COMA concert review: Restart

If someone completely unfamiliar with the scene had happened to walk into Atlas Arena during the song “F.T.M.O.” on the last Friday in March, they might have thought they’d stumbled right into the middle of a concert by a world-class star. Six musicians reveling in every minute of the show, a hall packed to the brim with enthusiastic fans, spectacular lighting, an incredibly original main stage design, an additional stage in the middle of the audience, a descending platform connecting both stages (and allowing for even closer contact with the audience), and on top of that, English lyrics full of emotional depth—this is exactly how Coma presented themselves to the Łódź audience. Most importantly, these incredible experiences accompanied not just this one song, but each of the 25 we heard—with the sole difference being that all the others were performed in Polish.

It’s no wonder, then, that Piotr Rogucki used the word “dream” in every possible form that evening. The charismatic singer repeatedly emphasized during the show that this performance was, for him and his bandmates, the fulfillment of a dream dating back to their teenage years, when their musical journey was just beginning. There were also plenty of references to the fact that Atlas Arena is an especially special place, as it was at the nearby technical school for electrical engineering that the band members’ paths truly crossed, and what’s more—just a few hundred meters away, at the now-defunct Dekompresja club, their first concert took place. No wonder, then, that “Roguc” urged fans to follow his example and not be afraid to dream either. The nearly 47-year-old singer even assigned a sort of homework: each participant was to think about what they truly dream of before going to sleep after returning home. Because, as could be seen in the attached image, everything starts with dreams…

Photo: Radoslaw Zydowicz

In truth, everything about this concert was “perfect,” and even the biggest critics would struggle to find a single flaw. Total performance time? Three hours and 15 minutes—even the legendary Bruce Springsteen himself wouldn’t be ashamed of that. Number of songs? 26—which is, on average, half as many again as we usually hear at concerts. This, let’s add, meant that Rogucki and his bandmates could serve up not only their biggest hits but also reach for tracks rarely played live. New arrangements and special guests? No problem. Archival recordings from various moments significant to the band, pulled from long-dusty storage media (and by no means digital ones)? Of course, those were also displayed on giant screens!

But it was clear from the very beginning that Coma’s “Re-Start” was going to be something special. After a five-year hiatus from performing together, and following several well-received festival appearances last year as well as their “Comeback Tour” mini-tour, announced Friday’s event as a “do-or-die” showdown and meticulously planned the whole thing in the style of a video game, which in itself was an interesting departure from other concert announcements. Eager fans appreciated this and immediately took up the “challenge.” First, they snapped up all the tickets in no time, and on the day of the concert, they arrived at the venue well in advance, as evidenced by the lack of any available parking spots within a kilometer of the arena. No one wanted to risk being late, as if sensing that it would be like a Hitchcock film—first a sort of earthquake, and then the tension would only keep building.

It turned out to be spot on, because after a spectacular intro, we heard “Leszek Żukowski”—an iconic track: the number-one hit from the first album, which dominated the local radio station’s charts for about six months. Considering that last fall the song was played as the last or second-to-last track, this was a real “grand entrance” to the Łódź concert. After this ten-minute musical feast to open the show, the color red took over the Atlas Arena, which undoubtedly meant it was time for “0Rh+”—the first track of the evening from the so-called Red Album, the fifth in his discography, which was released at the beginning of the previous decade.

Photo: Radoslaw Zydowicz

By the third song, the atmosphere in the hall had changed once again—this time, evocative black-and-white visuals appeared on the big screens, and the band launched into “Trujące Rośliny,” a track from their third album, a double-disc concept album titled “Hipertrofia.” Anyone who glanced at their watch after this song rubbed their eyes in disbelief that nearly half an hour of the show had already passed… And this—as it turned out—wasn’t even halfway through the first of the three levels the group had prepared for the evening. Before “Simple Decisions,” each musician was introduced on the big screen using computer-generated images, but Rogucki’s words encouraging the audience to cheer for them were full of life. Then Coma’s frontman reminded everyone that this evening was nothing more than him and his bandmates—with whom he began playing nearly three decades ago—amplifying the audience’s energy. And as if setting an example, he himself moved more and more energetically across the stage. If anyone needed more excitement, just in case, the band decided to shower the audience with a massive amount of confetti at the song’s finale—if you’re going to have fun, you might as well go all out…

Later, we heard the shortest song on the entire setlist—“Na Pół.” The shortest, though from the audience’s perspective—especially those gathered on the floor—it was one of the most intense, because for nearly two and a half minutes at Atlas Arena, we watched a sea of raised hands swaying rhythmically. Next, the band treated us to the song “Uspokój się,” and the more daring fans on the floor began what’s known as stage diving—floating on the hands of those in front of them, they moved right up to the stage. When the final chords faded and complete silence fell over the arena, Rogucki used the moment for reflection. “Sometimes even the people closest to us come to the conclusion that they no longer want anything to do with us. Sometimes it’s just our ego that prevents us from forgiving one another. And life keeps moving at its own pace, and at some point, it becomes too late. So think now about someone you could make peace with, or someone you miss right now. And dedicate the song ‘Spadam’ to them,” asked Coma’s frontman.

An atmosphere of deep contemplation instantly took hold of the Atlas Arena, and the poignant message was perfectly complemented by carefully selected visuals on the big screens and a guitar solo at the end. Just as it is hard to imagine Coma’s first album without “Spadam,” it is even harder to imagine it without the title track “Pierwsze Wyjście z Mroku,” which, according to Friday’s setlist, marked the end of “Level 1.” The distinctive eye featured on the album cover watched over the entire show intently from the screens, and right at the end, Rogucki invited the crowd at the front of the stage to start a mosh pit. At that moment, the platform mentioned at the beginning began to descend from the hall’s ceiling, and after a moment, the lucky few standing closest were able to admire the guitarists’ performances and one of the singer’s many stage dances from the very closest distance.

At the start of “Level 2,” Rogucki pointedly warned everyone that “things are about to get intense.” And they did! First up was “Transfuzja,” which the crowd clapped and practically shouted along to—a nod to what happened at Pol’and’Rock that summer. Later, there was a sort of endurance test for the floor of the Atlas Arena, namely singing and jumping along to the equally energetic “Skaczemy.” “Do you still have the strength?” “Roguc” asked in between, though these were rather rhetorical questions, because no one in the audience was about to let go of the great fun.

Photo: Radoslaw Zydowicz

Before the next song, the hall went almost completely dark for a moment, and a moment later we saw the musicians with headlamps on their heads. It was immediately clear that another thoroughly unique part of the concert awaited us. The psychedelic sounds, Rogucki’s hypnotic movements across the entire length of the stage, and the black-and-white visuals on the screens ensured that this version of “Schizophrenia” would be remembered for a long time. And certainly by those into whose arms Rogucki threw himself at the end, camera in hand. If a DVD is released from this concert (and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if that happened—judging by the drones flying around the venue and the camera crane working nonstop), the shots of the crowd captured live by the camera in the singer’s hand will undoubtedly be an absolute “must-see.”

During “Angela” at Atlas Arena, the venue brightened considerably once again thanks to the lights positioned on either side of the stage. Rogucki, meanwhile, covered meter after meter with the endurance of a marathon runner, constantly whipping the fans into a frenzy—in the best sense of the word. And when he finished singing, the arena was plunged into total darkness once more. This time, it was to draw everyone’s gaze to the video screens, where footage from the band’s early days appeared. This screening, filled with content that is already priceless, smoothly transitioned into “Deszczowa Piosenka,” and this time, the screens featured shots of the musicians alongside a black-and-white view of Łódź.

The fun continued, as did the fulfillment of dreams, so the band decided it was time to tease the audience a bit. When the song ended, the arena lit up completely, and a phrase familiar to all video game fans appeared on the big screens: “game over.” Rogucki began to say goodbye and thank everyone, but hardly anyone took his words seriously. And rightly so, because just a moment later, the first special guest joined the band on stage—Tomasz Lipiński performed “Nóż” from Illusion’s repertoire with the group. The thunderous “Lipa, Lipa” chants from the stands at the end indicated that the musician from the Tri-City is an idol not only for “Rogucki” and the other members of Coma…

“Level 2” was slowly drawing to a close, but the temperature in the hall hadn’t dropped by even half a degree. On the contrary, it seemed to be rising all the time, a sentiment reflected in the atmosphere during “Tonacja.” And after that, the second of the guests invited especially for this evening took the stage—Krzysztof Zalewski. The highly expressive performance by the duo “Zalew” and “Roguc” during their presentation of “System” is definitely one of those moments that will be hard to forget after Re-Start.

And when the graphics on the big screens announced to everyone that we were about to begin “Level 3,” the stunning Mery Spolsky took the stage. There was also incredible on-stage chemistry between her and Rogucki, thanks to which “Lajki” sounded better than ever before. Of course, the audience played a huge part in this, which the Warsaw-born artist acknowledged at the end. “I’d trade every like and every comment just to be able to experience something like this again,” she admitted, bidding an emotional farewell to her Łódź fans. To calm things down a bit after “Lajki,” we had another retrospective and a collection of videos from Coma’s travels abroad—just for a change. And this was the perfect introduction to “F.T.M.O.,” which was already mentioned at the beginning.

After performing a song set against a blue backdrop—part of the soundtrack for the film *Winged Pigs*—the Atlas Arena was bathed in shades of yellow and orange. Because those colors best suited the mood of the track “Unpunished Lemon Afternoons.” After that, the band played “Parapet,” a track with a slightly hip-hop vibe, while Rogucki sang the verses from a platform that this time was suspended high above the audience, somewhere midway between the ceiling and the floor.

– When you leave here, we want you to feel your strength, energy, and power. And we want you to carry that out into the world for as long as you possibly can. Not all of us are happy with the world we live in. But this world was created by people—that is, by us. So, for us to like it, we have to want it and make it happen ourselves. I hope you find that strength within yourselves—with these words, Rogucki addressed the fans before “Magda.” Judging by the thunderous applause, his words fell on fertile ground. And they served as an excellent introduction to the final segment of the main part of the concert. After “Magda,” we were treated to “Za chwilę przestaniemy świecić,” and on the big screen, the silhouette of “Roguc,” whose voice sounded just as powerful as at the beginning, transformed into a blue-turquoise, fluorescent shape straight out of a spaceship. And for the finale, Coma treated us to something we hadn’t had the chance to enjoy from them in a long time. I’m talking about “Listopad,” which served as a more than worthy culmination of the performance so far. Significantly, the band started with a 10-minute track and ended with a song of similar length. One might even say—what a nice change from what some radio stations serve us, which during that time can play three, and sometimes even four songs…

The longest song, however, was still to come. When “Level Final” appeared on the screens and a beam of light began to slowly make its way toward the stage, the audience recognized from the very first bars that we were about to hear “The Wasted Forces of the Great Army of Holy Signs.” What’s there to say—a classic of the genre, plain and simple. Just as announced right after that

“Los cebula i krokodyle łzy,” which topped the charts 13 years ago. That’s an entire generation of listeners ago. By the way, it was an impressive sight when, after one of the songs, Rogucki asked those who were seeing Coma for the first time in their lives to raise their hands. I think any artist, after such a long hiatus, would love to see so many hands in the air. And let that be motivation for all six of them to sit down soon and write some brand-new songs—because there’s an audience for them, and it’s not just about the veterans who remember the days of Dekompresja (including the writer of these words).

It was beautiful, but—let’s not shy away from the term—Łódź’s musical pride couldn’t stop there. Anyone even vaguely familiar with Coma’s work knew that before heading home, they had to hear one more song that served as the band’s signature track. “One hundred thousand, one hundred thousand”—with every passing second, the chant grew louder throughout the hall, and no one here was referring to the musicians’ fee. The pressure from the stands paid off, because we finally got to hear “One Hundred Thousand Identical Cities.” Despite the passing years, the lyrics of this song remain just as relevant, and the melody—just as catchy. And it’s hard to believe that this track from their debut album never got an official music video and was never released as a single. But perhaps that’s precisely where its magic lies…

“We can count this evening as a success,” Rogucki remarked with a smile at the end. And while they say there’s no accounting for taste, in this particular situation there’s hardly any room for debate. What’s more, we can safely admit—to use the language of the youngest audience members—that we witnessed something that can easily be described as “awesome”!