Live: Coheed & Cambria @ Waterloo Park
photo : michael maly
From the midst of what was on the brink of becoming a disastrous evening for rock music at Waterloo Park, Claudio and Co., as though straight out of The Amory Wars, rose to the occasion, saved the day, and rekindled the broken spirits of let down Clutch fans throughout the park.
We arrived at the show early so as not to miss any of Clutch, a band I have long wanted to see but had yet to arrive at an opportunity to do so. From the get-go, the vibe in the venue made clear that Clutch wasn’t so much of an opening act to Coheed as they were the main attraction for a great deal of the park’s crowd. From the first licks of guitar I was hooked on the guys mix of hard rock and blues, a melodious mixture still tinged with elements of the band’s hardcore days. Unfortunately, it was only on the third song in when the set was brutally obstructed by the first failings of the sound board. Fallon’s vocals failed first, leaving the crowd with hope that it was a minor, fixable set back. However, this quickly turned into downright disappointment as many of the hardcore Clutch fans, realizing that hope was lost, filed out of Waterloo Park, or at least dispersed to other areas, seeking the comfort of alcoholic beverages and sugary, fat-filled snacks, leaving a much bleaker crowd than the night had started off with.
Fortunately, for my own emotional state, and I suppose I could take into account the other fans smart enough endure the drawn out wait as the flawed sound board was replaced with a less faulty version; Coheed took the stage beginning with Claudio belting out the appropriately timed opening lyrics of “No World For Tomorrow”, beckoning the crowd to “wait, there’s never been a mess like this.” Ah, never have there been such aptly placed lyrics. And the crowd had indeed (mostly) waited in hopes that this moment would, in fact, occur. As those camping out near the vending area filed back towards the stage, it became apparent that the rock show would commence as planned.
I have seen Coheed a handful of times in the past but am ashamed to say that I failed each time to give the guys, always playing as the opening band, the attention and respect that I rapidly realized Saturday night, was well deserved. The show from beginning to (almost) end was an all around delight. I hate to be too critical but I could have gone without what seemed like half-an-hour-long jam session which closed out the show. I know some fans love the opportunity to see their beloved bands rock out in their element, but I would rather walk away from the show with the last notes of one of my favorite songs ringing in my ears, rather than stifling a slight yawn after having been gazing off into space, trying to stay focused on what I know has to be a great jam I just can’t seem to get into. But I digress…
Coheed played all of the new favorites I was looking for, “Feathers”, “The Hound”, “Running Free”, “Mother Superior”, “Gravemakers and Gunslingers”, and probably others that I’m failing to recall, and from “No World For Tomorrow” through extreme-crowd pleaser, “In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth 3” the show was straight up rock. I’m biting my tongue, or should I say fingers, to leave out the obvious Claudio hair jokes, but from my experience the longer that mane gets, the better the guys play. Although Claudio consistently leaving out lyrics may be attributed to his inability to sing through that hair, it certainly didn’t take away from the show; if anything it gave the fans more of an opportunity to scream out the lyrics. And I must not leave out the cover of Iron Maiden’s “The Trooper”; it doesn’t take a musical genius to identify Coheed’s influences and this cover was obviously nothing less than a perfect fit. It was also a pleasure to see the two lovely back-up singers, armed and ready to provide the harmonies so distinct and enjoyable on many a Coheed song.
Mp3>>Iron Maiden “The Trooper”
Whether it was due to the fact that this night was almost an out-and-out failure or simply because Coheed played spot on, the show was phenomenal. Much appreciation goes out to whoever it was that saved the day. Good work.
-Kristin Owen
photo : michael maly
Clutch
photo : michael maly
