Taking the stage amidst undulating vocals, driving electronic beats and haunting guitar riffs, progressive rockers Coheed & Cambria peeled the paint off of Puerto Rico’s Jose Miguel Agrelot Coliseum on Friday, June 12.

Despite a sparse turnout and simple stage design, all the necessary referents were on site for a great show. Smoke machines? Check. Strobe lights? Check. Head-banging fans? Check. Delving deeply into their repertoire of hits, C & C gave fans a personalized tour of the band’s engrossing world. Based on a series of comics created by frontman Claudio Sánchez, the band’s music explores a fictional storyline called the “The Bag. On.Line Adventures” whose title characters, Coheed and Cambria Kilgannon, inspired the group’s name. Through four concept albums the band created a universe that has slowly gained them a dedicated fan base as well as international recognition.

This fan base was in attendance on Friday as the band took the stage and the response was immediate. For the rest of the night, the crowds reacted to the intense energy of the performance. The percussive beats of drummer Chris Pennie reverberated up the spines of concert-goers while Sánchez’s operatic voice melded effortlessly with the textured guitar riffs of Travis Stever and the bass lines of Michael Todd. Among the highlights of the show’s set-list were whiplash invoking renditions of “Mother Superior,” “Welcome Home,” “No World For Tomorrow,” and “A Favor House Atlantic.”

A stripped down arena area gave fans free reign of the space in front of the stage and they took full advantage. With fists pumping to the rhythm of the music, Sánchez delivered showmanship-wise, inspiring fans to jump, dance and sing along with the music.

The band also played homage to its venue. Hanging behind the group were four Puerto Rican flags whose stars had been replaced by a symbol known as the “keywork.” A nod to the comics, this symbol represents the energy stream which connects all worlds. Of course, this blending of the band’s music and the island is more than just a gesture. This show could be better described as a homecoming for Sanchéz whose father is from the island.

Opening for the band was Puerto Rico’s own Dávila 666, whose neo-punk performance was reminiscent of bands like The Vines and The Strokes. Dávila set the stage with an animated performance perfectly in tune with the energy of the crowds.

Coheed & Cambria, “Welcome Home”:

Coheed & Cambria, “A Favor House Atlantic”:

Coheed & Cambria, “No World for Tomorrow”:

-Alberto Ramos Cordero

The Indie Rock Fest is probably the most awaited concert of the year for my group of friends. They sent out the plans for the weekend in a Facebook Event as early as March, making sure everyone was ready for what should be the best weekend of the summer. I truly had no idea what I was getting myself into. I had never gone to anything like this and doubt I ever will, unless it is next year’s Indie Rock Fest.

As we arrived, we could tell it was going to be a rainy day, but our enthusiasm remained high. The day’s band listing was promising and we were sure that the Indie Rock Fest was worth it. For two hours, we endured the intense showers and thunderstorms over the Rafael Hernández Airport in Aguadilla, dancing in the rain while the bands kept playing their rocking tunes.

Under thunder and rain, bands made the ground shake as their tunes captivated the audience. Bands like Circo and Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, as expected, gave the crowd an amazing show. Circo delivered a spectacular show, especially because they really connected with the crowd. Their rhythmic beats and catchy rock songs forced the audience to dance and sing along to their songs. The lead singer, Fofe, is truly a character. He quipped what became my favorite quote of the evening: “Tonight, like every night, we have permission to do whatever we like.” That certainly set the tone for their rocking set. Playing songs such as “Antes del fin,” “Cascarón” and “Un accidente,” they compelled the audience to ask for an encore. No other band was asked for an encore. Unfortunately, as Fofe insinuated to the crowd, this was probably one of the last shows the band would play. Rumor has it that the band will be breaking up soon.

Los Fabulosos Cadillacs were faithful to their moniker, taking over the crowd as soon as they hit the stage. They were the stars of the night, playing for almost two hours straight. They ended their turn with their hit song “Matador,” which brought the entire audience to their feet and made them dance frantically.

When Dávila 666 stepped up onto the stage, they entranced the crowd with their Indian Theme. They began the show by dressed up as Indian Gurus, with their heads shaved and with a red dot on top of their noses. After completing their yoga intro, which took around five whole minutes of their set, they started to play. The audience seemed to love their setup. They were completely entranced by their show, singing along to their hit “Callejón.”

Polbo was also a crowd favorite. White t-shirts, salmon colored pants and a red hat was what the band needed to look goofy and adorable at the same time. Even though they played in the afternoon and most of the audience had not arrived, those who were there sang along to catchy lyrics of “Allison,” “Media canción” and “La television.” It was also an opportunity for the band to showcase their new album, “Limonada” and their new single “Negra.”

The mega “Oops” of the night happened when the guitarist from Aussie band The Death Set broke his guitar’s strings and smashed the instrument against the floor while singing along with the lead singer. He was able to find a replacement guitar, but the band had already gone through the embarrassment of having to start over the song. The Death Set performed for a full crowd with no applause in sight. I guess that’s rock ‘n’roll, mate.

Even though the Indie Rock Fest was a great experience, the crowd’s enthusiasm was disappointing. The crowd failed to give unknown bands a chance and paid most attention to the mainstream ones. For instance, Pastilla, a band that traveled all the way from Mexico for this event, came on right after Los Fabulosos Cadillacs. Unfortunately, they played to an evaporating audience as most were headed to their cars and got caught in a massive tapón to exit the concert’s venue.

However, the rock fest gave exposure to bands that would otherwise go unknown, especially local ones, such as Sintonía Retro. The rain did put a damper on the show, yet the truly passionate crowd stuck around under their umbrellas, ponchos or even without any shelter from the rain. Sure, there were those who went there to novelerear. But the fiebrús did revel in the rain-soaked rock ‘n’roll experience.

–Ana Sofía Ferrer

¿”Pingüinos en la cama?” Try that on stage. Two-time Grammy winner, Ricardo Arjona, provided a lackluster performance this weekend on the latest stop of his “Quinto Piso” tour at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum.

Despite an arsenal of hits that would put North Korea to shame, the Guatemalan artist fell short in the showmanship department. The musician simply lacked stage presence. Arjona spent the concert stalking up and down the stage stopping only to strike, what looked like, well-rehearsed poses for the benefit of photographers. A term often used by critics to describe this effect is “owning the stage,” Arjona didn’t even sub-let.

Production-wise, however, the event was impeccable. In an ode to urbanity, the show took the form of short vignettes showcasing a variety of scenes based on city life. Using a dilapidated tenement building as a backdrop, the production combined elements of theatre and film to complement the high notes provided by the Grammy winner. Still, despite its best efforts, the elaborate production did nothing to fill the void left by the singer’s performance.

This isn’t to say that the event didn’t have its high points, in spite of the “phoned in” routine, Arjona did deliver in one regard. The audience was practically assured to hear their favorite hits. The two-hour concert provided a career-spanning vision of the artist’s best works including classics like: “Dime que no,” “Como duele,” and of course “Si el norte fuere el sur;” up to more recent singles like “Pinguinos en la cama.”

Overall, despite great visuals and a comprehensive set list, the production did little to compensate for the artist’s bland performance. But in the end, fans were left satisfied, having been treated to passable renditions of all their favorite hits -once again proving that quantity can occasionally substitute quality.

-Alberto Ramos Cordero