Coheed and Cambria - Live at the HMV Forum, London

This is really late, but it's not something I'm going to be forgetting any time soon.

On June 24th The World Tour hit the road once more with both Matt and myself. Staying in New York from the We Are Scientists special, this time we caught Coheed and Cambria.

I'd been looking forward to this for an absolute eternity, it was the first time I'd get to see Coheed at their own show - my previous experience only being Sonisphere last summer.
This was also exciting because the HMV Forum is a venue that I'd never been to before, and had been wanting to go there for some time. When I found out it was in Camden I was pretty horrified.

The venue was actually really nice though, which was great. After having a few pints at The World's End we headed over to the Forum with my Black Card and got in the queue. I'm gonna go ahead and say it now that I really dislike Coheed and Cambria fans. When this blog takes off and goes mainstream I may need to apologize for this, but for the time being let it be known that I dislike fans of Coheed and Cambria.
Anywho, thanks to my Black Card we got into the venue 15 minutes early and had a little look at the merch table where Matt bought a t-shirt. Then the band came onto the stage, and Claudio gave us a solo acoustic performance of 'Here We Are, Juggernaut' which was amazing.
Matt and I decided to go on a hunt for a cash machine, and the one in the venue was broken so we had to leave and once more brave the streets of Camden. This was brilliant, however, as we bumped into Chris Pennie and Travis Stever. I got my Year of the Black Rainbow...thing...signed and then we were on our way.
When we returned to the venue there was a short wait and then we were greeted by 'These Monsters' - the only support act of the night. They asked if we were fans of heavy metal, then began their set.
I actually really enjoyed them, there were hardly any vocals but the music was really good. From what I have read since and could tell at the time, though, I was the only person who liked them.
We then waited for what seemed like forever before the lights finally dimmed and the music for 'One' began playing.
Coheed and Cambria came on stage, opening with The Broken, followed straight by Here We Are Juggernaut. The next song 'No World For Tomorrow' was probably one of my highlights of the night and was strangely the only song they played from their last album.
Then they played two songs from their first album - 'Time Consumer' and 'Everything Evil' which got massive reactions from the crowd.
I've always got something to say about the crowd, and I was really mixed on this one. That's probably because the crowd seemed so mixed - there was a bit of every type of crowd member there:
There were a couple of the big shirtless men, causing trouble.
Angry people who only wanted to hurt other people
hxc kids
People who moan when they get touched by someone
Awesome people (only one)(me)
girls who hold hands and spin around in circles
backpack loser who runs into the middle and does that stupid windmill thing with his arms
a few familiar faces too - i always wonder if they recognise me
circle pit losers
Don't think I saw a Machine Fucking Head though, which is always good.

Anyway, Coheed played a near-perfect setlist, with a brilliant amount of songs from In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth:3 which is always good.

I had an incredibly good time, and even broke my personal sweat record. My favourite songs of the night were not the ones I was expecting at all - No World For Tomorrow, Made Out of Nothing and Welcome Home.

After it was over we went round the back and hung outside for a while, and Mic came out and I got my YOTBR thing signed again. We waited about an hour for Claudio but to my despair we had to leave for the train.
All in all though, I was expecting the best night ever, and it pretty much was.

Obviously ★★★★★

65daysofstatic - Live at Koko

Last night I saw 65daysofstatic for the third time. This time they appear to have stepped up their choice of venue significantly, playing to a reasonably sized Koko, in Camden.
The event wasn't sold out, and as we entered we were two of about 12 people in the building, which wasn't very good.

By the time the first support band 'Nedry' (Nerdy) took the stage there was a bit of a crowd gathered. Nedry had some interesting music, but like too many support bands failed to get a reaction from the crowd. They had a very unusual singer too, an asian female who didn't speak particularly brilliant english.

The second support act, 'Loops Haunt', was much more interesting, providing some good tunes and even a few cheers from a very still crowd. I watched these two acts from the comfort of a leather sofa with a very expensive drink, as is standard in Koko.

In the final wait for 65daysofstatic I blew the rest of my money on one (yep, one) last drink and made my way towards the stage.

Not too long later, the band hit the stage, opening with new track 'Go Complex'. From where we were stood the crowd seemed pretty still for this track and the next couple, so we made a move towards the front of the stage and bundled in with an increasing number of people dancing. By the time it got to 'Crash Tactics' I was absolutely loving it, and it went straight into 'Dance Dance Dance' which was amazing. By this point there was a big group of us dancing at the front. Things kept on going right through to 'Retreat! Retreat!', the highlight of the night, and then the crowd seemed to simmer down a little. This was OK though, as we'd worked up a bit of a sweat, and it was a nice opportunity to watch the band, who apparently never tire.

65daysofstatic are such brilliant performers, which is what makes their live shows so unmissable. Watching any member of the band is completely mesmerizing, and I'm certain they must all be using some kind of drugs. The drummer has the best endurance I've ever seen in a human being, while the rest of the band are just being absolutely mental throughout the set.

The show was great for me because I knew more songs off of the set than I ever have before, which made me feel a lot more comfortable throughout.
However, I couldn't help but feeling all night that the band are better suited to smaller venues, such as Heaven, where the whole thing is more intimate. Koko is really spread out, and every time I looked around me I could see that most of the crowd were standing still. Which just feels strange at an event like this. It must have been weird for the band to see aswell.
With that said, what was going on behind me did not detract from my personal overall experience of the night which was, as usual, incredible.

65daysofstatic remain one of the top live acts in the country, and I'm already excited for my next opportunity to see them again.
★★★★★

The World Tour

The World Tour is currently approaching day five, after a busy March. Reading Festival 2010 has been added to the schedule tonight.

Editors - Live at Brixton Academy

Pictured Above: Editors watch their career as a live band go up in flames.

This was night four of The World Tour, and once again I wasn't expecting alot. Indie bands are pretty boring live, and I expected as much from Editors. Before I get there though, I'd like to briefly mention the dire support band.

Fujiya & Miyagi, as they were called, have finally shown me that Biffy Clyro do not write the worst lyrics ever.

"Vanilla. Strawberry. Knickerbocker Glory. Vanilla. Strawberry. Knickerbocker Glory..."
"16 shades of black and blue. 8 shades of black. 8 shades of blue. 16 shades of black and blue..."

Hopefully that is enough for you to understand the one star rating they have recieved.

Editors came out to track one of the new album 'In This Light and On This Evening'. It was pretty good. They played through a setlist with a really decent balance of songs, probably about a third dedicated to each album (the way it should be).
After expecting them to be pretty poor I was actually surprised at how good they were. Their songs sounded great and Tom Smith was greatly entertaining.
The main problem I had with tonight was the crowd. Probably the most boring crowd I've ever seen. There were moments where some hands were in the air, and sometimes a few people jumped. But for the best part of the show everyone was stood still, waiting for them to play the singles that they bought tickets to see.

I think Editors are aware that indie bands have to suffer this, and they went really out of their way to make the show good. The light show was top notch, probably one of the best I've seen. They even had pyrotechnics (something I've never seen in Brixton) and confetti. But despite their best efforts they didn't really win the crowd over properly. Every non-single was met with a still and silent crowd, and it was a terrible shame.

I was going to give Editors three stars but considering it really isn't their fault and I think they played well I'm giving them four.
★★★★

Frank Turner - Live at the Camden Roundhouse

Frank Turner at the Roundhouse marked night 3 of the 'Dan and Chief World Tour 2010'.
The event began with Crazy Arm, who performed a few songs which failed to really do much for me. They weren't bad at all, but they did nothing but make it difficult for me to talk. Their music wasn't too bad at all, but they had a really awkward stage presence, which I could feel really strongly. It also reminded me that I don't like bass players.

Chuck Ragan was up next and had a little more to offer. Mostly in the violinist (?), who was the second coolest man ever (more on that later). Chuck Ragan had some pretty good songs and the crowd seemed to enjoy him, especially when Frank Turner joined him on stage for a song.

After a short wait, Frank Turner came on the stage. I was a little doubtful for the show, in all honesty. Even though I was amazed by his performance at Reading 2009, I didn't expect too much from him. He came out and went straight into 'Photosynthesis', one of my favourite tracks. The crowd absolutely loved it, and immediately all of my doubts for the show were gone.
Frank plays his songs brilliantly, and to me they sound identical to how they come on record. This is where my doubts were formed, as this is what I expected. However, Frank Turner offers a lot more than sound at his shows. It's a really atmospheric, and very visual experience. The crowd are great, everyone is having a brilliant time and you don't see any angry men running around. 'Jet Lag' is one of the songs on the 'Love, Ire and Song' album that I think is "alright". But live last night, it was my favourite track. It had so much feeling in it, and I think you can hear the words with so much more meaning than when listening on iTunes.
Frank stormed his way through a set consisting of twenty-something songs, with plenty to offer fans of old and new songs alike. It also helps that Frank Turner is the first coolest person ever.

It was a really great night, and I think everyone there must have had a brilliant time. I'd recommend his Brixton show in December to anyone. Although maybe not a blind person, as most of the enjoyment comes from the visual experience.
★★★★★