Coheed and Cambria - Charter One Pavilion, Chicago 8/19/09

Have you ever gone to a party, gotten there late, and then had such a good time that you wished you had gotten there earlier? Well, that is how I felt when I saw Coheed and Cambria opening up the show for the Heaven and Hell North American tour. Being the support for such an iconic band has got to be a daunting task but these guys just went for it and acquired not only respect but quite a few new fans, myself being one of them.

I am a newbie to Coheed and Cambria but I was able to figure out some of the songs they played. They opened with No World for Tomorrow, Ten Speed, and Al the Killer. They even managed to throw in a very good version of The Trooper by Iron Maiden. I have heard many times from friends that I should love these guys because the singer sounds like Geddy Lee and they are a great prog band. I should have listened earlier as they were partially right. They are a great prog band but I did not get the Geddy Lee vocals until the end when they played Welcome Home. At that point, I kind of heard the similarities in the vocals. For the whole 50 minute set, I was entertained and sat there wondering why Coheed and Cambria was not on my radar until recently. It has been a long, long time since an opening act impressed me so much and these guys have taught me to get to the show early. I was not expecting to walk away a fan but that is exactly what happened. For those of you going to the Heaven and Hell shows, be sure to get there early and catch Coheed and Cambria. You will no doubt walk away as impressed as I was. Now, off to the record store (probably on-line) to buy some of their CDs.

Greg Olma