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Fans of Coheed and Cambria’s fantastical hippie metal are given to proclamations like “They made their own style, no other band has ever been like them” and “Their shows are a life-changing experience.” At least those are the opinions of two fans who attended the concert captured on this DVD at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom on May 20, 2006. Something akin to a historical suspension of disbelief is part of the Coheed and Cambria experience: the combination of stock metal rhythms, a touch of Rush filigree and Zeppelin slam, and a bigger dose of Canterburyesque lyrics turns these hirsute rockers into something out of a Frank Frazetta comic. (No surprise given C&C’s epic tale spinning and Tolkien infatuations). But even on pummeling tracks like “Blood Red Summer,” “A Favor House Atlantic,” and “The Suffering” (taken from albums with titles that give away C&C’s prog pretensions, like Good Apollo I’m Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness), Coheed and Cambria come off as wholesome. Guitarist/elfin-voiced singer Claudio Sanchez apologizes to the parents in the crowd at one point for “using the f-word.” And just to make sure that fans get their money’s worth, the hour-plus show is supplemented with bonus features that include the music videos for “Welcome Home,” “The Suffering,” and “Ten Speed (Of God’s Blood & Burial).”
