Coheed & Cambria @ TheRoundhouse, Sydney (31/3/08)

Fri 4th Apr, 2008 in Gig Reviews

Coheed and Cambria are a band that I have only recently gotten into. As far as their live show is concerned, then, I had no idea what to expect. As soon as the show kicked off I realised I was in for a treat. The packed Roundhouse auditorium launched into a sea of flailing limbs from the moment the first note was played. The crowd didn’t let up all night and neither did the band.

The progressive rock/emo-core four-piece were joined by a touring keyboardist and two swinging, clapping and dancing back-up singers. It resulted in a fairly cramped stage, considering frontman Claudio Sanchez’s mammoth hair-do (easily the coolest hair in rock today) is probably visible from the moon.

A combination of hard hitting, heavy guitar-based tracks, more gradual and layered material and slower, atmospheric sci-fi intermissions made up the bulk of the set. Well-timed smatterings of hits from their back catalogue such as Welcome Home and Crossing The Frame ensured that energy levels were kept running high throughout. Other highlights included the super-catchy The Suffering, which instigated the eruption of quite a respectful moshpit and had all the punters singing along at the top of their voices.

As the main set wound up, Claudio changed up the pace of the night by leading a round of solos from each of the band members. Special note should go to drummer Joshua Eppard for his brilliant and extensive (although a little self-indulgent) solo which in true Coheed and Cambria style, built up slowly into a full-blown aural assault. Proceedings were wrapped up with the band returning to the stage to play the final few bars of music to coincide with the final stages of Eppard’s drum solo. The band disappeared backstage as the roaring crowd showed their appreciation for one of the best touring rock shows of late.