7-Dec-08 - Liverpool, Echo Arena - Meetups, Review/Photos (originally 10-Dec)

[busybeeburns]

Coldplay Live In Liverpool!

 

 

On the 7th December 2008 Coldplay continued their Viva La Vida tour with a very special leg in Liverpool’s brand new Echo Arena.

 

The night however, began with the support acts, first Eugene Francis Junior, who put a smile on my face from the start. He seemed chatty, friendly, and his warmth seemed to empty the queues in the food court, and fill up the arena…

 

Only to have it emptied again by Jon Hopkins, who provided solid background music for approximately 40 minutes, problem was, it was to loud to talk over, and not really worth listening to. I realize it’s a matter of taste, and a few liked it, he got a big pop, but that could have been out of sympathy I guess.

 

And then it began. Coldplay entered the stage with sparklers, an impressive, yet random entrance, with Life In Technicolour being the introductory track. This then faded into Violet Hill, which were both played majestically and with confidence, Chris Martin showed no signs of being intimidated by the passionate audience, this could have been because the majority were elderly folk, something which suprised me - still, none the less, they were up for the party, and when Clocks began, any fears of disappointment were banished.

 

Next was Yellow, with yellow balloons to fit. We were situated in the seated tiers, towards the rear of the arena, so there was no chance of being part of this excitement (however we did not miss out on all the fun, as I will later explain).

 

In My Place was next, shortly followed by Speed Of Sound, which is one of my favourite tracks, so I was pleased it made the setlist. Coldplay played with passion, Martin mentioned how Liverpool felt like his second home, as many of his songs were written and recorded there, the crowd warmed to this, therefore equating to a very emotional, and heartfelt concert.

 

Chinese Sleep Chant, Lips Like Sugar, and 42 all followed. Chris said that he would be playing the lesser known songs as well as the hits, and I was pleased because it gave me a chance to hear these new songs, as I cannot claim to be a die hard fan, in fact only receiving the tickets by chance.

 

Fix You was played next, with a powerful blue set, it proved itself to be somewhat of an anthem amongst the crowd, at least from my point of view.

 

Fix You was followed by Strawberry Swing, and God Put A Smile Upon Your Face, and I honestly wish I’d had more time to learn the words, I felt like the only one who didn’t know them, yet nobody really noticed since pretty much everyone was on their feet anyway. I could however, familiarize myself with Talk which followed.

 

Next came The Hardest Part, which Martin played solo, on the piano, it fitted the more calmer message sent out by Talk perfectly. I then had to purchase some overpriced water, a hopeful remedy to the manflu I’d been suffering from, then a quick toilet break was also required. Subsquently, I missed the best part of Post Cards From Far Away, but I did return for, the BIG ONE.

 

Viva La Vida began as I got back to my seat, the path to which was illuminated by the flashing lights on stage. Coldplay were triumphantly successful with this track, uplifting the area again, providing yet another opportunity for the crowd to become 10,000 (full capacity) backing singers. We sang like we had never sang before, my mate, who would not touch drunken karaoke was stood on his seat swaying, I was propelling my tiny, sore, voice to the maximum, whilst the old dears next to me were amazed by the lighting, and the occasion, yet loving every single minute of it. I’m trying my best to explain my feelings, but words cannot describe those moments, all that I can say is that we were part of something wonderful, in all the gigs I’ve been to, there had never been such a chorus of noise as this one.

 

The crowd were really pumped for the rest of the night, never really returning to the 4th gear they were one before Viva La Vida, and the adrenaline increased when Green Eyes was played from a balcony literally 10 feet away from where I was sitting (hence the picture). The security at this point was lame, and asked everybody to remain inside the arena, meaning no toilet breaks or refreshments, and they even at one point tried to usher people back to their seats, all attempts failed as the special portion of the crowd remained within touching distance of their stars. It felt like the band really went the extra mile to reach all of their fans, even if they had the cheaper tickets (which by the way weren’t that cheap at all). The togetherness continued as Will, the bands drummer took on the role of lead vocalist for one song only, I wasn’t to keen on the song, but it would be interesting to see variation in the roles for the band, since Will plays many, many instruments.

 

A remix of Viva La Vida was played as the band returned to the stage again, leaving behind a few very grateful fans at the rear end of the arena. Politik, Lovers In Japan, and Death and All His Friends followed, and then I realized how good the band actually were. Not a single song had passed by which I was bored through. I’d heard Chris sing solo, I’d heard Will sing solo, I’d seen Chris play piano. Lyrics were changed in Politik, to something about the current location (Liverpool), which could have seemed cheesey, but instead seemed heartfelt and definitely genuine. The crowd interaction was magnificent throughout, and it almost felt as though the band were playing for their fans, and their fans alone, they seemed grateful of the opportunity they had been given, and certainly did not disappoint. It is difficult to convey the feeling I felt that night, the strong togetherness, a bond felt between every single individual, as well as the crowd collectively, and four men.

 

It was then time for the interlude, after the band bowed off stage. The interlude was filled by chorus after chorus of “Woah”s taken from Viva La Vida, I recorded the final 33 seconds of these, after missing around four minutes, it was unbelievably. Earlier I said Fix You appeared to be an anthem, Viva La Vida had taken over by this point. I didn’t want to go the toilet because I wanted to continue my support for this wonderful band, whats worse is I’m running out of fucking adjectives.

 

The band re-entered with The Scientist. Sang highly emotively, Chris’ softer side emerged again, appreciated fully by the crowd who were worshipping tonights entertainment. The line “I’m Going Back To The Start” really stuck out in the song, it felt as though Coldplay’s roots were found on that night, and Liverpol was almost a second home, with the crowd being more acceptant than they were for the Wombats just a few days previous, in the same arena. The Scientist faded into a Take That cover, that annoying one, “Whatever I Said, Whatever I Did, I Didn’t Mean It..” which I thought was strange, but to be honest, if they had played The Magic Roundabout I would still have been on my feet, because it was so special.

 

Life In Technicolour ii, and The Escapist followed, with the band thanking the Liverpool crowd for their response, and asking if he could play there every night.

 

I’ve read many reviews of this band before I posted my own, from local newspapers, as well as fansites, and listened to my mate read out his spoken English GCSE coursework piece on it, and I found that we all struggled to show the feelings that we felt that night. Not one of us could find the words to convey how epic the night was, the excitement and the adrenaline. The crowd as one big unit, in full support of Coldplay’s amazing, amazing, movement. Coldplay’s homecoming was great for the city of Liverpool, it provided an amazing opportunity for fans, new and old to experience the thrill again, my ticket cost £40, in total I spent about £60 (it would have been more if I wasn’t ill), regardless it was worth every penny, and is something that I urge every single one of you reading this to do, because a night like the one I had is something that I had previously never experienced, in any gig I had been to, at anytime in my life. The closest thing I could compare it to, for those who would understand is sitting at the top of my football teams home stand, on European football night, singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, with the thousands of others, who knows, maybe it wouldn’t happen elsewhere, I’d take a guess that Coldplay could change any mood by playing any song.

http://wttj.net/?p=381

[katja]

I there any full recording of LIPS LIKE SUGAR?????