Coldplay

Last night, Coldplay came to SPAC, two months late but still a great show. They are one of the bands that I enjoy and never have seen, so now I can cross them off my list, but they put on a really good show.

I went with a friend of mine who really didn't know anything more than Coldplay's singles, and for not knowing more than the singles, Coldplay put on a "show." They entertained. They played their music, and played it well, but they also performed in a way that was quite entertaining.

For instance, during "Yellow," giant yellow balls bounced around the audience making their way from inside the venue to the lawn seats. During a later song, towards the end of the show, multicolored butterfly confetti shot out at the audience at every chorus. It looked incredible. And during the show, Coldplay kept moving from one spot to another.

For example, they played on the left side of the audience for one song, at the right side of the audience for one song, and then they came into the lawn seats to play three incredible songs: "Green Eyes," "Death Will Never Conquer," and "Billie Jean." Each band member (except for Chris) had an acoustic guitar and they were playing in really close quarters. It was really, really cool. It brought them closer to us, the cheapettes in the lawn section. Basically when they started playing there, everyone stormed to the stage. I watched comfortably from a close distance.

The night variated from their fast-paced songs to a lot of slower, piano songs. They mixed up singles and non-singles, which was nice. The concert started off with a lot of older singles back to back to back, which is fine, but it might be nicer if they were spread out. I thought they played A LOT of slower stuff, which is part of the band, but for this live show, I thought it was a bit too much. I would have preferred more faster-paced songs to liven up the crowd.

I was really impressed with the talent of the band members. I was really blown away by Will the drummer who is also an excellent singer. He played different kinds of drums, guitar, and vocals during the show. He's incredible! Chris danced around all the time, which was entertaining. He messed up a couple of times, which was kind of awkward, I found. One time, he messed up TWICE and then just asked the audience to make a lot of noise and they called the song a day. Kind of lame.

But Chris tried to work with the audience a lot. He had us finish "Yellow" with them in unison. He had us help him finish songs a few times. He incorporated Saratoga Springs into his lyrics a few times. He spoke to us a few times, apologizing at the end of "Violet Hill," the first song they played. "If you forgive me, won't you let me know..." (for cancelling the show). It was clever. I liked his audience involvement. He really cared about putting on a good show for the balcony and us out on the lawn--even those listening outside the grounds. It was impressive.

Coldplay's attire seems to be that of their Viva La Vida and Death and All His Friends look. They look kind of like Civil War apparell but they are multicolored. They all got into that look. I wonder how they came up with that idea? I think it's unqiue, to say the least.



Below is the set list from last night's show at SPAC:

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 (techno version)
Talk (techno version)
The Hardest Part (Chris piano)
Postcards From Far Away (piano instrumental)
Viva La Vida
Lost!
Green Eyes (acoustic)
Death Will Never Conquer (Acoustic, sung by Will)
Billie Jean
Viva La Vida (remix interlude)
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Politik
Lovers In Japan
Death And All His Friends
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The Scientist
Life in Technicolor ii
The Escapist (outro)

I was a bit upset that they didn't play some of the songs I wanted to hear, not all necessarily singles. They focused a lot on playing their new CD, which is fine, but I hate when bands play the majority of their new album and ignore their other plethora of music that fans really connected with. They did play some older stuff too, but nowhere in comparison to the new stuff.

I missed them playing "Shiver," "Trouble," "God Put a Smile Upon Your Face," "Warning Sign," "Whisper," "Square One," "Speed of Sound," and "A Message." But they played a lot of other good songs I like. These were just ones I wish they'd played!

I just enjoy their sound. It's different than a lot of other bands out there. And Chris is such a different lead singer. I just love their unique energy they bring to music. I really enjoyed myself last night, and it definitely has to do with their talent. Very well done, Coldplay.

So what did you think of Coldplay live?