The rock ’n’ roll crown rests easily on the collective head of Coldplay, a band that balanced earnestness against whimsy and virtuosity against the basics Friday night at Verizon Wireless Music Center, writes Metromix Indianapolis.
Vocalist Chris Martin -- the focal point of attention since the U.K. band released debut album “Parachutes” in 2000 -- makes everything land in its right place in a live setting. At the top of the show, Coldplay and its audience of 20,207 fumbled for common ground across two songs. But once Martin uncorked pub-rock triumph “In My Place,” a massive sing-along latched onto its tipsy tempo.
Criticized at times for being too solemn and other times for being too goofy, Martin appeared comfortable in his own skin during this picture-perfect Indiana night.
His lyrics turn outward and consider big questions on current album “Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends.” The what-does-it-all-mean duo “Cemeteries of London” and “42” were paired effectively and enhanced by the singer’s full-throated delivery.
Martin’s ideas are catching up to Coldplay’s position of grandeur, and the art is fortunately less grandiose. The biggest reward of a Coldplay show is the integration of all of the band’s albums. When Martin gushes the lyrics of “Yellow,” the audience hears the romantic upstarts of “Parachutes.”
A slamming rendition of “Politik” brings back the days when the band felt its rock-star oats on “A Rush of Blood to the Head.”
A soul-stirring rendition of “Fix You” proves that “X&Y” strived for importance and succeeded at least once. It even could be argued that “Fix You” puts the band on equal footing with towering influences U2 and Radiohead. One thing Coldplay doesn’t do is muscle up its sound by using recorded tracks or hiring sidemen who lurk at the back of the stage. Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bass player Guy Berryman and drummer Will Champion go it alone, and they’re sometimes stretched thin (especially when listeners hope for a $100 show to match their $100 ticket).
There’s no question Champion carries his weight. He strikes with ferocity, and he revealed the sweetest voice in the band when singing “Death Will Never Conquer” on one of two satellite stages that placed the musicians closer to their fans. Coldplay’s roster might be counted as four plus the thousands of loyalists who come together for the heavy thoughts of “42” as well as summer-fun covers such as “I’m a Believer.”
Coldplay at Verizon Wireless Music Center, Indianapolis, IN (5 June 2009):
Article: indianapolis.metromix.com
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