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COLDPLAY Sunday March 9, 2003 – Promowest Pavilion by Jonah Baldwin
It was sold out and packed. My friend and I showed up half way through the opener, “The Music”, who sounded like Rage Against the Machine meets techno with some Perry Farrell sounding dude on lead vocals. I’ve often suspected that bands use the old “take your ugly friend to the bar” strategy to make themselves look better, and this was the first blatantly obvious incidence of this I’ve encountered. Finally the band took the stage. Coldplay is a very young band, with only two studio LPs released. In fact, I’ve read on a couple websites that their lead singer just recently moved out of his parents’ house. As far as sound went, their youth did not show. It might have been due to a very expensive and experienced crew of technicians, but they sounded better than any other band I’ve heard at Promowest, on the lawn or in the hall. They opened with a rather driving number, “Politik”, from their most recent album “A Rush of Blood to the Head”. Without pause they pressed on through 3 more tunes until at last their lead man Chris Martin took a moment to engage the audience, “We like to prove we’re not shit”, he said, “when we’re playing a new town.” The fans replied with thunderous applause and laughter. Chris had a grin a mile wide across his face the entire time, even when he was drawing out heart wrenching lyrics and chords. About five seconds into “Trouble” he burst into laughter saying, “I’m sorry, I’m just not used to people screaming ‘I love you’ yet” – absolutely adorable. As the evening passed, it increasingly became apparent that Chris was the impetus behind the band, a classically styled British pop phenom with ingratiating innocence and solid musical prowess. He managed to create one of the most responsive and enthusiastic audiences I’ve seen in a long time, and this at what one would expect to be a low energy show given Coldplay’s predominantly subdued style. Granted they did not have an expansive repertoire to choose a set list from, they still managed to put together a well blended mix of their heavier songs (some even involving the use of loud distorted power chords – gasp) and their more typical mellow, introspective, love themed numbers. Complimenting the general excellence in showmanship was a top of the line light and video accompaniment. As they finished their last number, the hall erupted. Certainly Coldplay knew they
had given a fine performance and probably one of the longest of their
tour judging from other set lists posted on their site. Leaving the
stage was mere pretence, an encore was demanded and they came through.
Two more songs, one of them the smash hit “In My Place”,
were performed. The stage was cleared again, but the crowd was relentless.
Chris came on solo with his acoustic guitar and performed an untitled
song that he said was “for his girlfriend”. Everyone left
having received a healthy dose of quality rock. Such an extraordinary
group can make even Promowest bearable. Excellent show. Set List Politik |