The first time I saw, what I could only describe as an “audience participation” show, I was a bit thrown off. Why the hell was everyone singing? The more I stood there, the more it made sense. Emo and screamo are sub-genres of punk music that had both had their beginnings in the mid-90s. Countless numbers of bands tried to ride the rails of these emerging genres. Coheed and Cambria, a New York prog influenced band has managed to keep in line with those mentalities ever since 1995. They have managed to put out eight studio albums and last year’s The Color Before the Sun was the main focal point of their set at the Civic Theater.
The openers for the night were Polyphia and Saves the Day. Both acts pulled off spotless sets and served as perfect companions to the night’s main act. Coheed and Cambria played the Civic almost three years ago and seemed to pick up right where they left off.
I’ve always wondered how and where that voice came from, referring to Claudio Sanchez, the band's lead singer and guitarist. While not as self-pronounced live, the tones were still there. Those tones are in fact the heart and soul of the band’s music and bring me full circle to the core of the question of why is everyone singing along. The simple answer is the connection. The band and audience seemed like one cohesive machine. Pulling all those aspects together was made even easier with a grand light show that complimented every song played.
