For this concert review, Sammy Gonzalez, bassist of Miami's Jacobs Ladder, weighs in on a show this past Sunday by some of his favorite bands. Local musicians, if you'd like to contribute a review of a show by some of your favorites or influences, e-mail me.
Torche, Circa Survive, and Coheed & Cambria
Revolution, Fort Lauderdale
Sunday, April 25, 2010
The Review:
Coheed and Cambria just released its latest album at the same time as Circa Survive, so the two bands joined forces for a tour with Miami's own Torche. The combination is diverse, making for a show that people actually want to attend. This was the first time in a while I was excited to go to a show and watch every band, and clearly I wasn't the only one -- Sunday's show marked the tour's fourth sold-out date in a row. The crowd was filled with young girls and boys, hipsters, adults, and even old fogeys.
Torche opened up the night, starting at 7:30 p.m. sharp, which sucked because I (and probably many other fans) missed half their songs while waiting in line to get in. After seeing these guys at Churchill's so many times it was sick to watch them tear it up in front of a sold-out crowd at Revolution. The band was so loud, it was as if car bombs were going off and I was in the middle of the war in Iraq. The set was filled with screeching, booms, sluggish jamming, beautiful guitar sounds, and piercing drums. The vocals were so low, it sounded like hypnotic chanting. Even Anthony Green of Circa Survive was headbanging during the band's set. It's great to see Miami's finest moving on the up and up.
Circa Survive came on next, and even though I love this band, it took me a few songs to get into them -- they just didn't seem as loud after Torche. I wonder if this is going to be a problem on the tour? Like always, though, Anthony Green killed it; he's definitely a master at his craft. The man has amazing stage presence, and can wail on those extremely high and raspy vocals.
There were points in the set, though, when the crowd overpowered the whole band. It sends shivers up your spine when a crowd of 1000-plus people are singing the words to almost every song. The band also clearly appreciates that. Mid-set the bass player noticed a girl was about to pass out in the front row. I give the guys kudos for taking the time to stop, talk to the girl, poke some fun, and give her water. "Can we start playing yet? I don't want you fucking passing out in the middle of our next song?" he asked, jokingly, when she was okay. It made me chuckle a little.
Everyone was anticipating Coheed and Cambria's set. I was surprised at the endurance of all the people in there, because man, was it hot and smoky. To everyone's satisfaction, the band's set was filled with songs from every record -- impressive, because they definitely have a shitload of songs to pick from at this point.
The songs from the first two records still stand out. After playing a few new songs the guys went into "Neverender," off that first disc, and the whole crowd joined in. This continued throughout the rest of the set; I swear every person knew the words to almost every single songs. I've been to a lot of shows, but it's rare to have the crowd so involved when the band's not just playing singles.
-- Sammy Gonzalez
