Event Date: August 1, 2009
Event Venue: Sonisphere, Knebworth UK

An unfortunate aspect of every festival is the possibility of bands pulling out or having problems reaching the event, and Sonisphere was no different. The festival had proven rather unlucky over the past few months, with various bands cancelling for a number of reasons (even including the dreaded 'suspected swine flu'!), and many Coheed fans' hearts were firmly in mouths when the main stage compere announced that there was a line-up change just as the band were scheduled to perform.

Luckily, however, Coheed and Cambria were not forced to pull out of the festival; there was a problem with the ferry they were travelling on, and as a result Sonisphere had brought FACT up to the main stage, giving Coheed the Japanese rockers' slot in the Bohemia tent later that evening.

Although a set in the tent made for an amazing atmosphere and a better sound than the main stage would have offered, it also unfortunately meant that many Coheed fans were left out in the rain as the tent had reached capacity. And, despite the fact that many casual spectators left the tent once the weather had calmed down, the security team refused to let anyone else inside the tent, despite the increase in space available. For those lucky enough to be rammed inside the tent, however, Coheed's set was a sure-fire highlight of the inaugural Sonisphere festival.

Opening with a blistering rendition of crowd favourite Welcome Home, the New York four-piece rattled through an impressive set which included barnstorming  renditions of No World For Tomorrow and Gravemakers & Gunslingers. The band surprised many in the crowd with The End Complete III: The End Complete, a near-8 minute epic which was lengthened further with a cover of Iron Maiden's The Trooper in the middle of the track. Between songs, humble frontman Claudio Sanchez took a quick break from whipping the crowd into a frenzy by apologising for the band being late, and thanking everyone for checking the band out.  

This all reached to an epic climax as the band finished their set with In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth: 3 - a song which is, in many fans' minds, Coheed's signature track. Being part of the audience when this song is performed is always a pleasure, and Sonisphere was no different. The heat inside the tent was sweltering as fans belted out every lyrics and pumped their fists in unison; a dizzying display of euphoria and community falling over the sweat-soaked devotees.

At festivals, Coheed and Cambria always manage to pull off an impressive mix of accessible hits for casual fans or newcomers to the band, while throwing in enough favourites to satisfy the hardcore of their fanbase. This was accomplished with ease at Sonisphere, and the atmosphere of the Bohemia tent purely added to the experience. The entire crowd left buzzing, knowing that they had witnessed one of the most cerebral and ambitious bands in rock music today.

Event Date: August 1, 2009
Event Venue: Sonisphere, Knebworth UK

Like many, I spent a fair chunk of Saturday gradually working my way to the front of the Apollo Stage (main stage at the Sonisphere weekend) and I eventually made it to the barrier for Coheed and Cambria.

Currently touring with Heaven and Hell in the US, Coheed and Cambria were due to play their set in the slot right before them at Sonisphere, but due to delays on their ferry journey from Wacken festival in Germany, their slot on the bill was rescheduled and re-located from the main stage to the third stage (Bohemia tent).

Part of me was glad that they ended up playing in the Bohemia tent, as I'm personally a fan of more intimate shows, but many Coheed fans missed out on the oppurtunity to see them because of the rescheduling. An announcement was made from the main stage but unfortunately the message didn't make it to everyone.

Coheed made it on stage in Bohemia at 7.10pm and opened with the crowd pleasing, Welcome Home. Ten Speed (of God's Blood and Burial) followed Welcome Home, which had already stirred the crowd up into a fist-pumping frenzy. The rest of the set included A Favour House Atlantic from their second album, and two songs from their latest (2007) release, the title track No World For Tomorrow and Gravemakers and Gunslingers. Anyone who has attended a Coheed show within the last few years will be familiar with the "Evil Medley" which consists of the song Everything Evil and flows into their own rendition of The Trooper, a tribute to Iron Maiden. This time though, the huge The End Complete III: The End Complete was used as the carrier of the ever infectious cover. The set ended with the title track from their second album, In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3. That song really has a special effect on a Coheed audience... you won't find anyone who can describe, with words, what happens when that song is unleashed live. My attempt is to say simply that they are an incredible live experience, and have been every time I have seen them.

Sonisphere was no different... but alot of Coheed fans have been dissapointed with their set-lists recently and I can point this out by saying there was not one single track from their first album on the Sonisphere set-list, meaning it was mostly made up of their singles. Yes, they have to please the festival audience, a wide array of people with different tastes, so maybe they try and find common ground as a way to entice new fans at these kinds of events. I'd say (with a bit of help from the rain outside) that it worked. The tent was rammed and it was the highlight of my Sonisphere weekend.

Event Date: August 1, 2009
Event Venue: Knebworth Park

an amazing line-up and an amazing stage. alien ant farm and buckcherry were the openers and although i was dissappointed with alien antfarms performance- especially the frontmans personal display....- buckcherry more than made up for it.
BUCKCHERRY drew a small crwod as nt too well known a band however anyone who skipped this performance really missed out, buckcherry are worth a watch  watch.. if u get the chance dnt miss out,, they got the crowd goin even though nt many had slept atall in the past 3 days, and sounded amazing.

LAMB OF GOD excelled,, hardcore fans were not dissappointed, i hadnt herd their songs before but by the end i was singing with the best of em and wondering why the hell i hadnt herd it before:)

special guests MACHINEHEAD made up for the fact that they dropped out as one of the main bands because of limp bizkit- to play a smaller spot AFTER them as special guests- by giving an amazing live performance,, killer sound,, and a drop dead f*in awsome crowd

LINKIN PARK,,, one of the best live performances i have seen! they sound amazing live,,, as good off of a disk as on one, which is rare to find,, their new song songs amazing and their old stuff still works wonders with a large crowd... 1000's singing in time with spirit to songs they love is always enough to give u a buzz.
they played some songs to introduce DEAD BY SUNRISE-their new band- which i was a little dissappointed in however still being pumped up from 'faint' i was more than happy with the performance.
especially since those in the crowd who stuck around through dead by sunrise were rewarded with 'new divide'

COHEED AND CAMBRIA... well i personally am a huge fan of coheed,, however i was very dissappointed. after waiting in the pouring rain and sitting through a 'guitar hero' performance on stage as the introduction, we were all told that coheed would not be playing their slot due to being held up on  a ferry,,,FACT- a little known japanese group filled in and were imediately bottled by most of the crowd. they were not the best replacement.
coheed did play facts original spot later that evening on a smaller stage for a smaller slot- not big enough for these giants to get the crowd going let alone show what they really can do.

Event Date: August 1, 2009
Event Venue: sonisphere ,knebworth ,uk

as always coheed did not let us down they were amazing,and i was not disappointed at the change of stage,the fact that they were moved to the bohemia tent because of a late ferry was great for me personally as they play so well in small venues and this was not different,the sound was out of this world and the crowd participation was brilliant,i felt this was definately the high point of my weekend,i went to sonisphere to watch 2 main bands one of which was coheed and cambria and if i had not seen another band all weekend i would have still come home a very happy camper,claudio sanchez is a wild haired wonder who has the capacity to whip the crowd into another world watching in amazement as he showed his guitar skills , just watching my 9 year old sons face in amazement as claudio slung his guitar over his head whilst playing his favourite song welcome home was a moment i will never forget and one i doubt he will forget easily either ,we went as a family of 6 with ages ranging from 2 years to 38 years and all of us stood watching coheed and cambria with a feeling of total exhiloration and overwhelming excitement it was amazing i dont no any other situation where so many different ages can come together to enjoy the same thing ,music truely does make the world go round and with music from the likes of coheed and cambria becomming more and more recognised the world will continue to go round for many years to come and the world will truely be a better place with coheed and cambria out there,they are a very understated and under recognised band and if you havent seen them you cannot begin to understand the feeling you get when watching them live ,so please if there is one band you want to see this year make it coheed and cambria you will not be disappointed,it was every bit the brilliant performance expected,thankyou sonisphere for bringing another outstanding band to the people,i am sure coheed have gathered many many more fans as a direct result of sonisphere and thats only a good thing,thanks everyone involved especially the band themselves.we love you.

Event Date: July 31, 2009
Event Venue: knebworth

absolutely fantastic at knebworth i just cant wait to see them again .brilliant entertainers .fantastic drum playing