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Coheed and Cambria leaves its concert conventions behind

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From the opening number, Coheed brought a progressive approach to its Brooklyn Bowl show.
Erik Kabik

Four stars

Coheed and Cambria March 25, Brooklyn Bowl.

Coheed and Cambria expressed a desire to eradicate limitations in announcing last year’s The Color Before the Sun, the band’s first album outside the Amory Wars concept it spent nearly two decades crafting. And the New York prog-rockers’ Friday tour stop at Brooklyn Bowl demonstrated a similar approach to the live show.

The group broke unwritten rules right away, as frontman Claudio Sanchez and guitarist Travis Stever opened the set with acoustic ballad “Ghost.” Any sense of the choice being a misfire dissolved when bassist Zach Cooper and drummer Josh Eppard emerged and immediately launched into “In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3.” Juxtaposed with the calming start, the eight-minute sonic journey took on new power. Fans dressed as Amory Wars characters in the front were bombarded by others climbing onto their shoulders to sing along, and they all appeared to treasure every second. The energy stayed electric as Coheed touched on all the high points from its discography, from “Everything Evil” off debut The Second Stage Turbine Blade to “Here to Mars” from The Color, before closing with metal epic “Welcome Home.”

Direct supporters Glassjaw—another group birthed during the early-2000s post-hardcore scene—are also experiencing a revival, judging from Friday’s set. In lieu of straight rehashes of cuts off 2002’s highly regarded Worship and Tribute, guitarist Justin Beck added new textures like a dreamy extended outro on “Ape Dos Mil.” Vocalist Daryl Palumbo’s abrasive, screaming fits seemed too much for some of the crowd, which by contrast felt united for the headliners. Even non-fans could have appreciated a band as effectively basking in their freedom as Coheed.

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