Claudio Sanchez – Coheed & Cambria – Orange Peel – Asheville, NC
Progressive rock stalwarts Coheed and Cambria, continuing to tour behind their eight studio release, 2015’s The Color Before the Sun, parked their intergalactic warship, I mean tour bus, outside the hallows of Asheville’s own Orange Peel earlier this month to play to 1,500 die-hards who were lined up around the block hours before show time to take in another performance by their beloved space rock heroes.
The night’s performance started off with a twist most fans probably weren’t expecting as instead of launching into one of their more well known sci-fi laced numbers, lead singer Claudio Sanchez initially took to the stage solo to play the first song off of The Color Before the Sun, the sublime acoustic track “Ghost”.
The band’s latest release actually received quite a bit of play as six of the record’s ten songs would find their way to the lighted stage on the evening. Although from a set list perspective this may have disappointed some in the audience, the vast majority of the fans seemed to eat up and celebrate every song that Coheed and Cambria delivered.
And that right there is the beauty of Coheed and Cambria, as the band is comprised of superlative musicians who excel in the anthemic world of live rock n roll performance perhaps as good or better than any other band in the game today. Material becomes less relevant at concerts when the band performs at such a high level and with the immense sense of passion and emotion Coheed and Cambria always bring to the table.
Other stand outs from the band’s performance in the mountains of western North Carolina included newer tracks such as “Here to Mars” and “Peace to the Mountain”, a by the numbers but crowd pleasing take on Nirvana’s “Drain You” and probably the two songs most fans and even casual listeners of Coheed and Cambria music are familiar with “A Favor House Atlantic” and of course show closer “Welcome Home”.
Although Coheed and Cambria’s show at the Orange Peel was lighter on the Amory Wars material the band has been known for since their inception, Claudio and company continue to prove that whether they are spinning tales of galactic violence from Heaven’s Fence or weaving inter personal stories of life, love and the pursuit of happiness they have heart, an undying appreciation for their fan base and they just simple flat out rock.
