Okay, I went and saw Coheed & Cambria last night. Let's start with the openers, the first was Jaguar Love. I think I got the name right. The lead singer sucked. He kept singing (or trying to at any rate) higher than his vocal range allowed. The guitarist had a better voice and could play. Those were the only two people on stage. They seriously needed a drummer and keyboardist. They weren't listed on the tickets at all. The second opener was Brand New, another New York band that has been around for a while. They were worth paying to see. Hell, I would have happily paid just to see them. They had four guitarists and a drummer, all of them knew their craft and knew it well. I give them an 8/10. They've also got a new CD coming out on Tuesday, check it out.
Now, those were the openers. Coheed & Cambria came out in top form to provide us the Rock sustenance we craved. Now understand, that I've seen Coheed & Cambria every time they've been to western Washington for the last five or so years. I've seen just about everything they can provide a crowd while on stage. I missed the Neverender concerts because they were exclusive to New York and Los Angeles. The first time I saw them was at the Showbox. This was before they got the second location. If I remember correctly, it's called the Marketplace now. They put on an amazing performance that night and they had all sorts of props that corresponded with the comic books. Every show between that one and last nights performance had no props, banners or anything of the sort. It was great to see them using the giant banners again. It helps tie things in with the comics if you read them and if you don't, it make you ask "What's that all about... I think I'm going to have to read the comics." Which is great from a business standpoint and a fans standpoint.
I was also dissappointed with the last couple of times I saw them as the sound systems weren't well configured. The SoDo, for instance, has never had a good sound setup at any of the shows I've seen there. Coheed & Cambria have always performed well, so that's not my beef. I bring it up because the sound system at the Puyallup fair is phenominal. It was a pleasure to hear everything in such good quality. They played all my favorites, and a song I did not recognize. I was told it was a cover of Milky Way by Pink Floyd, but I've been unable to verify that yet. Everything under consideration, the concert was great. Coheed & Cambria get a 10/10 from me. They also announced that this was one of the last concerts before going back to the studio to work on the next albumn. We love hearing good news like that.
--Rob
*Update 9/18/09 : The cover song was Under the Milky Way by the Church.
