I went with my brother and a friend to see Coheed and Cambria’s Neverender Tour with special opener Thank You, Scientist. This tour is in celebration of the tenth anniversary of In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3, and the band has played the album through from start to finish across the country. Having missed their full “Neverender” set (spanning the entirety of their first 4 albums) in New York years ago, this opportunity seemed too good to pass up. While we managed to get VIP tickets for the show, we missed out on the meet-and-greet “Platinum” tickets that were available for pre-sale. The “Gold” VIP tickets came with a VIP lanyard card, and allowed for a half hour early entrance and a special acoustic song by the band.
We arrived at the House of Blues Boston about an hour before we were due to be let in. Once they started shuffling us into the venue, we took a curious turn by walking through the venue, out a back door, and around to a side door which led into the actual stage area. We filled in with the platinum VIP holders, and were greeted with a wonderful acoustic cover of the Jimmy Eat World track ‘A Praise Chorus‘. Once the song ended, the doors officially opened and we had another hour or so before Thank You, Scientist would take the stage.
Thank You, Scientist is the first act to be signed to Claudio Sanchez’s Evil Ink label, branching out from comics and into the realm of up-and-coming musical talent. As a large act (7 people playing 20+ instruments), they can definitely fill a stage, and they do it well. With songs equally catchy and crushing, Thank You, Scientist present a very eclectic cross-section of what the prog genre can be. On top of your standard prog-metal musicians, they also have 2 brass players and a lead violinist, who all worked off each other satisfyingly well. Lead vocalist Salvatore Marrano’s strange stage antics and strong voice tied everything together for a wonderfully off-kilter performance.
As Coheed and Cambria were preparing to go on, a giant three-dimensional Keywork logo was revealed, illuminated by lights built into the logo itself. The house lights cut out to a single spotlight illuminating a ringing phone onstage, cuing the entry of the band during their opening track, ‘The Ring in Return‘. The crowds’ eagerness was palpable; as soon as the song started, bodies were already moving through the air. Whatever breathing room we had was gone, as everyone pushed to get as close to the stage as possible. Unfortunately, I was quickly forced to resign myself to a corner by the merch booth for most of the set. However, in spite my location, I had a great view of the band as they continued to move flawlessly from each song to the next.
The title track, ‘In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3‘, hit the crowd like a bomb. Opening up with a fan favorite that would normally close out their set, people wasted no time throwing themselves around and screaming their hearts out for the entirety of the eight minute track. The crowd’s intensity only increased from there, as the band went directly into ‘Cuts Marked in the March of Men‘, Claudio’s voice soaring through the thunderous riffs and time changes that made this album hold up perfectly ten years later.
The band played through the entire album flawlessly, with some highlights including ‘The Crowing‘ and ‘A Favor House Atlantic‘. I found myself completely engrossed by the atmosphere they were creating, and was caught completely off guard when they started playing ‘The Light and the Glass‘. A longtime favorite of mine that I thought I’d never hear live, the band played through it like it was a permanent fixture on their set list.
The first track to get encored was ’21:13′, the hidden track on In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 (Columbia). As another track that almost never gets played, I felt exceedingly fortunate to see both live in one set. Following ’21:13′, they played the track ‘Neverender’ (From Second Stage Turbine Blade), another fan favorite and the namesake of the tour. Coheed and Cambria took a moment off stage to switch instruments before their second encore set, starting with ‘Goodnight, Fair Lady‘ (The Afterman: Ascension), followed by ‘Number City‘ (From The Afterman: Descension). Claudio invited The horn section from Thank You, Scientist onstage to play along with them for ‘Number City’, for what ended up being the one of the most entertaining songs of the night.
For the final encore of the night, two tracks from Good Apollo I’m Burning Star IV, ‘Ten Speed (of God’s Blood and Burial)‘ and ‘Welcome Home‘ were played. The raw energy being put out by the band was impressive, considering how long they had been playing already. The Neverender Tour is a fabulous idea and an incredible experience. I sincerely hope they’ll be returning with other albums from their catalog.
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TAZIO YANDELL