REVIEW — Coldplay frontman Chris Martin bursts a giant yellow balloon, then grins as confetti falls over his face. The sold out crowd at GM Place lets out a roar. Balloons bounce from person to person around the stadium, writes the Vancouver Sun.
And the sweeping melody of the British megaband’s hit song Yellow, ends after wrapping itself around the audience. Ah. There’s something about a Coldplay concert. And even if you’re not a fan of the group’s softer-edged stadium rock — even if you agree clean-living Martin is the so-called “Jesus of Uncool,” as per Rolling Stone — just try not to get swept away by their live show.
By their swelling rhythms, their musicianship and their charm. I was. I arrived feeling ho-hum and left humming along to Fix You. (A song they really nailed, by the way.) The lads kicked off the night with high energy as they bounded on to the stage and twirled sparklers. Martin, 32, jerked his body around like a marionette, loose limbs flailing and his yoga-limber body bending backwards and forwards.
Immediately, the opening notes to Violet Hill sparked howls from the scream-happy crowd — a mixed bag of old, young, hip and square, peppered with plenty of couples holding hands. “If we made it to Vancouver,” Martin sang, to the lilting melody of Violet Hill. “If the rumours about you being the best crowd in the world are true.”
Pause. That’s when he sang to the crowd that — of all the cities to choose from on their world tour — they had chosen to film Vancouver, Saturday and tonight. Well, you can imagine how the screamers responded. And the volume escalated from there as the foursome moved into a swelling version of the pretty song, In My Place, singing along with their fans. Then came the balloons and the yellow lights. And their version of Yellow, a tune from their debut album, Parachutes — it sold nearly five million copies worldwide and earned them a Grammy award for Best Alternative Album in 2002, one of many such accolades to come for the top-selling band. Yellow sounded way better live.
“Let’s sing this together,” Martin said, encouraging a call and response. The conscious-of-being-filmed crowd didn’t hold back. He sang. They sang. (We sang.) The night was chalk full of these kind of feel-good moments. There were surprises too. Like a harmonica-laced, acoustic rendition of Green Eyes followed by a cover of the song, I’m A Believer. Both were performed from high in the bleachers, where the band — Martin, Will Champion, Guy Berryman and Jonny Buckland — huddled on a mini stage, nestled amongst the audience. During Believer, they led us through a cellphone wave.
There was plenty of banter too. “Is everything okay so far?” Martin asked. “I know you had to go through a lot to go to our concert.” He went on to list obstacles the crowd faced, from parking and traffic to missing television. Later, seated alone at a piano situated on a side stage, Martin quipped: “I get to live out my Michael Bolton fantasies.” Then he paused, adding: “Not fantasies about Michael Bolton, you understand.”
And he moved into a stripped down and pretty version of The Hardest Part. Other highlights of the night included the groove-heavy song, Lost, showcasing the group’s edges. Or the second-last song of the night Scientist. And of course, they did a nicely ramped up Viva La Vida — the opening chords of last year’s hit so familiar to the audience that two notes in, the crowd lost it.
Martin told the audience Colplay couldn’t ask for a better “supporting cast” in their concert film. He thanked everyone and reminded fans of their live album, LeftRightLeftRightLeft, handed out at the end of the night. (And available to download free for everyone — even if you didn't make the show — on Coldplay.com.)
Sounding pretty darn cool, if you ask me. But then again, I’m still humming.
Article: Vancouver Sun
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Coldplay at General Motors Place, Vancouver (20th June 2009):
Pictures: nolitawanders @ Flickr
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