Coldplay Finds New Degree Of Excellence

MANSFIELD, MA [6th August 2005]: The buzz is that England's Coldplay hopes to be -- and just may become -- the next U2. That's a grand goal that may border on hubris, but Coldplay stayed on that course Saturday with a thoroughly magnificent show that pulsed with themes of spiritual hunger and human connectedness -- the two essentials of any great U2 performance.

Coldplay's effort in front of a sold-out crowd of 19,900 (the Tweeter Center manager said it was the hottest show of the summer in terms of ticket requests) went far beyond that of its CD-release party at Avalon in May. This time, the band unveiled all of its bells and whistles, starting with a light show that reached Radiohead/U2 dimensions. They used two levels of panoramic video screens in back of the stage to project live footage and computer graphics, and had spotlights mounted on the pillars at each side of the pavilion. Strobe lights also seemed to be everywhere, and dozens of confetti-filled yellow balloons were set loose during the song ''Yellow."But the focus was on the very likable Chris Martin, a welcoming singer whose upbeat streak was magnified early in ''Politik" (as he sang in Bono-like fashion, ''Give me heart and give me soul") and the spiritually soothing ''God Put a Smile Upon Your Face." He also had his dynamic moments, including running through the pavilion (he took off like a shot and had only one security guard behind him) during an encore and racing around stage, then finishing ''Speed of Sound" while lying on his back. The band's unplugged interludes on ''Til Kingdom Come" (originally written for Johnny Cash) and ''Don't Panic" were also highlights, as was the group's shimmery colors on the hypnotic ''Clocks" and ''Talk." Coldplay's not quite U2 yet, but it's getting competitive.

Opening act Black Mountain, though, was an inappropriate choice for this show. The Vancouver group's drearily cliched '60s-influenced rock didn't have much life. When Oasis played the Tweeter this summer, it had Jet as an opening act. Coldplay should have had a band of that stature and excitement.