Venue: Rockland Trust Bank Pavilion, Boston, MA
Every Time I Die: Seeing a road dog veteran band who usually headlines dingy clubs perform at a fully seated venue in one of Boston's bojueest neighborhoods was super strange- a fact that vocalist Keith Buckley acknowledged multiple times during their set. Venue oddity aside, Every Time I Die was their usual excellent selves. The big stage and lack of a pit didn't prevent them from delivering 40 minutes of energetic, chaotic metalcore that went over surprisingly well with an audience that was at least somewhat comprised of people that didn't come to see them. Hopefully we'll be blessed with a new record and subsequent return to seat-free tours in sweaty 800-capacity rooms by the middle of next year.
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Mastodon: I've been absurdly nervous about seeing Mastodon again since the moment I found about this tour. Their live show is notoriously erratic and since the last time was an absolute doozy of a performance where Brent Hinds' vocals resembled a cat trying to cough up a furball for 90 minutes, my expectations heading into last night were incredibly low. Making matters worse is the fact that Crack the Skye, which they were playing from front to back in honor of its 10th anniversary, is one of my favorite records ever. The slew of negativity I walked in with proved to be nothing but a whole lot of false worry.
Clearly this triumph was much more than a pleasant surprise. Hell, I would've been shocked if I ended up merely ENJOYING their performance. This nearly hiccup-free shit that captured the epic scale and haunting atmosphere that makes Crack the Skye a progressive metal masterpiece basically scrambled my brain. I don't know if it caused by extreme shock or confusion, but it was a feeling that I've never felt before and couldn't possibly put into a suitable string of words. Will my cynical ass bitch about how this show was a bittersweet reminder of the force Mastodon used to be sometime in the near future? Without a doubt, but in the interim, I'm just going to cherish the fact that I saw a band that was crucial in solidifying my love of music put on a hell of a performance at a time where I thought they were no longer capable of doing so.
Coheed and Cambria: Whenever someone asks me to name live acts that have consistently impressed me, Coheed and Cambria is one of the first artists that pops into my mind. Every single time I've seen them dating back to their spring 2006 co-headliner with Avenged Sevenfold has been an incredible experience and that reliable excellence was on display once again here. Everything from the lesser-played songs from their extensive back catalog (“Gravity's Union”, “Mother Superior”) to the staples that have been bringing down the house for over a decade (“Welcome Home”, “In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3”) to the plethora of material they played from their great new record The Unheavenly Creatures sounded tremendous. There's not a riff, drum hit or vocal note that isn't either exactly like the studio version or perfectly embellished to get a bigger pop out of the crowd. In my eyes, that's the definition of an exceptional performer. Even among the artists I'd place in the elite tier of live acts, Coheed sits comfortably among the top. As long as they are physically able to perform their songs, their shows will remain a clinic in both musicianship and sending fans home happy.
Grades:
Every Time I Die: A-
Mastodon: A
Coheed and Cambria: A+
Setlists:
Every Time I Die:
Roman Holiday
Glitches
Underwater Bimbos from Outer Space
We'rewolf
Floater
Decayin' with the Boys
Thirst
INRIhab
It Remembers
The Coin Has a Say
The New Black
Map Change
Mastodon:
Oblivion
Divinations
Quintessence
The Czar
Ghost of Karelia
Crack the Skye
The Last Baron
Blood and Thunder
Crystal Skull
Ancient Kingdom
The Motherload
Coheed and Cambria:
Prologue
The Dark Sentencer
Key Entity Extraction V: Sentry the Defiant
Unheavenly Creatures
In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3
A Favor House Atlantic
The Gutter
True Ugly
No World for Tomorrow
Gravity's Union
Mother Superior
The Suffering
Old Flames
Encore:
The Pavilion (A Long Way Back)
Welcome Home
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