Lukestar1991

Oh the paradox of a Coldplay live show!

As I Ran Away asks, why does Coldplay try so hard to "eclipse the grandeur" of their earlier years? I think that's a relevant question.

Good footage from the Parisien feed. Just think, an entire stream like that is just sitting on a usb somewhere, waiting to be watched... As for Chris' voice, maybe he just needs to get into the groove of singing night after night. Also: glad to see he is FINALLY playing guitar on ETIAW instead of running around and getting out of breath. Kind of gets repetitive after a while..

IKR?

Must do better, IMHO.

I know that Guy wasn't so keen on it a few years ago, but I've always thought leaving a song like that - among their very best - out of the set was a pretty shoddy move to say the least.

Not just that. I genuinely think the set is a bit lacklustre. It's just too orchestrated. The best thing about the MX tour (especially the 2011 shows) was that they had a great balance between orchestration / fanfare and actually playing as a band. For the most part, I'm not feeling the latter right now. Seriously, if I want to hear Hymn For The Weekend I'll listen to the record. I'm not that bothered about seeing that kind of fanfare frenzy live. IMHO, it's time the band actually start playing the songs that got them where they are. I.e., the fan favourites. Trouble, Talk, Daylight, GPASUYF, ETNL, et al. Long overdue.

I really really hope they shake this up. It's just not working at the moment. Where's the excitement, the spontaneity? It just all feels so static. Anyone else agree?

I'm not entirely sure why, but there's something about the current setlist that just doesn't flow. Of course, this is the first night of the tour, but the lack of variety means we can probably assume they're fairly 'set' on the current repertoire of songs. I suspect it's just the sheer amount of singles/hits that they're trying to squeeze into the set. There's just too many, for me. It's like overload. I don't ever recall this imbalance being a problem on previous tours.

Best view by far.

I was only listening to a live show from 2002 the other day thinking "we'll never see/hear the likes of this again..." but THEN...!!!!

Yes, you're right. I don't currently live in occupied Palestine. However, I've not told any lies, nor do I seek to mislead you. Your argument would be compelling if it were not for that fact that millions of people world wide (many of them Jews) acknowledge that Israel is a dangerously nationalistic, militaristic, apartheid state. It seems to me that you are intentionally ignoring the fact that Palestinians are denied basic human rights. It is also grossly offensive and deeply saddening that you refuse to acknowledge the very existence of the Palestinian people, of which there are over 12 million world wide - many of whom were of course forced from their lands during the Nakba, which is of course when Israel declared its independence. I do hope that you withdraw this racist and deeply misinformed claim. I think you're better than that, Ryon. I'm not going to bother to dispute/correct many of the points you make. Mainly because this isn't the most appropriate forum. I will however address the main crux of your argument. First of all, no one, either in the Israeli establishment or in the international community, truly believes for a second that the wall - which is by no means a "security wall" - was built to "secure and to save civilian lives". It was erected to divide two seemingly separate ethnic groups, and preference Israeli settlers, and not even indigenous Jews, over Palestinian Arabs. Did you know that the Nazis did a similar thing to Polish Jews when they built walls and around the Warsaw Ghetto? It was wrong then and it's simply wrong now. It is extremely disingenuous to even attempt to condone this inhumane and disastrous policy, (however I sense that you are actually a genuinely well meaning person, inside, which is why I continue to appeal to you). My fundamental point is that if you say you want a free and united world, you should stop making excuses for historic and present day atrocities. That line of argument will never win. Humans are humans. Surely you agree that we cannot have one rule for one and one rule for another? You are a valuable human and of course deserve to live in peace and security, but so do the many Palestinians, Arabs and even diasporic Africans who have made Israel / Palestine their home, but don't currently have the same rights. Surely, we should support equal rights for all those that inhabit Israel / Palestine and recognise the wrongs done to the Palestinians, who lived in relative peace with Jews and other ethnic / religious groups before the creation of Israel. When I criticise the Israeli state I'd like you to know that I'm not seeking to attack you, far from it. However, you must at the very least acknowledge the right Palestinians have to repatriation, land, freedom and security. It is the Israeli government supported by the UK and USA who are to blame for the current situation (a situation which is damaging to everyone concerned) and they should be held responsible. Ultimately though, I hope that in the spirit of the credo of Up&Up, we can agree that genuine peace and reconciliation for all are causes worth supporting, without any exceptions.

Also, I think it would be good to 'get into it'. We're here to dissect / comment on the video are we not? Do you think it's acceptable that Palestinians live in an open air prison? More people need to learn about the occupation. The band, and the Israeli filmmakers who produced the video are clearly making a point: all walls are a violation of humanity. They should be broken down so that we can all live united, together, rather than divided, as the powers that be would have it.

Perhaps I should have been more specific. There are many walls, but after studying the video a little, I think it most closely resembles the West Bank Apartheid Wall.

Is that the Gaza apartheid wall I see at ? Either way. The underlying message is very moving, the end result beautiful.

Just. What is that all about? And Guy pretending to play the piano part? AND Will pretending to sing Beyonce's backing vocal? There are too many wtf moments (of the underwhelming variety, sadly) in that clip for my liking.

For me, they offer different kinds of vibes. The general 'wall of sound' mixdown of the entire album was disappointing, imho. I think HLH would've benefited from a more live kind of production.

Quite embarrassing, in a way. The kids absolutely killed it.

Wonderful job. An edit 100% worthy of the original. EDIT: Would that have been so hard for them? I mean, really. If you played both this and the official single edit back to back without telling me, I'd swear down that this was the one.

I think I'd have to agree. It just doesn't make sense to cut a song of that length when the album is full of commercially viable songs (Fun, Amazing Day, even Army of One). I also find it quite ironic that the single version has been butchered when you think of how the album version is essentially 3 chunks of music melded into one. Don't get me wrong, I love the original as it is but the second solo section is one of the most blatantly obvious edits I've ever heard on a record...

"Anti-police" ? xD

True, but to have songs like AROBTTH played as a novelty and without the respect they deserve seems a bit out of place. Also, when I first heard the piano part for Amazing Day (excl. its first airing, which I took as a something of a 'live' rehearsal) I was looking forward to seeing it all come together in a genuinely live setting. To have Chris just standing there hugging the mike with piano (probably the most prominent instrument in the mix) pulsing through the speakers is a bit much I think. I of course agree that instrumental playback is great when it adds vital embellishment to a track (Square One, In My Place, Clocks, Politik and Paradise et al are all good examples of this). Unfortunately, the way things are going at the moment I feel it's beginning to undermine the musicianship somewhat.

Same. Hate to sound like some barmy old musical luddite, but perhaps they should spend more time focusing on playing as an actual band than having Chris jump about like an orangutan on acid. Just a thought.

There's no lip syncing, but there's multi-layered backing vocals on both tracks (incl. a choir on Up&Up, which makes the track seem all the more glaring when played live).

By backing vocals, d'you mean 'choir on tape' by any chance...?