The Infinite Arc Tour: Coheed and Cambria & Mastodon
Coming in hot from Estero, Florida, Coheed and Cambria and Mastodon, alongside Periphery, brought their Infinite Arc Tour to the Hertz Arena and tore the floor up and nearly melted the ice below. While I have no actual clue what they put over the ice for these events, my feet were slightly cold until the bands began.
Kicking off was Periphery. While their songs are quite complex and as intricate as progressive metal can get, there isn’t a bigger name in the genre than them. Three songs were all they played, but for anyone who’s a fan, that’s still a full set. Opening with their massive sixteen-minute-long song “Reptile,” Periphery showed no remorse as we constantly headbanged to their infinitely complex songs. Even as Spencer Sotelo had some issues with his earpiece, he never missed a beat or a breakdown.
I’m not even going to try to lie, I am not sure what could be said about Mastodon that hasn’t already been said. Being hardcore veterans in the heavy metal scene or even just rock ‘n roll in general, Mastodon did not disappoint. It’s always nice to see that, while being such enormous rock stars, they are still incredibly sweet and nice people off stage. I was able to meet Troy Sanders and Brann Dailor during Coheed’s set, and they were such nice dudes and had no problem taking photos with the fans, yours truly included.
Usually, when you hear of bands that have been playing for 25+ years, you don’t expect much stage presence, or maybe, that’s just me, but I knew Mastodon wasn’t like this, despite me never seeing their show live before. Troy was never stationary for longer than a minute and reminded me of Suicidal Tendencies’ Mike Muir with just being in constant motion. Playing some of their best tracks with gnarly visuals in the background just sets you up for a sensory overload in the best way possible. Brann’s vocals never sounded better as he drummed away and sang at the same time, which has always impressed me. I can barely ride a stationary bike and talk to my wife at the same time, let alone play drums and sing. All in all, seeing Mastodon and meeting Brann and Troy was most definitely a super highlight of the night.
If the floor was ice before in the Hertz Arena, it wasn’t after Coheed was finished with their set. As a long-time fan of the band once named Shabutie, I can honestly say it has been way - and I mean way - too long since I’ve last seen them live. Coheed was an absolute obsession of mine during the mid-2000s, and although they no longer open with “In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3” like they once did, which is honestly the best opening song ever, Coheed did not disappoint, nor do they ever.
One of the biggest features their set showed was the arrival of “Blind Side Sonny.” At some point during the first few songs, a massive 20+ foot Blind Side Sonny rose from the stage and towered over Coheed. Claudio turned to face the massive inflatable in an almost shocked and fearful fashion. Blind Side Sonny’s eyewear would also change throughout the show, and his face would appear in different colors or patterns as well. Claudio also experienced some sort of technical issue with his guitar during the sets, swapping out a few different times and unable to strike a chord at first, but amidst the technical issues, Claudio kept his composure and still proceeded to shred. Rounding out the final song of the night with “Welcome Home,” I encourage any fan who even likes one of these bands just a little to check out their remaining shows. This is an infinitely amazing tour, and I can’t wait to see them when they return in the fall with Taking Back Sunday!
Remaining dates for the current tour are:
5/28 – Portland, ME @ Cross Insurance Arena
5/30 – Syracuse, NY @ Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at Lakeview
5/31 – Scranton, PA @ The Pavilion at Montage Mountain
6/01 – Youngstown, OH @ Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre
6/03 – Fort Wayne, IN @ Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
6/04 – Peoria, IL @ Peoria Civic Center Arena
6/06 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Van Andel Arena
6/07 – Green Bay, WI @ Resch Center
6/08 – Waukee, IA @ Vibrant Music Hall
