Coheed & Cambria @ UNSWRoundhouse, Sydney (25/03/06)

Sun 26th Mar, 2006 in Gig Reviews

Thanks to Coheed & Cambria’s Sydney show last night, it’s 4.37pm on Sunday, and I still can’t stop dancing… It’s the first time for New York’s Coheed & Cambria in Australia, and the show officially started off with their signature track off their latest album, Good Apollo I’m Burning Star IV, “Welcome Home”. This track not only showed us that they are flawless live performers, they exemplified their musical talents to reveal that they are more than just a band, but a group of esteemed musicians.

The mood quickly changed pace when they played “Ten Speed”, which was when the show really kicked in. The kids in the audience started to sing along, and being one of the more, upbeat songs on the album, it was the first song that everybody also started dancing to. Although Good Apollo is a killer album, it was non other than “A Favour House Atlantic” from In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: III that made the show a highlight for some. But when the show changed to a slower pace with “Wake Up”, it was the audience that stole the performance when they sang along to the chorus with vocalist, Claudio Sanchez.

The band looked like they were having a great time on stage. Drummer Josh Eppard makes it look easy and Mic Todd looked like he was having a good time playing and interacting with the audience every so often. But the ‘hero’ of the night was guitarist, Travis Stever. Despite being inflicted with a major tooth problem, that caused him to have emergency dental work in Melbourne, he still soldiered on to give us a great performance. The best song of the night went out to, “The Suffering”, which saw the most audience participation with the sing-along parts. And the song’s poppy sentiments was what put the audience into a high for the entire night.

The venue was sold-out, which was a great turn-out for a band who unfortunately received not nearly enough press in Australia, as they deserved prior to their tour. However with last night’s performance, hopefully Coheed & Cambria will prove to any sceptics that they are indeed the most lovable metal band around.