Coldplay: Better on stage, but still droopy

By GEMMA TARLACH

Journal Sentinel pop music critic

Posted: Mar. 20, 2006

Nice guys may or may not finish first, but apparently they draw well at the Bradley Center.

 

Before an adoring crowd of roughly 12,000, Coldplay performed a 90-minute set that showcased the band’s strengths and gave even its shortcomings a rosy glow.

 

While technically a quartet, England’s biggest band of the moment is dominated by the sprightly, surprisingly flexible Chris Martin, whose rubbery stage poses suggested he’s been taking yoga tips from wife Gwyneth Paltrow.

 

Band mates — guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman and drummer Will Champion — stayed in the background for nearly the entire set, leaving Martin plenty of space for his stage acrobatics and aerobic piano playing.

 

The set opened with a strong trio spanning Coldplay’s career in reverse, beginning with the new “Square One” and then stomping through 2002’s “Politik” before dusting off its first commercial hit, “Yellow.”

 

Often (too often) compared with U2, Coldplay does share a number of attributes with its Irish peers, particularly in a live setting, where both bands’ more anthemic material — and outsized front man personalities — have room to stretch out.

 

Songs from 2005’s “X&Y,” notably “Swallowed In the Sea” and “Fix You,” both part of the encore set, benefited from the rush of energy, losing the somewhat sleepy sound of the album. Coldplay also understands how to augment its live performance with thoughtfully chosen visuals. On the enormous curved screen behind the band during “The Scientist,” for example, a satellite appeared to zoom in from space on a man along Milwaukee’s lakefront.

 

In a moment evocative of U2’s “Rattle and Hum”: late in the set, the band gathered at the front of the stage for the gem “Til Kingdom Come,” a hidden track on “X&Y,” and a rendition of “Ring of Fire.”

 

That mini-set was one of the evening’s highlights, but once the salute to Johnny Cash was finished, the band went right back to its repetitive formula of sensitive yet vague lyrics and thoughtful, mid-tempo rock with a big swoopy chorus.

 

Sure, there are far worse bands making far less interesting music. And, to Martin’s credit, his gratitude throughout the show came off as sincere. But one hopes Coldplay’s next move will be to skip yet another song about breaking up with “whoooHOOOwhoohooo” in the middle and instead flex more creative muscle.

 

Let’s also hope that some of Martin’s humility and enthusiasm for entertaining his audience might rub off on former Verve front man Richard Ashcroft, who opened the show. Ashcroft complained about lack of radio play and railed against Nike for paying him $500,000 to use The Verve’s lone hit, “Bittersweet Symphony,” before introducing it as “one of the greatest songs of all time.”

 

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=409493

ouch...

well that was kind of mean :(

north american critics don't like Coldplay,what did you expect?

 

and they always try to compare them to U2 or Radiohead

OMG I'm so fed up with these never ending comparisons :sick:

 

the weird thing is that she says "Often (too often) compared with U2..." and then talking about teh acoustic set "In a moment evocative of U2’s “Rattle and Hum”: late in the set, the band gathered at the front of the stage for the gem “Til Kingdom Come,” a hidden track on “X&Y,” and a rendition of “Ring of Fire”" :thinking: so at the beginning they're too often compared to them and then you compare yourself :lol:

All those american critics seem to hate coldplay. I've never seen a positive review of one of their concerts in the states. Not that I can remember...

I've never seen a positive review of one of their concerts in the states. Not that I can remember...

Never? :thinking:

 

 

I love how they compare the acoustic session to Rattle and Hum. Hopefully next time they'll find a comparison to something from this decade.