SageDaddy

Here's the Ottawa Citizen's review: Coldplay begins tour leg on grand scale in Ottawa Lynn Saxberg The Ottawa Citizen Tuesday, October 21, 2008 Coldplay kicked off the North American leg of their world tour at Scotiabank Place last night, and it sure didn't take long to turn into a joyous sing-along as the four band members were caught up in a swell of about 13,000 voices. By song three, singer Chris Martin had every man, woman and youth in the stadium belting along as he bashed an upright piano. After the processional Life in Technicolor and the rocking Violet Hill, two songs from the latest disc, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, the familiar hook of the 2002 hit Clocks created a surge of energy in the near sold-out audience. In My Place, another song from the Rush of Blood to the Head disc, had the same effect. With the stage lights up, Martin appeared tickled to see what he and bandmates Jonny Buckland, Will Champion and Guy Berryman had created. He bounced across the stage and down each of the two catwalks, bending backwards as he sang, a limber performer whose body was as supple as his voice. Lovable and a bit goofy, the sandy-haired Mr. Paltrow never missed a chance to connect with the audience, sometimes even talking in the middle of a song. "We're Coldplay," he said early in the concert, unnecessarily identifying one of the biggest bands in the world. "We really appreciate the fact that all you beautiful Canadians have come out to see a band from miles away. You could have been playing Scrabble or doing homework. We hope to give you some good entertainment." Indeed they did, delivering a career-spanning set with Martin setting the enthusiastic pace. No longer a wallflower who hides behind his piano, he's blossomed into the gregarious host of a magnificent event. It was a concert on a grand scale, complete with artful lighting design and offshoot staging that helped bring the band members closer to the audience. The opening act, Stars, showed they have a few things in common with Coldplay, starting with a shared penchant for melodramatic pop music. Fronted by the quirky duo of Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan, the Montreal-based band delivered a strong set, except for the brutal sound and tuning problems. The sound was muddy and the vocals out of tune through most of the songs, but they played well nonetheless, their dark, repetitive songs flowing from a whisper to a frenzied wall of noise. The Night Starts Here made the perfect opening to the highly anticipated evening. Ageless Beauty was one of the songs that spotlighted Millan's little-girl voice, while Campbell not only traded verses with her in duet fashion, but also supplied falsetto background harmonies and played keyboards, trumpet and other instruments.

Getting very excited for Monday night here in O-Town!!! Stars as an opening act is an inspired choice in my opinion! I saw them here at 'Bluesfest' in July and they are superb - they have a new release called 'Sad Robots' coming out any day now (maybe already?) and their recent 'In Our Bedroom After The War' is excellent!

Just got my tickets YESTERDAY!! This will be my first Coldplay show and I'm very excited...I've been loving 'Viva La Vida' since it came out. Have a great time on Monday night everyone!! SageDaddy