wasn’t holding out for a high-energy performance.

Some of the Radio crew came out to talk at us while they adjusted the pyrotechnics due to the wind.

Then they hit the stage.

From opening siren to final note, Three Days Grace was a force on stage. With the often-depressive tone of their music I’d expected some lulls when the inevitable slow numbers came up. The energy never stopped. (At some point before they came out I’d managed to climb onto a seat so I could see all of the stage. Not a task for the faint of heart, or poorly balanced, my shins still haven’t forgiven me) Front man Adam Gointer also never stopped, weather singing or talking to the crowd, Gointer putt of a charisma and energy that you don’t see often. It wasn’t that he was an arrogant front man, or that the rest of the band was sub-par (on the contrary the guitar work was wonderful) far from it. It was that Gointer was a force all on his own. The way he worked the audience was amazing and his encouragement of the audience made for an unreal amount of participation (when the kids in the seats in the second tear are slam dancing, you know you have something powerful indeed) At one point about half way through the show Gointer actually made his way all the way back to the lawn to perform in the crowd. How he came back with his hat intact I’ll never know.

The music itself was a powerhouse of rock and occasional moments of very deliberate stillness timed perfectly with a brilliant light and pyrotechnic. Show that brought the house down.

For a festival show, that was unreal. Seriously, these guys are artists both in performance and in musical talent.