My Coldplay.com - A Coldplay Blog

Coldplay, at Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Wednesday

Long live the kings. And you too, Coldplay. The world’s biggest band hit Toronto’s Air Canada Centre for the first of two sold-out concerts on Wednesday, leaving the impression that while its members are a nice young foursome of Englishmen capable of writing gorgeous anthems and performing them wonderfully, they just aren’t the conquering types.

Appearing as if they hadn’t cleaned the dust from Sunday’s Pemberton Festival in B.C. off their raggedy military garb, the CD-selling giants starting grandly, entering with the swelling instrumental Life in Technicolor that ushered them to an audience that greeted its heroes with something like a soccer-stadium chant.

Ninety minutes later, after a sweeping, grandiose show of it, the band left with a brief encore of an unexpected older hit – “We haven’t rehearsed this,” singer Chris Martin said of 2000’s Don’t Panic – and a happy new jig apparently called The Dubliner.

It’s doubtful anyone among the adoring throng left the arena unsatisfied. But while the whirlwind of a performance was seemingly absolute and quite flawless, things never felt as profound as it was all made out to be. Somehow this band managed to dominate, but without a sense of utter triumph.

What was missing is hard to say – perhaps Coldplay hasn’t the swagger. Sticking more or less to the same set-list of songs rendered Tuesday at Monday’s Bell Centre, the players hit the euphoric past hits – Clocks set back time and tingled spines with its mesmerizing piano riff, resolute rhythm and soaring vocals – while managing to cover nearly all of the new, ditheringly-titled Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, an album that debuted at No. 1 in 36 countries, including Canada, upon its release earlier this summer.

The band’s fourth album marked a change in musical direction for Coldplay, previously known for earnest, heart-swelling pop songs. After giving a fanciful account of the band’s history, Martin introduced Yellow, the breakthrough, contagious single from the 2000 debut Parachutes, as a small song with three chords and a lot of passion: ”It took us around the world and back again,” he said, true enough.

The new material is less small, and slightly less passionate (not in a bad way). As live video images were screened on a giant hanging orb, Martin sang about kingdoms lost on the cinematic Viva La Vida title track. On Yes, strumming an acoustic guitar that fit into the crook of his right elbow, the husband of Gwyneth Paltrow sang in head-cold lower register we don’t often hear from him, while tasteful lead guitarist Jonny Buckland made sitar-like noises. On the piano for the three-part 42, Martin borrowed from John Lennon’s Imagine as retro black-and-white live images played on the giant backdrop screen. The show had opened with the new album’s French Revolution-era cover art image, a pretentious nod to the group’s somewhat rebellious musical direction.

Coldplay, which, not unreasonably, takes itself seriously, was not above a bit of larkiness, running through the crowd before making its way up the steps for a cheaper-seat sing-along of The Scientist, followed by the bouncy folk of Death Will Never Conquer, sung by drummer Will Champion, with mouth-harp help from Martin. After an interlude, the merry indie-pop of Lovers in Japan was coloured by a blizzard of butterfly-shaped confetti.

Earlier, on first Viva La Vida’s single Violet Hill, the 70s-style arena rocker that was downloaded free by 600,000 people on the first day it was available from the band’s website, Martin sang ”If you love me, won’t you let me know?”

Coldplay’s fans, on their feet all evening, did just that. This band is adored, no doubt. But Coldplay, who have one more scheduled Canadian date after Thursday’s second ACC show (in Ottawa on Oct. 20) do not rule; Martin is too precious and too deferential to the royal U2s and Radioheads for that.

Any crown, then, is worn suspiciously on Coldplay’s head.

Set list

Life in Technicolor
Violet Hill
Clocks
In My Place
Viva La Vida
Yes
42
Fix You
Strawberry Swing
Chinese Sleep Chant
God Put a Smile Upon Your Face
Speed of Sound
Yellow
Lost!
The Scientist
Death Will Never Conquer

(interlude)

Talk (remix)
Politik
Lovers in Japan
Death and All His Friends
The Escapist
Don’t Panic (encore)
The Dubliners (encore)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com

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A hot night for Coldplay

To take a phrase from Coldplay’s latest album Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, they didn’t get to heaven but they made it close last night at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre.

The British quartet, perhaps the heirs to U2’s “greatest rock band in the world” moniker, wowed the sold-out crowd during the first of a two-night stand at the venue as part of their current North American tour.

Whether it was the giant balls suspended from above that showed up-close images of the group, confetti or the fact that the quartet of singer Chris Martin, drummer Will Champion, guitarist Jonny Buckland or bassist Guy Berryman seemed to nail one song after another during the course of roughly 100 minutes, it was definitely a spectacle.

Led by singer Martin, dressed like he just came from ’80s rocker Adam Ant’s garage sale, Coldplay opened with the new album’s opener, Life In Technicolor, before settling into the single Violet Hill, with its slow, plodding Beatles-esque feel.

Despite the fact that Martin hams it up a bit with dancing that looks more like he’s channeling Charlie Chaplin, as was the case during Fix You, he was solid throughout the evening while making sure the crowd did their part, particularly during In My Place, when the crowd drowned out Martin.

Another asset to the show was how well the band used the venue to make everyone feel part of the event. Although the small sidestage set was nice, the real coup was seeing Coldplay run along the sideboards and boot it up the steps for a two-song set at the base of a section exit. There the group did an acoustic version of The Scientist as well as Death Will Never Conquer, a simple ditty Champion took lead vocals on.

The quality of the new album also resulted in a very well-paced show, with probably only Yes coming off less than great as Martin did his best Nick Cave impersonation. This was in sharp contrast to how beautifully Lovers In Japan, with its intricate melody, fared during the homestretch.

Elsewhere, Martin was content to spend a fair portion of the evening at his upright piano centre stage and pound the hell out of the keys. A perfect example of this was during Speed Of Sound, but he definitely shone during the foot-stomping Politik with Champion also leading the charge.

Yet Martin again hammed it up after asking “Sparky” to introduce them to the Toronto crowd. Coming off a bit like Monty Python’s Michael Palin, Martin mentioned how they started back in 1971 and were now happy to be playing “18 sold-out nights at Air Canada Centre.”

It was quite forgivable once Buckland’s opening notes to Yellow came to the fore. Unfortunately he kept to the regular version of the song, not squeezing every ounce of energy that riff has to offer for a far lengthier affair.

Perhaps the biggest compliment to be paid was that despite the number of hits from albums like X&Y and A Rush Of Blood to the Head, Coldplay managed to include all of the hits while working in a boatload of the new album. Those willing to nitpick might argue Parachutes was only represented by the smash hit Yellow and Don’t Panic, but it’s tough to argue against what was played.

With the house lights up as if the show was over, Coldplay returned for a quick two-song encore starting with Don’t Panic before calling it a night.

Martin spent a fair bit of the show asking if everything was okay. Judging by the standing, the singing and the applause, I would say okay is an understatement.

http://torontosun.com/

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LIVE: Coldplay Get Lost

July 30, 2008
Air Canada Centre
Toronto, ON
By Kate Harper

Santogold might have been a bit of a strange opener for this show. Though, relatively speaking, there weren’t that many people there for her set, the multi-styled songs from her self-titled debut full-length received more cheers than any opening act I’ve seen at the Air Canada Centre in a while. But by the end of her set it seemed like the audience was getting tired and anxious for the headliners, so she managed to pick up some more cheers by dropping Coldplay’s name whenever she could.

Coldplay opened with “Life In Technicolor” while playing behind a black, translucent curtain. This is something Sigur Ros were doing about two years ago. (Interestingly enough, Sigur Ros have also been wearing 18th century military jackets at their recent gigs.) Despite immediately imitating someone else, Coldplay started off strong, running through “Violet Hill” before they got the audience screaming with “Clocks,” “In My Place” and “Viva La Vida.”

During “In My Place,” guitarist Jonny Buckland wandered off onto one of the wings that extended into the crowd on either side of the stage. Chris Martin ran after him and launched himself flying into the air behind him — a strange rock star display during a very un-rock star song — and ended the song lying down, singing on his back.

But things started to get weird during “Yes.” The seven-minute track is one of the weakest and most confused on Viva La Vida, and it certainly comes off that way live. Its main problem is it’s technically two songs — one that sounds like The Velvet Underground and another “hidden” number that apes My Bloody Valentine — all in a single track. But Coldplay seem to think it should be played as two tracks live, which raises questions about why they didn’t split it up on the record. They ran through The Velvet Underground half of the song before transitioning into a lackluster version of the Radiohead-imitating “42.”

A full stadium singalong to “Fix You” somewhat buoyed them, but then Coldplay decided to play the second half of “Yes,” using electronic drums on a glass part of the stage with white lights underneath. It came off flat again, mainly because it sounds like a different band and it just doesn’t translate well live. What was even more confusing was when they ran through “God Put A Smile Upon Your Face” after that, still using the electronic drum kit and putting a techno spin on it. But then they cut the song off after one verse and one chorus. Maybe it just wasn’t working.

Coldplay redeemed themselves at the end of “Lost!” when they ran off the stage, through the floor seats and up into the Red seats area of the stands for acoustic versions of “The Scientist” and “Death Will Never Conquer” while surrounded by fans. It worked, and the singalong during the former song is probably one of the loudest I’ve heard anywhere.

Though Coldplay said they were done, they weren’t, and before their encore began, a video of Fox News anchor Bill O’Reilly calling Martin “not man enough” to come on his The O’Reilly Factor television show played. They got a jab at him by playing “Politik” and ran through some more songs from Viva La Vida before they left the stage.

But the crowd wasn’t having this. The cheering was so loud that they came back on stage to play what Martin said was a “real encore, we haven’t unrehearsed” of “Don’t Panic” and “The Dubliners” before things were truly finished.

While the audience loved the entire gig and were enthusiastic throughout, Coldplay need to stop trying to sound like other people and find their own shtick again, because it’s hurting the quality of their live show. They’re four albums in, and they sounded better during the tour for X&Y than they do now.

Here’s what Coldplay played:

“Life In Technicolor”
“Violet Hill”
“Clocks”
“In My Place”
“Viva La Vida”
“Yes” (half)
“42″
“Fix You”
“Strawberry Swing”
“Yes” (”hidden” half)
“God Put A Smile Upon Your Face” (shortened)
“Speed Of Sound”
“Yellow”
“Lost!”
“The Scientist”
“Death Will Never Conquer”
“Politik” (first encore)
“Lovers In Japan” (first encore)
“Death And All His Friends” (first encore)
“The Escapist” (first encore)
“Don’t Panic” (second encore)
“The Dubliners” (second encore)

http://www.chartattack.com

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FAN REVIEWS

Ahhhhh ! i cannot get over how incredible that was ! my first coldplay concert ! and your pictures are AMAZING. . . i had rearview seating, so i didnt get to c any of the imaging on the backdrops

and in all honesty tho, the seats were not bad at all, i think coldplay just has this way of makign everybody feel incredible, no matter where u sit !

AHH i wish i could get my hands on tickets for today’s now, i expect it 2 be almost better because its Will’s bday, plus they dont have a gig for another couple of days !

But i cant get over how incredible that experience was ! i wish i took a camera, i’d put pics up, but i didnt so i have to live off of your pics

[thanks ManiG]

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I got to meet Jonny and get a picture with him and go to the after party with the whole band. It was insane and probably not even legal considering I’m 15 but no one cared…

They were stunning live and I got to sit beside Chloe which was soo exciting because I got to explain my favourite songs and things like that. She’s an absolute sweetheart. I also got to see the baby too! She looks just like Jonny. :]

The after party was at a club/bar thing called The Lobby. I had a backstage pass but that was just for the concert and I had a blue wrist band for the party. My family knows Chloe so…

Okaay here goes my review:

Before the show I stayed at a house which is where Chloe was and the baby. Then we drove to the Air Canada centre and got our tickets. Chloe took us backstage and we hung out in the “Coldplay Family Room” but the guys were getting ready to go on stage obviously, so we didn’t see them then. I got to talk to Chloe for a bit about Violet and stuff like that.

Then we went to our seats and we were sitting to the right of the stage. AWESOME seats. I sat beside Chloe and it was soo adorable. When Jonny came over to our side and went down that ramp thing, he was scanning the crowd and then he saw Chloe and he gave her the biggest smile. Awww.

So we rocked out for the whole amazing concert and okay, I don’t know why, but I had to keep myself from crying so much. Like when they came on stage I almost burst out crying, I don’t know why. And when they played Fix You I almost cried too but I didn’t want to infront of everyone haha. It was amazing.

After the show Chloe took us backstage again and we waited around in the family room thing again and then Jonny came out. You wouldn’t be able to tell he’s some dude in a world famous band. He’s so down to Earth and chill. He’s shy too, which makes him even more adorable. I was standing with Chloe when he came in the room so he obviously went over to her and I got to shake his hand. He was at my cousin’s wedding 3 years ago but I didn’t say anything to him because I didn’t want to bug him so I was really happy to be able to meet him formally.

Later I saw tons of photos of him with Violet and that baby is honestly the most adorable thing in this world, hahah.

Umm and then Chloe insisted it was okay to get a photo with Jonny because I didn’t want to bug him. But he was very nice about it. Chloe even took the picture on his iphone and then sent it to me. O:

K so I’m the most awkward person alive but whatever. There’s the picture, and don’t mind my face. It kinda wrecks it. xD

Then after that was the after party at The Lobby. I am not a party girl at all and I’m only 15 so this was definitely weird for me. But the whole band eventually showed up and at one point I was 5 feet away from Chris and we made eye contact and smiled at each other. Haha I was too nervous to say anything and he was in the middle of a conversation, so. But it was really cute because the band came in and started hugging each other and Will and Chris were dancing for a few seconds. xD I also brushed shoulders with Guy but he was in a conversation so I didn’t say anything.

It was Will’s birthday, well technically, because it was like 1am so people brought in cake and we sang him happy birthday.

I just talked to Chloe a lot (who is, by the way, so effing adorable.)

Then Chloe and Jonny were going to go because they wanted to check up on Violet and everything so I said by to Jonny and we both said it was nice meeting each other and they were off!

It was amazing.

[Thanks sandersidle]

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They played WARNING SIGN for us at the Sound Check Party!!! It was absolutly unbelievable!! THEN… My heart sunk as I heard something I never thought I’d hear live… “When I counted up my demons…” unfortunately… it stopped there because Chris kept messing up the song! But we got one line of Everything’s Not Lost and that’s pretty darn cool! After that… We got to meet the band! And an amazing show followed…

opening act was Santogold (hip/hop with lots of electro sounds)… She started at about 7:45pm and finished about 8:15pm (quick 30min set). Then it was literally crazy waiting until 9pm when Coldplay took the stage. They wrapped up their encore at 10:41pm sharply. Short concert if you ask me but totally awesome nonetheless.

[thanks sarahduffus & green_eyes11]

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Michelle and I went to the Coldplay concert, but before that went to their soundcheck (I actually won a contest, I say “actually” because who wins contests?!).

Anyway, being short pays off because Michelle and I had to stand in front of the boys as everyone else was too tall.

Of course, I’ve cropped out about 90% of the other people who were in the shot.

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VIDEO [More to follow...]

LIFE IN TECHINICOLOR/VIOLET HILL [thanks open6l]

Another version [thanks ajc863]

CLOCKS [thanks ourcrack]

IN MY PLACE [thanks Peeches16]

VIVA LA VIDA [thanks open6l]

VIVA LA VIDA/YES [thanks improvtom103]

42 [thanks improvtom103]

FIX YOU [thanks lhenns06]

STRAWBERRY SWING [thanks chemicole]

CHINESE SLEEP CHANT

GOD PUT A SMILE UPON YOUR FACE [thanks snoopie1220]

SPEED OF SOUND [thanks WhippetGreat]

YELLOW [thanks eazysnipz]


LOST! [thanks open6l]

THE SCIENTIST [thanks allypintucci]

The boys run by….[thanks pinkberries]


DEATH WILL NEVER CONQUER [thanks open6l]

TALK REMIX/POLITIK [thanks open6l]


LOVERS IN JAPAN [thanks open6l]


DEATH AND ALL HIS FRIENDS/THE ESCAPIST [thanks Nusirilo]

DON’T PANIC/THE DUBLINERS [thanks open6l]