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[7-Aug-2012] Coldplay @ United Center, Chicago, IL, USA


Jenjie

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My review of tonight!!! Enjoy! :D

 

Electronic bits and moody drones filled the United Center in Chicago as fans filed to their seats. Wristbands were tightened, and eyes were peeled to the graffiti-lit stage. The excitement in the air was tangible-- yes, indeed this was going to be a very special night. Suddenly, the lights dropped, and as the theme music from Back to the Future swelled, Coldplay (Jonny, Guy, Chris, and Will) strolled onstage donning paint splattered outfits, grabbing at guitars and drumsticks, welcomed by 20,000 twinkling xylobands, and the same amount of screaming fans.

 

The setlist contained many highs and lows, all of them wonderful. From the pounding bass of Princess of China to the brooding and beautiful melody of The Scientist, there was something in tonight's setlist for everyone. Not one person was sitting down during Viva, or not giggling when Chris attempted to play the first few minutes of Amsterdam and likewise when he completely restarted Paradise after messing up the lyrics in the first verse. Everyone was charmed by the intimate C-stage performances of Us Against the World and Speed of Sound, just as much as they were excited by the grandeur of the main stage performances of Clocks and Fix You. Lovers in Japan even made an appearance, complete with an homage to the Viva butterflies. This time, in their place, MX shaped confetti pieces showered those on the main floor.

 

I have to add that this was my first Coldplay show, and coming from a person who has been a fan for 5 years, seeing them live like this for the first time was spectacular. I wouldn't trade this night for the world, as it's already up there with one of the best I've experienced. Ever. Luminous and wired, tonight us Chicagoans really did glow in the dark.

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UNBELIEVABLE SHOW! My friends and I made an Amsterdam sign and were right in Chris' line of sight.. I'm sure you all saw what happened :)

 

Well Done Viper!!! You and your friends made my night. I grabbed video of it but need a few days to upload it. Once I get home I will get to work on it.

 

Thanks,

 

Tom

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Concert review: Coldplay at United Center

 

On Coldplay’s latest album, “Mylo Xyloto,” the British quartet traces the story of a desperate couple running from the unnamed bad guys. “From underneath the rubble,” Chris Martin intones, “sing a rebel song.”

 

But that’s just a bunch of malarkey. There’s not a lot of rebelliousness in Martin and his affable bandmates. Exactly the opposite. Inclusion is the big theme at their concerts, and so it was Tuesday in the first of two shows at the United Center.

 

Guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and Martin didn’t save their best moves for last. Within minutes, confetti rained down, dozens of beach-ball-sized globes floated and bounced, and six multi-pronged lasers lit up the balconies. Fans who were handed wrist bands at the door found the contraptions glowed in the dark at strategic moments, essentially turning the audience into its own light show.

 

Martin dropped enough “Chicago” and “Chi-town” references into his songs to suggest that every song had been written with us and only us in mind. A band this aggressively ingratiating can be a bit much, but Coldplay compensates with a scrupulously scripted, fast-paced show chock full of excellent singles: “Yellow,” “Clocks,” “Fix You,” “Viva La Vida,” “Paradise.”

 

The band’s eagerness to please kept the preachiness and the between-songs patter to a merciful minimum. Instead the foursome turned the interjection “Whoah!” into a 10-syllable celebration, with sing-alongs the rule. The balloons and confetti camouflaged some of the slow spots or underlined the crescendos. The always eager Martin at times resembled an Olympic gymnast performing a particularly awkward floor exercise, sprinting and leap-frogging up and down a runway through the audience.

 

The stage moves were choreographed to look heroic from the third balcony: Martin kneeling and leaning back with microphone thrust toward Buckland as the guitarist played a solo during “In My Place,” Martin dueting with the video image of Rihanna on “Princess of China,” the band setting up in the middle of the audience to play “Us Against the World.”

 

It was professional arena rock executed with lots of recorded backing instrumentation and few moments of genuine spontaneity – the show has been replicated at nearly every tour stop so far. Martin tried to play “Amsterdam,” a song requested by several fans, but could only manage a few lines before breaking it off and returning to the band’s regularly scheduled programming.

 

“I don’t want to (tick) anyone off,” Martin said by way of apology, while essentially summarizing the band’s career ambitions. Over five albums, Coldplay has flirted with art-rock and world music, but their primary ambition is a crowd-pleasing universality. They want what Rihanna has – to rule the pop world. And they’re going to do it by playing nice.

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/turnitup/chi-coldplay-concert-reviewed-coldplay-at-united-center-reviewed-20120807,0,7707824.column

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