Another Kansas City Review: Biggest Post-1990s Band Returns To Sprint

The biggest post-1990s band from Britain that doesn't give away its music came to Sprint Center on Thursday. And a large crowd was on hand with a loud, long and warm greeting, reports Back To Rockville.

And though it may not know its U.S. geography ("Thank you, Kansas"), Coldplay knows its own history: That's the first time we've played this in the U.S., said lead singer Chris Martin after singing "Glass of Water." That one will have its place of prominence in Coldplay trivia and lore; Thursday night, it was the rare lukewarm moment during a show loaded with bright highlights. (Nobody knew the song.)

The rest of the setlist visited more familiar material from each of the band's four full-length albums, none more frequently than the latest, "Viva La Vida ..." This was the rare show when the crowd welcomed a lot of the more recent songs as warmly as the older ones. The title track to the new album got one of the loudest reactions of the night.

Martin played his usual affable, humble self. He apologized for postponing the show back in July. He stopped the show to say hello to a 7-year-old boy in the crowd (and crack wise about the Jonas Brothers; read the mom's blogpost here). And he chastised himself after he muffed the start to "Green Eyes."

The sound in the Sprint Center was OK to good: At times there wasn't enough bottom -- the bass and kick drums disappeared in the mix. But the volume felt right and the vocals sounded good most of the night. The light show was nice, too; so was the confetti that rained on the floor during the start of the encore (it looked like falling leaves).

Speaking of vocals, there were plenty of big sing-alongs, starting with "In My Place" and especially during "Fix You," when the band stepped back and let the crowd take over the final chorus. Other highlights: The techno-mashup of "God Put a Smile Upon Your Face" and "Talk"; "Politik," which sounded more invigorated than usual; and the short acoustic set that took place high in a lower-level section towards the back of the arena. (Although I could have done without the Billy Ray Cyrus bit in the middle of "The Scientist.")

They ended the 95-minute show with their biggest hit, "Yellow," which prompted the evening's loudest and longest response and sing-along. For a moment, Martin stopped to enjoy the enormous chorale singing back at him. It was that kind of a show: The crowd and the band spent all night entertaining each other.

Setlist: Life in Technicolor, Violet Hill, Clocks, In My Place, Glass of Water, Speed of Sound, Cemeteries of London, 42, Fix You, Strawberry Swing, God Put A Smile Upon Your Face/Talk (techno-mashup), Green Eyes, Postcards From Far Away (piano interlude), Viva La Vida, Lost, The Scientist, Death Will Never Conquer, Politik, Lovers in Japan, Death and All His Friends, Yellow.

More on this review here onwards [thanks jdavis34]