Coldplay
‘Stick To Being Coldplay, Thanks‘
I’ve had the privilege – some would say misfortune – of seeing Coldplay perform live three times following the release of last summer’s all-conquering studio album, ‘Viva La Vida’, and I think it’s fair to say that my own experiences of the tour have been somewhat varied. Just as every band has its ups and downs, so, of course, does every fan. From fluking my way into the best seat in the house for their first visit to Manchester last December, to being crushed within an inch of my life in a vain attempt to secure a decent view at Rock Werchter in July; each of my three pilgrimages have certainly been memorable, if somewhat unpredictable in nature.
You can apply much the same kind of assessment to Coldplay’s – and particularly Chris Martin‘s – performance. Whatever your opinion of the man – and let’s face it, even the most passionate Coldplay fan would be hard-pressed to deny that he’s capable of overdoing it from time to time – there can be no denying that what he lacks in style, he more than makes up for in effort. While his bandmates stick steadily to the formula, performing their duties with minimal fuss, Martin bounds breathlessly from left to right and back again, and yet, endearing though it may be, it’s akin to watching a toddler learning to walk; there’s an underlying sense of dread that you can’t quite shake off.
You see if, like me, you’re the kind of loyal fan who prides himself on knowing a band’s back catalogue inside out, you probably don’t care to see 50,000 people encouraged to stick their mobile phones in the air and wave them on the count of three. You probably don’t care to hear a peculiar, not to mention outdated cover of ‘Billie Jean‘. You probably don’t care to hear Coldplay take two perfectly decent songs, splice them together, and perform them with all the panache of a struggling New Order covers band. You’d probably rather they used that time to play, oh I don’t know, ‘Sparks‘, ‘Warning Sign’, anything.
But I’m nitpicking. Because, for all the time Coldplay waste in trying to appear friendly, spontaneous, open-minded, or whatever else, when they go about their business and just get on with playing, their efforts truly begin to pay off. The enthusiastic crowd are in full voice from start to finish, both the old songs and the new are met with a rapturous reception. There are, naturally, one or two exceptions – I believe I may have been the only person in a four-mile radius who knew the words to Glass Of Water – but, in spite of the gig’s more awkward moments, the set list is more than enough to satisfy the crowd’s thirst for a good singalong. Chris Martin even gets a helping hand in forgetting half of the words to ‘Trouble‘, a mistake which he humorously attributes to “too much time in make-up, and not enough in rehearsal.”
Songs from ‘Viva La Vida’ fit in seamlessly amongst those from their ‘two good albums’, actually providing some of the set’s biggest highlights. ‘Viva La Vida’ is euphoric, ‘Lovers In Japan‘ exhilarating, and songs like ‘42′ and ‘Death & All His Friends‘ induce the same drastic mood swing that helped to make ‘Fix You‘ – the only song I’ve seen to inspire tears of both sadness and joy – such an essential part of the set list.
They eventually wrap up their night’s work with a seamless version of ‘The Scientist‘, rightfully reintroduced into the set list after a short and inexplicable absence, before ending almost as they had begun, with the original version of ‘Life In Technicolor‘ (now otherwise known as ‘Life In Technicolor II’). As the band depart, Chris Martin – as he does every time he visits Manchester – offers his thanks to “the best place in the world”. I don’t know whether he means it. Probably not. But who cares as long as the music’s good, right?
Here’s a cute X Factor dig the band added to the gig :
SETLIST
Life In Technicolor
Violet Hill
Clocks
In My Place
Yellow
Glass Of Water
Cemeteries Of London
42
Fix You
Strawberry Swing
God Put A Smile Upon Your Face [Remix]
Talk [Remix]
The Hardest Part [Acoustic Piano]
Postcards From Far Away
Viva La Vida
Lost!
Trouble [Acoustic]
Death Will Never Conquer
Billie Jean [Acoustic]
Politik
Lovers In Japan
Death & All His Friends
ENCORE
The Scientist
Life In Technicolor II
(Sent in by reader supersonic1983)