Saratoga Springs review: Coldplay wows them at SPAC

SARATOGA SPRINGS — How did Coldplay make up for being two months late for its performance at Saratoga Performing Arts Center Monday night? Well, for starters, the British adult pop band apologized profusely throughout the evening — it was the first thing frontman Chris Martin mentioned from the stage, shortly after burning through “Life in Technicolor,” writes the Daily Gazette.

But perhaps more to the point, the band simply rocked the packed audience into submission, with one of the more elaborate stage shows on the touring circuit today, no doubt.

Take, for example, “Yellow,” the band’s first big hit from their 2000 debut “Parachutes,” early on in the set, when giant yellow balloons filled with confetti fell from the ceiling in the amphitheater. Or towards the end of the set, during “Lovers in Japan,” when the first 10 to 20 rows were showered with paper butterflies throughout the song. Or the multiple stages the band used throughout its set, including one out towards the front of the lawn that the band used to great effect during a three-song acoustic set.

The show wasn’t all bells and whistles. Drummer Will Champion, guitarist Jonny Buckland and bassist Guy Berryman played tightly and crisply, proving their range from atmospheric numbers such as the hit “Clocks” into harder rockers such as “42” and “Politik,” with its slamming rhythms juxtaposing gentle crooned portions from Martin.

Speaking of Martin, the man was a live wire throughout the set, running, slipping, sliding and bouncing all over the stage when he wasn’t tinkling the keys of his piano on such standout numbers as “Fix You.” Even then, his energy could barely be contained — towards the end of “Clocks,” he fell back on his stool in melodramatic fashion; through other numbers such as the gentle “The Hardest Part,” he swayed and swooned passionately, eyes closed in a grimace. His energy and charm made the performance and perpetuated the unifying atmosphere the band was surely going for.

The openers Elbow, of Manchester, England, took the stage a little before 8 p.m. to a rapidly filling amphitheater. Dreamy atmospherics were the order of the day for most of this band’s set, with opener “Starlings” introducing the crowd to vocalist Guy Garvey’s powerful stage presence and even more powerful, dynamic vocal. The set pulled mostly from the band’s most recent album, 2008’s “The Seldom Seen Kid.”

But the band also knew how to rock, as evidenced by “Grounds for Divorce,” which was laden with fuzz tones from bassist Pete Turner and lead guitarist Mark Potter. Garvey, who led the audience through a sing-a-long of the song’s main melody before the performance, banged on a snare during the heavy parts, accentuating the driving rhythm.

North London’s Kitty, Daisy & Lewis opened everything up at 7 p.m. with a strong set of original material that sounded as if it were from an era older than the trio’s combined ages. The Durham siblings, backed by their father Graeme on acoustic guitar and mother Ingrid Weiss (interestingly enough, the former drummer of noise punkers The Raincoats), took turns on electric guitar, piano and drums, with the youngest Kitty in particular shining on harmonica.

Source: Daily Gazette

Photos to follow...

New photos of Coldplay at Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, WI (25th July 2009)