Coheed and Cambria, O2 Academy, Birmingham - review with pictures
You know it’s a Sunday evening at Birmingham's O2 Academy when you walk into the main room and sense a sombre atmosphere, either as a result of having a long week at work, or just having a few too many over the weekend.
Yet anyone feeling a little subdued would certainly have perked up upon witnessing Coheed and Cambria’s vibrant and colourful performance on their penultimate show of a six date UK tour.
Opening the night with a relatively mellow performance of The Dark Sentencer, the first single of their latest concept album, Vaxis Act I - The Unheavenly Creatures, the band started to gain momentum when it came to their more established and familiar numbers like Devil In Jersey City and A Favor House Atlantic, which saw frontman Claudio Sanchez and bassist Zach Cooper pace energetically on the Birmingham stage.
A large amount of their set comprised of tracks from their 2003 release, In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3, with the audience singing the chorus of the title track of the album passionately towards the colourfully lit stage, chanting the outro as if the end of days were upon us.
Sanchez spared us from the typical “how you all doing tonight?” banter that just about every frontman does, instead preferring to let interaction with the audience happen through the energy of their anthems, accompanied with thy ever-changing lighting display that set the tone for each song.
Midway through their set, Sanchez gave his domineering wavy hair a rest by tying it up into a bun as the band perform their slow number Wake Up, from their first major label release, Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV - Volume One: From Fear Through the eyes of Madness, before unleashing it again in time for the punchy and melodic track, Island.
Newer songs such as The Gutter, from their recent album, received just as great a reception from their fans as their older songs, with the audience singing along to them as if they were signature Coheed and Cambria songs. Perhaps in time, they will be.
A great set from Coheed and Cambria with a good mix of old fan favourites while showcasing just enough of the new album to leave them wondering what’s next for Vaxis Act II?
Review by Aatish Ramchurn
