Observations from a 40+ fan

 

I wanted to share my observations and thoughts about the concert Thursday night. I am 40+ and love Coldplay. I took my teenage daughter who is a super fan. We looked forward to this concert for months.

 

I liked Richard Ashcroft's set. Some of the songs were very good, and very loud. I especially liked his hit "Bittersweet Symphony" which, as he described it to a heckling attendee, is a classic. Richard got ticked off by some people shouting out to "shut up". I admit that Richard did talk a lot, and it was a bit overbearing. Nonetheless, it wasn't that bad.

 

Anticipation built as the crew set up Coldplay's equipment. I loved how they used a "digital clock" along with the beginning of Square One. They also used a laser for one of the songs. It worked well.

 

I liked the extended ending for "God Put a Smile Upon Your Face". They perfomed that one very well.

 

Jonny supposedly sang during "Don't Panic", but who heard it? Even if you did, his vocal performance only lasted seconds.

 

I did not understand the link to Johnny Cash and "Ring of Fire". Interesting, but irrelevant to me.

 

Chris mentioned very early on that he was not well. I assumed he meant that he was hoarse, etc. The band looked tired and uninspired throughout the performance, except when Chris livened things up with his theatrics. I like Chris, and he absolutely lives up to his star billing.

 

Chris did not play much piano during the concert.

 

I sensed at times that not all of the music was being played live, especially at the beginning of the encore performance of "Swallowed in the Sea". Maybe all shows are like that, or perhaps because Chris was hoarse and the band seemed tired, they compensated? I'm not knocking them, I am only sharing an observation!

 

The show ended with the crowd holding up signs. We couldn't make out what they said from our rafter seats. I read later that they said "USA Loves Coldplay". Chris ended up taking off his shirt and throwing it into the crowd. He also unlaced his sneakers and left them on stage.

 

I had hoped they would have played "X&Y" and "Twisted Logic", 2 of my favorites. Coldplay would work well with an orchestra on "X&Y". I knew they probably would not play those 2, based on previous show set lists. But I held out hope because it was the last show on the tour. Anything goes!

 

I do not know all of the orchestrations that go into putting together a tour, but I think Coldplay does not need an opening act. Also, I would like to see Coldplay play more songs. It was a short concert.

 

Those are my observations. I've been listening to X&Y a lot the past few days. It is one of the best albums of all time. Here's looking forward to another great album by the best group out there!

I wanted to share my observations and thoughts about the concert Thursday night. I am 40+ and love Coldplay. I took my teenage daughter who is a super fan. We looked forward to this concert for months.

 

I liked Richard Ashcroft's set. Some of the songs were very good, and very loud. I especially liked his hit "Bittersweet Symphony" which, as he described it to a heckling attendee, is a classic. Richard got ticked off by some people shouting out to "shut up". I admit that Richard did talk a lot, and it was a bit overbearing. Nonetheless, it wasn't that bad.

 

Anticipation built as the crew set up Coldplay's equipment. I loved how they used a "digital clock" along with the beginning of Square One. They also used a laser for one of the songs. It worked well.

 

I liked the extended ending for "God Put a Smile Upon Your Face". They perfomed that one very well.

 

Jonny supposedly sang during "Don't Panic", but who heard it? Even if you did, his vocal performance only lasted seconds.

 

I did not understand the link to Johnny Cash and "Ring of Fire". Interesting, but irrelevant to me.

 

Chris mentioned very early on that he was not well. I assumed he meant that he was hoarse, etc. The band looked tired and uninspired throughout the performance, except when Chris livened things up with his theatrics. I like Chris, and he absolutely lives up to his star billing.

 

Chris did not play much piano during the concert.

 

I sensed at times that not all of the music was being played live, especially at the beginning of the encore performance of "Swallowed in the Sea". Maybe all shows are like that, or perhaps because Chris was hoarse and the band seemed tired, they compensated? I'm not knocking them, I am only sharing an observation!

 

The show ended with the crowd holding up signs. We couldn't make out what they said from our rafter seats. I read later that they said "USA Loves Coldplay". Chris ended up taking off his shirt and throwing it into the crowd. He also unlaced his sneakers and left them on stage.

 

I had hoped they would have played "X&Y" and "Twisted Logic", 2 of my favorites. Coldplay would work well with an orchestra on "X&Y". I knew they probably would not play those 2, based on previous show set lists. But I held out hope because it was the last show on the tour. Anything goes!

 

I do not know all of the orchestrations that go into putting together a tour, but I think Coldplay does not need an opening act. Also, I would like to see Coldplay play more songs. It was a short concert.

 

Those are my observations. I've been listening to X&Y a lot the past few days. It is one of the best albums of all time. Here's looking forward to another great album by the best group out there!

 

Might clear some stuff up for you:

 

The Johnny Cash thing is a bit obscure, but basically what happened was that Coldplay wrote the song "'Till Kingdom Come" for Johnny Cash to record. He died before he was able to get to the studio with the song, and Coldplay now does a little tribute in the middle of the show with 'Till Kingdom Come, followed by Ring of Fire. Hope that clears it up.

 

As for swallowed in the sea, it's true. I don't think they play all of their music live there - the synthesis in most of the songs is controlled remotely, most likely by a computer off-stage. This covers things like the choir pads in "Clocks," the organy pad in "Swallowed in the Sea," the pads and clattery sounds in Square One... all that sorts of stuff. There's simply too much going in in Coldplay's music for just four bandmembers.

 

As for X&Y and Twisted Logic... they're more downtempo, relaxed songs. Coldplay's live formula seems to be a more energetic set, and while the band wasn't at their peak during that show, for the most part their shows are really thundering, picking songs such as "God Put A Smile Upon Your Face" in favor of more relaxed tracks like Twisted Logic. Not saying they don't do ANY chill songs, I just think they go with the more popular ones like Swallowed in the Sea. Personally, I'd have liked to have heard some B-sides like Sleeping Sun or Things That I Don't Understand.

 

And finally, the opening act bit. I'm not exactly sure of the reasoning behind why Coldplay needs an opening act, but when I was involved in club DJing, generally you'd put on a few unknown DJs first to get the crowd built up and allow latecomers a chance to shuffle in, as well as give the crowd time to settle down in their seats and buy the various merch items on sale in the lobby. Their concert just feels short, it's actually average length, especially for them. They really give it their all out there, and it's tiring work. They play 14-16 songs, I mean...

 

Hope this cleared a bit up for you!