It Walks Among Us Tour
Coheed and Cambria’s latest album Unheavenly Creatures came out in October, and they’re finally touring the States in celebration of it, but avoiding the big cities in favor of tiny ones I’ve mostly never heard of. I hadn’t moved to New York yet when tickets went onsale, and I was hopeful about making my way to New Orleans and Tallahassee for shows there, but that didn’t happen and the show closest to New York (Clifton Park) sold out way too quickly for me to even think about getting a ticket.
So I did what I had to do and bought a ticket to Niagara Falls instead, making a plan to at least hitch rides to Clifton Park and from there home, whether I was able to secure a ticket to that show or not.
Rapids Theatre — Niagara Falls, NY 2/27/19
I flew into Buffalo the morning of the show and stopped for wings. They were SO GOOD OH MY GOD. Lemme tell ya, do yourself a favor and get some real Buffalo wings at some point in your life. I asked for ranch like the southerner that I am and the bartender shook her head and told me that was a Buffalo sin. The blue cheese was bomb too. Everything was bomb.
Unfortunately that was about the only good meal I had this entire Heedtrip. Oh, Upstate New York. There was some gross pizza I decided against eating in Niagara Falls and some less-than-great Chinese in Clifton Park. It is what it is. At least I was lucky enough to have wings.
Alyssa, [East Coast] Devin’s girlfriend, goes to college in Rochester, so even though Devin wasn’t coming to Niagara Falls, this was the closest show on the tour for her, so she went without him for once. She stopped in Buffalo on her way to pick me up and bring me with her. We grabbed [West Coast] Devin and Veronica in Niagara Falls and made our way to the Rapids Theatre.
The early entry song was “Goodnight Fair Lady.” Ugh so good. But Claudio did this weird growl thing at the end of the song??? He’s a weirdo and I love him.
Another COTF friend Nate stood behind Alyssa and I where we were on the barricade. Apparently he was towering over everyone and couldn’t believe how short the rest of the world is.
Maps & Atlases
I really did not like Maps & Atlases. They were very talented, don’t get me wrong, I was just bored by it and all the songs sounded the same to me. -big sigh- I want to like opening bands. I really do.
Coheed
I wasn’t a fan of security at this venue. The very first song, one security guy jumped up on the barricade right in front of me as if he was about to catch a crowdsurfer, but… there was no crowdsurfer. So this big dude is just in my face for like no reason, and he DID NOT MOVE for the longest time, what the heck. The show just started!
But they weren’t the worst thing going on at the front of the pit. There was a tiny woman with an 11-year-old daughter directly behind me (or I guess behind Nate?) who kept trying to fight everyone? I could understand that she wanted on the barricade, but crying about having an 11-year-old and trying to literally fight people was nuts.
My biggest annoyance with her though, was that every time a crowdsurfer came in our direction, she didn’t just have the kid duck down. She had them BOTH duck down. If you’ve ever been to a show, you can imagine this. All of a sudden there’s a gap in the crowd. Where is that crowdsurfer gonna go? They’re gonna fall on you, lady. I know you’re ducking down because you’re scared, but all you’re doing here is making it that much more dangerous for not only yourself, but also everyone around you. And obviously the crowdsurfer who you’re allowing to fall on top of you. You wanna tower over the kid, cool. But please don’t join her on the ground. Just don’t.
One of the dudes she tried to fight got hounded by security. I could hear them accusing him of being on drugs because his eyes were dilated? Umm? This lady’s been hysterical all night, dudes. It’s not him.
I’m only ever occasionally on the barricade at Coheed shows, but I noticed a few different things than I normally do at this show: 1) Claudio makes some strange facial expressions while singing sometimes. I thought [drummer] Josh was the only one, with his mouth wide open, but apparently not. I appreciate them so much. 2) I’m learning to play guitar, so I couldn’t help but watch Claudio’s fingers while he played.
The setlist was BOMB. They had been playing “World of Lines” earlier in the tour and dropped it, which I was VERY upset about because that song is a banger, but oh well. They still played a good amount of deeper cuts than they normally do. I was very much about it.
Claudio didn’t play guitar for this song. I like seeing him just put it all into the mic. It’s a nice change for him.
Everything Evil
A Favor House Atlantic
The Gutter
In Keeping Secrets
It Walks Among Us
Mother May I
Evagria the Faithful
There are all these little weird noises on the album version of “True Ugly,” but I don’t think Claudio made those noises onstage. I was a little sad. I love weird noises.
Gravemakers and Gunslingers
Old Flames
Claudio didn’t play guitar on this one either. Instead he… hid behind the speakers? I’m not sure what that was about, but it was funny.
You Got Spirit Kid
Welcome Home
Security wasn’t allowed to touch the setlists, so they didn’t get passed out. I stood at the barricade with my arms out pouting for way longer than I’d like to admit. I don’t have any Coheed setlists. I want one. -big sigh- Sad day.
Apparently they gave Claudio a “Staff” shirt to run him out of the venue in??? Someone told me it was because he’s had some creepy fan encounters lately. I hate that the fandom’s made him uncomfortable. Can we not? Please?
After I gave up on the setlists, I went to find the bathroom. And almost got in a fight on the way. OF COURSE. So the bathroom was on the other side of the mob waiting for merch and I just kinda screamed “I’m just trying to get to the bathroom” while shoving my way through people so they’d know I wasn’t cutting them in “line.”
Girl: “You can say ‘Excuse me.’ It’s magic.”
Umm… that would’ve been the next thing out of my mouth, but in my experience, it’s easier to move through a crowd without problems if you let them know you’re not cutting first, but OKAY.
I ran into [band photographer and friend] Ern after leaving the bathroom and gave him a hug. Apparently he crowdsurfed for the first time ever with his camera at this show! I didn’t see it happen, but I was sooooo happy for and proud of him! That’s amazing!
I told him my little crew was heading to Niagara Falls after that. It was COLD AF (it had been snowstorming all day), but definitely worth it.
Upstate Concert Hall — Clifton Park, NY 2/28/19
We had a much bigger group at this show. Alyssa’s boyfriend [East Coast] Devin (one of the hosts of All Things Coheed) got there at 8am, I think. Jason and Zach and Sean and a bunch of our other crew was already hanging out outside the venue when we got there too.
Upstate Concert Hall is in a strip mall. It was… strange. This is upstate New York, I guess. We spent basically the whole day hanging out in the giant parking lot, which was slowly becoming covered in ice as the day went on as the snow from the day before melted and then froze.
Veronica and [West Coast] Devin and I got Chinese across the street before the show. It was very meh, but I appreciated that there were no peas and carrots in the fried rice.
So I already explained that by the time I realized this was the closest show to me, it was totally sold out. Well this was a big goof on my part because tickets on StubHub were going for over $200.
I got really really lucky. A guy in the Facebook group Coheed and Cambria Fans (which I left about two years ago) posted that he had an extra Gold ticket. [West Coast] Devin told Niki who told me, so I found the guy on Facebook and messaged him.
He gave me the ticket for free.
I offered to pay him face, but he said he just wanted to help out a fellow Child of the Fence. HOW FRIGGIN SWEET. I was really really thankful for that.
It was freezing, so I was wearing like five layers (three of which were jackets) and snow boots. Obviously that wasn’t what I wanted to wear to a Coheed show. So the plan was to take off most of the layers and change into normal Converses right before doors.
I changed maybe an hour before doors and it was a BAD idea. My feet legit almost fell. off. waiting for doors to open. It was so painful OH MY GOD. I lose circulation in my extremities when it’s too cold, and it took about an hour after making it into the venue before all the blood finally rushed back. Ouch ouch ouch.
Maps & Atlases
I kinda already decided the night before that I wasn’t into Maps & Atlases. One of our COTFs Ashley was dancing and more or less pretending to enjoy them. I followed her lead, and somehow, it was a lot more enjoyable while pretending to enjoy their set.
Niki got to the venue late, and our whole group was up front near the barricade. Ashley and I tried to tell Niki where to come join us, but she wasn’t really trying I don’t think. So I got on Ashley’s shoulders to try to flag her down. Security immediately came over to yell at us. Lol whoops.
A few people in the crowd were waving at me, and I’m up there yelling, “No! I’m looking for someone!”
Coheed
The crowd at this show was wilder than Niagara Falls, but still not too bad.
I probably never explained all the drama with Captain Keywork post- #Denverender, because I feel like drama doesn’t really have a place on a music blog. But I guess to a certain extent it’s relevant. Long story short, the character of “Captain Keywork” is dead, and has been since maybe a few months after The Color Before the Sun Tour. He turned out to be a really really awful person, and I say that from a 100% personal standpoint. He was shitty to me, I didn’t want to deal with, so I called him out and cut him out. It took probably a year before the rest of the fanbase realized I wasn’t being crazy, that he really just is shitty. So Dan dropped the “Captain Keywork” act and tried out a few new names and characters I think. I’m not sure what exactly happened there, I just know he keeps making new instagram accounts and following me, and I keep blocking them.
ANYWAY. Why this is relevant:
Probably the only person from that tour who refused to listen to my side of the story at all and immediately started worshipping Dan was this guy named Brian. Honestly I forget about him a lot. But he was at this show… wearing the Captain Keywork cape.
Ummmm what?
He crowdsurfed over our group in the front a few times and every time he passed, he seemed to be bugging Niki to come back to the pit. So we finally headed back there during “True Ugly.”
I crowdsurfed during that song and got LAUNCHED mid-surf. Our group had been joking before doors about “yeeting” girls at shows, and here I was, getting myself yeeted to “True Ugly.”
It was a decent pit, but there was a big part of me that just wanted to fight Brian and/or rip the cape off him. I refrained, but it did cross my mind. Often.
Especially when he crowdstood during “Welcome Home,” throwing the cape behind him repeatedly, showing it off. It was a Captain Keywork move, and it made me angrier than it should have.
So that was it. I went back to Alyssa’s car to change back into all my layers, and rode back to NYC with Niki and Jason. I slept most of the way, and subbed high school in Brooklyn early the next morning. Heedtrips + adulthood. I’m not sure how I pulled it off, but I did. And I think it was worth it.
The next time Coheed plays in New York, it’ll be with Mastodon and Every Time I Die. I’m kinda… hesitant about that tour. It’s gonna be a lot I think. So I’m glad I was able to pull this C-market tour off. Of course I’ll BE THERE, but I might complain about it. Or maybe I’ll die in the ETID pit before Coheed comes on, we’ll see.
