Pop Break Live: Coheed and Cambria with Alkaline Trio and Mothica – A Window of the Waking Mind Tour – at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, New York – Saturday July 30.
Words + Photos By Patriciana Tenicela | Edited by Christopher Grzan
Coheed and Cambria brought the heat on a ‘Blood Red Summer’ night at Forest Hills Stadium.
It was a balmy Saturday afternoon when the Coheed and Cambria “A Window of a Waking Mind” tour arrived at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, New York. Fans shuffled into the part-time tennis stadium and part-time concert venue mid afternoon as the sun was shining brightly above.
Opener Mothica took the stage at 5:30 p.m., roughly one hour earlier than the other dates on the tour. She sported a green sequin-covered dress with matching green platform boots, accessorized with dark sunglasses and fishnets to complete her gothic-mermaid aesthetic. Her band consisted of only drums and guitar with tracks complimenting her dreamy pop-rock vocals. Mothica sauntered around the stage effortlessly as her music and the atmosphere both warmed up the gathering crowd.
After a break for hot dogs and spiked seltzers, the audience returned for Alkaline Trio. Despite not being the original opener on the tour, their presence was welcomed by Coheed and Cambria’s fans. They even attracted a group at the front of the barricade proudly displaying a flag with the band’s logo. Their set spanned their over-20-year career, including tracks from both their latest release Is This Thing Cursed? and their earliest Goddamnit. Singer Matt Skiba exuded cool in bright yellow sunglasses and blue lipstick. The band got respite from the heat once the sun finally faded behind the stands toward the end of their set.
Before Coheed and Cambria’s set began, a massive inflatable creature took shape behind the drum riser. Smoke machines hissed out, setting the scene as the band took the stage. They started the night with a prologue leading into several songs from Vaxis – Act I: The Unheavenly Creatures. Like Alkaline Trio, Coheed’s career spans decades and their set was a buffet of tastings from many of their albums. They squeezed in deep cuts and fan favorites as well as six songs from their latest release Vaxis – Act II: A Window of the Waking Mind. When the sun finally retreated, the stage – lit up by their logo and several large screens – glowed in the darkness.
Singer Claudio Sanchez was a flawless tour de force, never missing a note, even when playing a double-neck guitar behind his back. The audience sang along to every song for the duration of their impressive one-hour-and-forty-five-minute-long performance. The band briefly left the stage and returned for a short two-song encore, ending the night with their powerful hit “Welcome Home.”
