Coheed and Cambria along with Alkaline Trio and Mothica brought a heatwave of great music on July 17th, 2022 in Irving, Texas at the Toyota Music Factory.
Taking the stage first to a simmering crowd was Mothica. I missed her performance earlier this year at the So What Music Festival. So I was pretty excited to see her this time around. She puts on a great show! I was highly impressed. Her presentation was one of enthusiasm, despite the intense late afternoon heat rendering it necessary for her to sing while seated a few songs deep into her set.
Next was to the stage was co-headliners Alkaline Trio, a general theme of punk/emo solidarity began to emerge in this rather odd trio of bands. Veterans of the stage going back to the 1990s. Led by the highly emotive and impassioned guitarist and frontman Matt Skiba, with banger anthems such as opener “I Wanna Be A Warhol,” along with older crowd favorites such as “The Poison,” “Back To Hell” and “Sadie”. Great showing in a sweltering hot Texas day.
Last and certainly not least, Coheed and Cambria took the stage. Like a massive starship, the stage took on a life of its own as smoke and multicolored lights danced among the native New Yorkers; and massive tentacle monster from another world that inflated around them as the show opened. Two LED screens would project images related to the stories in each song as well. Claudio and guitarist Travis Stever trade lead/rhythm guitar parts back and forth was the perfect example – with outburst of peaking energy when the three men standing on stage would headbang and pounce like caged animals trying to break free. Drummer, Josh Eppard, is very animated as well. It’s hard to keep your eye on just one member.
Every moment of Coheed and Cambria’s gargantuan set was a highlight, wrapped by the enthralling light-show mixing colors and atmosphere, which took the experience to spectacular heights. The decision to kick things off with the 10-minute epic slough “The Dark Sentencer” right on the heels of arriving to the recorded sounds of Iron Maiden’s “Aces High”. Likewise, older offerings that had not seen a live rendition in several years such as “The Running Free” and “Ghost” received a overwhelming response from those in attendance. The apex of the event would be achieved during the encore with the classic fan favorite and slow metallic march “Welcome Home”. When Claudio swapped his typical Gibson for his double-neck guitar. Needless to say, Coheed and Cambria didn’t hold back and gave everyone exactly what you would expect from their show.
