Recently, a group of us headed up to Chicago to catch out Coheed and Cambria and Glassjaw at The Aragon Ballroom. A previous post covered the fantastic Coheed and Cambria show, as well as detailed what makes The Aragon Ballroom such a cool venue. (Check out that post here). Typically, we would have included some notes on the opener in that post, however, Glassjaw was really interesting, and so we felt it merited it’s own post. Here’s some notes!

As the resident post-hardcore fan of The Music Pill, Glassjaw is a long time favorite of mine. Over the years they’ve been through a variety of line up changes, but have always remained pretty true to their original sound. The latest incarnation includes bassist Travis Sykes and drummer Chad Hasty, both previously from Glass Cloud. It has been many years since I’ve seen Glassjaw, and this show was the first time for the current lineup, so I was cautiously optimistic. Glassjaw started their show with a medley of the first two songs off their album Worship and Tribute (Their best overall album in my opinion), “Tip your Bartender,” and “Mu Empire.” These two were a great combination of songs that feature lots of energy as well as catchy choruses. Guitarist Justin Beck has always had a very cool guitar tone, and it really cut through at the Aragon. Surprisingly, Daryl’s vocals were a bit more tame then usual, but sounded really good in the mix. As usual, his unique blend of scream/growls/clean singing was on point. New comers Travis and Chad, really seemed to fit the band’s latest sound and image, and I was impressed how tight they all sounded.

Coheed has been around for a couple decades now, and it didn’t take them long to climb up my list of favorite bands. In a music landscape where monotony is so common, bands like Coheed stand out because they create something so unique. Coheed’s creative engine, Claudio Sanchez, exudes artistic ability in nearly every way: he has great songwriting, boasts a one-of-a-kind singing voice, and even has created a complex comic series called The Armory Wars that their albums narrate. In addition, their live show is really something to be seen. They are currently on a trek with Glassjaw to support their latest album, which created a perfect opportunity to catch a great band, see Glassjaw for the first time, and scope out a new venue. So my gang hit the road for the monotonous drive up I-65 towards Chicago.