For those stuck in D.C. for fall break that feel like rock music is too much about getting a broken heart, getting over a broken heart or being angry at parents, stop by the 9:30 club Sunday or Monday night with conceptual rock band Coheed and Cambria and openers Underoath and 3.
If you haven't heard the band's single, "A Flavor House Atlantic," you probably haven't been listening to the radio. What sets Coheed and Cambria far apart from their peers is the band's imaginative subject matter. The band's first release, "Second Stage Turbine Blade," is set in a futuristic sci-fi world where a man named Coheed and his wife Cambria are forced to sacrifice their lives and abandon their four children to save them from being killed by a sinister organization. The next record "In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3" has the children beginning to realize that they have super-powered abilities and seek for truth about their parents.
Confused? Coheed and Cambria guitarist Travis Stever described the band's convoluted releases in a bit clearer terms.
"It's kind of like 'Star Wars,'" Stever said. "It's two ["The Second Stage Turbine Blade"], then three ["In Keeping Of Silent Earth: 3"] and the next will be the fourth installment. And then finally the beginning."
Need even further clarification? Coheed and Cambria has also released a comic book version of "Second Stage Turbine Blade" to help listeners gain a visual understanding of the story.
Hailing from New Jersey, Coheed and Cambria started on the independent Equal Vision record label and slowly gained a fan base that appreciated the band's originality. The band toured relentlessly and achieved a main stage slot on Warped Tour this summer. This propelled the band into the spotlight and a major label bidding war. In the end, the band walked away with Columbia Records.
After so much touring, the band is bringing to light some material that some fans might miss once the band starts incorporating new songs into their sets in the future.
"There are a lot of songs that we haven't played in a long time that I actually can't wait to play," Stever said. "That's what the point of this whole tour is all about: getting all the songs from these past two albums live before we start working on new material."
So is there incentive for going to both nights the band plays?
"I'm sure that we will switch the songs," Stever said. "We'll make a set out that are different each night - maybe four or five different songs. That's what I like when I go to two shows. If there is someone who is going two nights, that into it, you have to give them some different songs"
