LIVE REVIEW: Coheed and Cambria at the Tabernacle in Atlanta on May 20, 2023

Photos and Review by: Joanna Foster

Lineup: Deafheaven, Coheed and Cambria

Venue: Tabernacle, Atlanta, GA

Date: May 20, 2023

There’s a reason that Coheed and Cambria are selling out shows across the country on their Neverender: No World For A Waking Mind tour, and the stop at the iconic Tabernacle in Atlanta was a special one that no one in attendance will soon forget.

The Tabernacle, once a church in the early 1900s, was converted into a music hall and is situated in Atlanta right next to the 200-foot tall Skyview Ferris wheel. The outside of the building is as captivating as the inside, and it made for a great view for the crowd eagerly waiting outside hours ahead of the show.

Opening for Coheed on Saturday was post-metal band Deafheaven, and they fueled the building with energy from the minute they began their set. Frontman George Clarke brought non-stop dramatics and constant emotion, really selling every lyric and note as he screamed and pointed toward the crowd. With an evocative and aggressive set full of entertainment, this band left everything on the stage.

The building was alive with the crowd’s anticipation for Coheed and Cambria, and as soon as the band appeared even in just the wings of the stage, the audience broke out immediately in cheers. For this tour, Coheed is playing their 2007 album “No World For Tomorrow” in full and ending with an encore of selections from the most recent release “Vaxis II: A Window Of The Waking Mind”. Claudio Sanchez, lead vocalist and guitarist began the set alone with the beautifully haunting opening track “The Reaping” before the rest of the band joined in as they played through the rest of the album.

It’s not often that a band constructs albums that are attached to such a definitive aspect of storytelling and musical themes, and Coheed has not only taken this approach multiple times since 1995, they accomplish it successfully. Presenting the album from start to finish at every tour stop just illustrates the importance the band places on this kind of story telling, and getting to watch this play out live is something that draws fans in to seeing multiple shows.

The audience was invested in every moment of the show, cheering, chanting, singing along, and the energy continued to build throughout the whole night. The show was full of soaring vocals, dramatic hair flips, and electric riffs, and it was easy to see the connection between the fans and the band as they delivered every song just as passionately as the crowd received it. You don’t have to be a long-time fan or even someone that has seen a live Coheed show before to sense how special this night was in Atlanta. Toward the end of the set, guitarist/vocalist Travis Stever addressed the audience to thank them and the crew as they are about to wrap the first leg of the North American tour at the end of this month. Drummer Josh Eppard joined in saying how special the night was for him at this Atlanta stop. The entire building erupted in cheers, and the band continued with the rest of the show, even surprising fans with a final song and title track from their 2003 album “In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3”.

Setlist for 5/20/23 – Tabernacle, Atlanta
The Reaping
No World for Tomorrow
The Hound (of Blood and Rank)
Feathers
The Running Free
Mother Superior
Gravemakers & Gunslingers
Justice in Murder
I: The Fall of House Atlantic
II: Radio Bye Bye
III: The End Complete
IV: The Road and the Damned
V: On the Brink
___________________
The Embers of Fire
Beautiful Losers
Shoulders
Rise, Naianasha (Cut the Cord)
A Disappearing Act
The Liars Club
Ladders of Supremacy
In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3

Coheed and Cambria concludes the first leg of the tour this weekend at Adjacent Festival in Atlantic City, NJ (tickets are still available here). They return to North America in September, and details/tickets for the remainder of the tour can be found here.