Claudio, drop the curl routine!

Coheed and Cambria

Artist Website

Openers: Taking Back Sunday, Foxing

Venue: Greek Theater, Los Angeles, CA – September 19, 2025

Vibe Check: 🌈 | Mic Check: 🍄

Divine Intervention

Women’s restrooms are a portal to a secret dimension. The moment I cross the threshold into the fluorescent buzzing light and head into the sticky never-enough-toilet-paper stall, the world spins and the empathy part of my brain starts to light up. I reopen the portal to the sinks and mirrors and I’m majestically transformed into a magnet for oversharing.

“You’re so beautiful!” the equally magnificent stranger says as the obligatory bathroom introduction.

*tee hee* “Thank you! I love your shirt,” I say in expected reciprocity, desperately looking around for a soap pump that works.

“Are you here to see Coheed or Taking Back Sunday?”

“I bought tickets for Coheed after listening to their latest album but TBS is a happy surprise!”

“Oh…I’ve been kinda asking around to see if anyone is here for TBS…” she says dejectedly.

“I mean, I’ve been a fan since I was a kid! So I’m definitely out there singing all the songs, if you know what I mean.”

Her eyes light back up. “My brother recently died and I’m here to honor his memory. He was a really huge fan. I’m here with someone else but he doesn’t really get it, you know?”

She shared more memories of her brother and her distaste for TBS lead singer Adam Lazzara’s penchant for wrapping his microphone cord around his neck. We laughed about me having a TBS shirt with that very imagery (probably in a box at my mom’s house).

“He’s been doing that for at least 20 years!”

“Wait…you’re like a HUGE fan 😂”

We escorted each other back to our seats.

Prolly Why I Hate Pepsi

When I was 15 years old, I got dropped off at my BFF’s house for an epic sleepover. We were going to binge snacks, go to the Taking Back Sunday concert, and then pillow talk about school and god knows what else.

I took a chug of my Pepsi. I felt a brain-freeze sensation slowly traveling down my throat inch by inch. The next thing I knew, I was waking up on the kitchen floor.

I never learned why, but the freezing cold soda triggered a seizure. Needless to say, I didn’t end up going to the show. I also didn’t get to drive till I was 18, I didn’t get the quinceañera I asked for instead of my license, and apparently I didn’t get over it.

Finally getting to see TBS as an adult cleared that timeline for me. I got to scream my lungs out and head bang till I nearly flipped over the seat in front of me (don’t worry, I played it cool). It was everything my teenage heart needed and something inside me healed.

🙂‍↕️

As a teenager, being part of the “scene” was alternative, weird, and counter-culture. We had oogles of albums full of depression anthems and songs where we glorified self-harm and suicide. That night I was surrounded by people that not only made it to adulthood, but stayed true to themselves and show pride in having achieved Elder Emo status.

While Taking Back Sunday has maintained their reputation as mid-quality performers, they also maintained their lifelong connection with a generation of people that know “There’s No ‘I’ In Team”.

“Sing so loud that your voices transcend time and I hear you on the next journey” – Claudio Sanchez

Only a week prior to the show there was a very public assassination that set America ablaze. The air was thick with uncharacteristic humidity and a palpable fear about life as we knew it being over — for real this time.

For the first time in a while, I was beginning to lose hope. Like really debating if I even had ambition and dreams left in me. Through some tough conversations and reflection, I had to reconnect to my Higher Purpose and choose to continue to live at a higher vibration. Not just for me but for everyone around me, for you.

Both Taking Back Sunday and Coheed’s lead singers shared messages of “escape” and looked for the evening to provide everyone a sense of relief from the madness by joining together in nostalgia and song.

Throughout the night, I was looking around and everyone’s smiles were ear to ear, people were helping each other, some of us were playing air guitar or air drums, and it really made me miss being in the mosh pit. This entire kumbaya experience was elevated by gorgeous set design and the masterful musical and vocal performance.

Coheed and Cambria are comprised of highly skilled and technical music neerrrdddds. All but one of their albums are companion pieces to their graphic novels The Armory Wars. The intersection of these two worlds make for intricate storylines, opera-quality vocals, and dramatic guitar solos that’ll melt your face. As if that wasn’t enough, we all got to sing along to a cover of The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside.”

Prog rock may not be for everyone, but this show and this band is welcoming to all kinds of kinds.

Ch-check One-Two