coldplay - live (rod laver arena, thursday 5th march)
March 11, 2009
I had never seen Coldplay before. In fact, I could only say that I was, what is affectionately referred to as, a "singles fan", being that I only really know anything that I had caught on the radio or seen on Rage. I had heard mixed reviews about Coldplay live in the past; some claiming that they can tend to be a little on the mellow side whilst others claiming that they are one of the greatest live bands on the planet. With no expectations in place, I thought it was simply a case of checking them out to see.
In short, they did not disappoint. From the moment they walked on stage, their shadows projected onto a sheet covering the stage, they were completely mesmerizing. Opening with 'Violet Hill', they continued to work their way through a string of hits. I had said to my friends that I would be happy if I knew 1 in 3 tracks - I had little to concern myself with as the band laid out hit after hit and chucked in the occasional more obscure album track. The audience responded magnificently, often singing more loudly than Chris Martin and frequently interrupting the band from moving onto the next track. Songs like 'Yellow' were greeting enthusiastically with giant yellow balloons being dropped onto the audience below to play with. The band also took to performing at the end of one catwalk and in the nose bleed sections of the audience too, giving the audience far more access to the band than most would've expected.
With hits like 'Viva La Vida', 'Speed Of Sound', 'Fix You' and 'God Put a Smile Upon Your Face', Coldplay managed to prove that they truly do deserve every word of praise that they've received. I'll be queuing up next time they're coming to town.
