Album Review: Neverender - Night I

now playing: Coheed and Cambria - Everything Evil (Live at Neverender)

If you're not familiar with the idea of Coheed and Cambria, the simplest way to put it is that they are a concept band. Each of their four albums, beginning with 2002's The Second Stage Turbine Blade, falls in sequence, telling the story of Coheed Kilgannon, his wife Cambria, and their son Claudio. The Second Stage Turbine Blade specifically deals with Coheed and Cambria finding out that their genes house a deadly virus that, if triggered, could destroy everything holding their world in place. They have passed this virus on to their son, but his is a mutated strain with the power to destroy the entire Keywork, the main system of planets in this universe. Over the course of the album, Coheed releases the virus (catalyzed by a dragonfly's bite) and destroys the Star of Sirius that holds their current planet in its position, turning Paris: Earth into Silent Earth and leading quite nicely into the next album. It's really far more complicated than can be concisely expressed, but with help from Cobalt and Calcium, the premier Coheed and Cambria fansite, I think I can keep giving summaries of the story to precede the actual album discussion.

Neverender - Night I is simply The Second Stage Turbine Blade performed in its entirety. Admittedly, SSTB and the next album, In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 are yet to grow on me as both Good Apollo albums have, so I don't think I can provide a completely accurate opinion on these two nights. But that isn't going to stop me! Claudio (Sanchez, not Kilgannon) is clearly very serious about his music, taking the time to ask the audience whether they want banter in between songs or simply to hear the album with no interruptions. (His reply to the audience after putting it to a vote? "You motherfuckers.") On a more serious note, Sanchez makes a clear point in the liner notes to say that he realizes this recording isn't perfect, but that he thinks it's better this way. I'm inclined to agree; a perfect performance of these songs would be unwanted, but by no means impossible. The greatest thing about live albums, I think, is getting the chance to hear how these bands sound outside of the studio. With Neverender as a whole, the band shows that yes, they know how to perform; I am firmly convinced, in fact, that the only studio magic on these albums is overdubbing, which is perfectly acceptable.

But more than that. The little imperfections show that Coheed and Cambria is a band that is not ashamed to be less than perfect. I like and admire that in live performances both on stage and in album form. It shows that the band can still take its music seriously without taking itself too seriously. (And once I get to some of the weirder things on the Good Apollo albums, you'll see what I mean.) It's not the only thing I like; in fact, I'm absolutely crazy about allowing the crowd to sing along. It brings these fantastic senses of nostalgia and involvement both at once. Neverender is full of these moments, but allowing the crowd to sing the chorus of "Devil in Jersey City" and yelling for the audience to join him in "Hearshot Kid Disaster" are the peaks of this night's performance for me.

I wish I could have written more about the specifics, but as I said, I don't really have any opinions on the songs themselves, so I can only comment on the performance. If I'm being completely honest, this album just sounds generic to me; I much prefer the exploration of themes and styles in the Good Apollo albums, which I haven't said enough by now, I'm sure. Check back tomorrow for my review of Neverender - Night II, a complete live performance of In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3.