Christmas came early for Coldplay fans who got tickets to the band's only major British show this year, writes the London Evening Standard in a review of last night's Under1Roof charity gig. It was also a gift for charity Kids Company, following the £400,000 raised for vulnerable children by Coldplay's O2 gig in 2011.
More reviews, videos and photos are at the Coldplay Live forum now (46 pages and counting!). Read on for the rest of this media review...
The Evening Standard continued: Chris Martin’s admission in the programme that it might turn out to be "passionately ramshackle" was accurate in the case of support act Lily Allen, who confessed she hadn’t brought a band for her comeback. Martin stepped in for an acoustic duet of The Fear, though Allen shared more pop chemistry with surprise guest Robbie Williams on Dream A Little Dream from his chart-topping album.
Allen has the number one single with a cover of Keane’s Somewhere Only We Know — featured on the John Lewis advert — and she was joined by the band’s Tim Rice-Oxley on piano. “This guy is earning a lot of money off me right now,” Allen pointed out.
The audience singalong to her fragile vocals was good practice for Coldplay, who were on remarkable live form for a band who have been shut in the studio. “I see we still have the best fans in the world,” said Martin following their noisy chanting during the opening Clocks. Whether roaming the stage or at his piano, he was a hyperactive frontman who looked thrilled to be back.
There was a live debut for spooky ballad Atlas from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, though no other clues to the band’s current direction. Their previous direction still sounded spectacular during the chiming guitars of Charlie Brown and uplifting anthem Paradise, while the audience’s illuminated wristbands made it a communal pop experience like no other.
Coldplay’s Christmas Lights was a subdued finale, though Martin couldn’t resist a rendition of White Christmas, featuring fake snow, to send us home with some proper festive cheer.
Latest videos from the show:
Atlas:
The Fear (duet with Lily Allen):
Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall:
Charlie Brown:
White Christmas:
Christmas Lights:
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