Coalition of the Willing made us work for their performance. They walked on stage with sheet music in hand. I thought maybe I’d gone to the wrong show. I continued to think so for the next 20 minutes.

COTW hit bizarre note combos and moved slowly from song to song. They picked up riffs they’d abandoned 10 minutes prior. Everything seemed long and improvisational. I wondered what the hell the sheet music was for. There were a few crowd devotees wriggling around as if looped on God knows what. I wished I were them. The keyboardist looked bored. The saxophonist had nothing to do.

Then, out of nowhere.

COTW blew the house apart. They popped our eardrums off and out of our skulls. Drummer and founder Bobby Previte bashed his drums with little pity. I appreciated the change but felt like I’d been had. Even those who seemed dead until now started screaming in delight. It’s as if they knew this would happen all along. I gathered two types of fans came to this show: the type diverse enough to love it all and the type waiting to get their rock fix.

A sophisticated saxophone took over the set. Using an electric device unfamiliar to me, the sound of the instrument warped into a throbbing bass-like thunder. It frightened and excited me. A type two fan held her hand high and flashed the classic rock signal. You know, pointer, pinkie and thumb? Guitarist Charlie Hunter sent out waves of creepy chords, all of which he milked. It’s at this point I felt less empty about the absence of a vocalist.

COTW didn’t stick to any one agenda. They continued to twist and turn into every genre imaginable: acid rock, surf rock, jazz and finally a big band sound that reminded me of Benny Goodman and the Chips Ahoy commercial. But the same volume stood strong. All four musicians reached a level of comfort that allowed them to make those ugly rock faces. The beginning of COTW’s performance may have been violently different, but my confusion, for the most part, dissolved. I considered myself converted. COTW may not be a beacon of focus, but these guys showed us they could do anything.