Coheed and Cambria / onelinedrawing / Hopesfall

All right, let’s get one thing straight right off the bat. When I first heard about this tour and this lineup, I shit my pants. It was the first tour that I was able to go to where I really liked all four of the bands playing a lot, especially Coheed and Cambria, who have become one of my favorite bands since the release of Second Stage Turbine Blade (reviewed here) was released last March. I missed them the last two times they came around, so I was really looking forward to seeing them with three great supporting acts as well.

I arrived at the Birch Hill in Old Bridge, New Jersey at around 6:30 p.m. to find a pretty large crowd waiting for the doors to open, which were scheduled to open at 7. I found myself surrounded by emo kids in Starting Line shirts talking about how awesome Strong Bad is, but I dealt with it. The doors opened twenty minutes past the scheduled time, partially due to the fact that one of the doors to the box office was not opening, so only half the people that could normally enter the venue at a time could actually fit. This forced the security to let people with pre-bought tickets in first, making people who had to buy tickets there wait. Luckily, I got my ticket two weeks prior to the show.

At eight o’clock on the dot, Codeseven took the stage. I had heard a few songs by this band prior to the show, and I liked them, and I especially liked their cover of Don Henley’s “Boys Of Summer”. When they took the stage, they sounded different that what I had heard on CD. They sounded more relaxed, with a softer and more spaced-out feel to all of the songs they played, all which were from their latest CD, The Rescue. Needless to say, they didn’t play “Boys Of Summer”, which disappointed me, but I enjoyed their set. They weren’t received well with the crowd, however, with many boo’s and “you suck’s” after they left the stage. I thought their music was great, their stage presence was good, but their crowd appeal was lacking. I’d see them again if I had the chance, though.

After a twenty minute intermission, Hopesfall, a band who has recently gained a lot of popularity, came on. They played a seven song set, opening with the intro to their new CD, The Satellite Years, “Andromeda”, and immediately exploding into “Waitress”. Their stage presence was excellent, with their vocalist leaping into the crowd during every song, letting everyone sing along. Their set went as follows; “Andromeda”, “Waitress”, “April Left With Silence”, “Decoys Like Curves”, “Dana Walker”, “The Bending”, and “The End Of An Era”. Highlights of their set were the final two songs of the set, with the furious breakdowns of “The Bending” and the crowd favorite “The End Of An Era”. During the set’s closer, the microphone was tossed into the crowd during the ”I pray you find...” part of the song. They put on an energetic set, and I loved every moment of it. Oh, and as an added bonus, their bassist looks identical to Bilbo Baggins. How cool is that?

After a performance that looked tough to top, one-man band Onelinedrawing, led by guitarist/vocalist Jonah Matranga, of Far fame, took the stage, with his trusty robot, none other than R2-D2. To put it short and simple, see this man play his music. I seriously wanted to learn how to play guitar and pour out my emotions to everyone after seeing Jonah play. It was that inspiring. His music was simple, yet perfect, and his amazing voice was filled with so much passion, backed by some of the most amazing lyrics I’ve ever read or heard. His crowd interaction was top-notch as well, to the point where he told very entertaining stories about his music and songs before, after, and even during his songs. He also had some hilariously funny comments and stories to tell, some of which I’ll show you right now:

”I’m dedicating this next song to all the bands playing tonight, especially Coheed and Cambria. Let’s be honest, the first time you heard them, you were all like, “What the fuck?”

“So before the show I’m outside the venue, and this little 13 or 14 year old girl comes up to me, and asks me to play the song that does “Her hips are like seashells, and I can hear the ocean when I listen.” I told her I would play it, but I felt really bad, because...well...that song is about giving head. Think about it...hips...seashells...ocean...hey 14 year old girl, I’m sorry for hurting your 14 year old ears, but here’s your song!”

“I just want to thank you all for coming out tonight and supporting these fine bands.” [someone in the crowd yells “You suck!”] “Well, you know what, that’s cool too, because I don’t expect everyone to like me. But while you may not come here to listen to me, I assure you that nobody here comes here to fucking listen to you.” [crowd explodes in laughter and cheering]”

I purchased his new CD, Visitor for ten bucks after the show. If Jonah ever comes to your neck of the woods, see him, for an awe-inspiring experience.

By the time Coheed and Cambria was about to come on, the crowd got larger than ever, and everyone was pushing towards the front. When Claudio Sanchez stepped onstage, the crowd cheered like mad, probably just because he looks so damn cool. They began playing the intro to “Time Consumer”, but then they pulled something unexpected. They broke right into “Neverender”, which was awesome, and fooled a lot of people. They had so much energy it was unbelievable, and their bassist is truly amazing, especially live. Coheed ended up playing their ENTIRE CD, with a brand new song titled “The Upper Armories Of The Third Deep” thrown in there, which is an amazing song. They played for nearly an hour, which was new for them, for they were used to playing five song sets as a supporting act. Their setlist went as follows:

“Time Consumer Fake-Out”
“Neverender”
“Delirium Trigger”
“Hearshot Kid Disaster”
“33”
“Time Consumer”
“God Send Conspirator”
“The Upper Armories Of The Third Deep”
“Devil In Jersey City”
“Everything Evil”

ENCORE

“Junesong Provision”

I have some advice for all of you who read this review. See this tour. You won’t be disappointed, and the caliber of bands on the tour is astounding.