3LB
07-13-2009, 09:42 AM
I didn't have high expectations for this concert, but since my wife was suddenly a fan, I decided to take the opportunity to see them live, since they were playing in an outdoor venue, in a place that guarantees good weather and has a spectacular view, The Gorge Ampitheater in Washington on the Columbia river. We took the motorhome down (4 hour drive) and stayed all day in an RV park that shuttles people from the camp to venue and back, so we could spend the day laying around sunning, or drinking beer in the shade, or in my case, lots of beer. We went to the concert that evening on the shuttle, getting there early enough to drop 70 bucks on two t-shirts, and sometime thereafter I dropped my cellphone (some guy found it and is mailing it to me, so all is cool). It was nice to be able to sleep overnight afterward and then stir around at our leisure Sunday.
There were two warm-up acts on the bill, and I can't think of a more strange pairing of acts in a major concert. First up was some co-ed retro rock outfit ala Stray Cats called Kitty Daisy & Lewis, a five piece band that played '50s soul/ R&B styled rock repleat with period clothing and antique instruments. Their set was only about six songs. They were ok; if you liked Stray Cats and wished Brian Setzer hadn't gone swing, then fret not, these guys are for you.
The other was a band that says they are Afropop, Amadou & Mariam, who I gathered are a "couple" (both are nearly blind and had to be lead on stage), plus an ensemble that included a bassist, a drummer, a percussionist, and a keyboard player with Amadou playing jazz/rock guitar, and two long lanky dancer/back-up singers. They sounded like a blend of rock/funk/reggae and South African pop, (only without an accordian). I guess they are somewhat famous (never heard of them till now), a few people there were looking forward to them. They were a seasoned outfit and played tightly, and if you are in the mood for this type of music, they put on a decent show. The trouble I have with these South African style rock bands is that every song has the same excact backbeat, only the guitar was slightly different; the percussionist did the same bongo solo on nearly every song to which the two dancer/backup singers did a sort of tribal freakout dance.
I won't say these two warmup acts sucked, because they didn't, they were competent in their own right. It wasn't what you'd expect and normally that's sorta refreshing...but not when you shell out $120 per ticket. The first warm-up act would be fine in a club or as one of those pavillion acts you see at a major theme park, but not on a big ticket event with a major rock act. The second act woulda been fine in the context of their own genre on their own shed circuit or a festival maybe. Niether fit the bill in my opinion. It pains me that in other areas of the country people will get to see a relevant, upper tier warm-up act like Elbow, and the west coast gets something from left-field. For the money that's getting charged for a concert these days, I found the warm-up acts to be merely inccidental, out of context, and a good excuse to arrive late, provided you have reserved seats.
As for Coldplay, I stated before that I had no expectation, and given the warm-up acts, they had a low bar to surpass, and they did in spades. It was a rather extensive stage show for a 'shed circuit' what with the giant screens, video effects, laser, smoke (the whole 9 yards) and loud sound system (the gorge is a natural ampitheater within the walls of Columbia river, so the music had a lot of percussive impact). The sound was amazing considering it was an outdoor concert (we were kinda close anyway). They had two smaller seperate auxiliery stages around the venue, and they did a couple of songs from each one (one of them only about four rows behind us). It was a ready for DVD performance with no real mistakes. They've been at it a while and their stage presence is top-notch. Another pleasant surprise was that their material came across way better here than their albums - the songs were basically performed as you've heard them before, but in this concert they were played at slightly faster tempo and with a lot more energy. No overly precious moments here. The drummer was gonzos. He does backing vocals and does sing one song (some unmemorable little ditty) but it did strike me that he had a similar tone to Martin. So in case Martin ever does a 'Gabriel' and leaves, the drummer can do a 'Collins'...or something like that.
If I had to pick a nit, it'd be the same nit I pick about their studio albums, in that the guitarist shares a lot in common with Edge from U2 - he plays in the same chord, and all his solos and riffs sound the same from song to song. And Martin does a few kinda cloying things to rouse crowd response, which I've never liked at any concert. He was appropriately British in his banter of course and the girls and women ate it up (he's married to Gweneth Paltrow so I guess that makes him Jude Law or something). He isn't the greatest vocalist in the world, and he knows it, so he did play with that a time or two with a knowing British, wry wink-wink sort of thing.
At the end my wife was on cloud nine and I came away forgetting that we got jobbed on the opening acts. It was a big show and Coldplay made it worth the effort and money. With a viable opening act, this show should come off as a great bang for the buck, even at today's concert prices. As a sorta thanks for coming, the band gives out a CD called Left Right Left Right Left, a 40 minute album of live songs from the current tour (or at least they had the venue hand them out). I think the same thing is available as a download at their website. All-in-all, I think it impressed my wife enough to warrant spending the caish on other concerts, something I found I really miss attending.
There were two warm-up acts on the bill, and I can't think of a more strange pairing of acts in a major concert. First up was some co-ed retro rock outfit ala Stray Cats called Kitty Daisy & Lewis, a five piece band that played '50s soul/ R&B styled rock repleat with period clothing and antique instruments. Their set was only about six songs. They were ok; if you liked Stray Cats and wished Brian Setzer hadn't gone swing, then fret not, these guys are for you.
The other was a band that says they are Afropop, Amadou & Mariam, who I gathered are a "couple" (both are nearly blind and had to be lead on stage), plus an ensemble that included a bassist, a drummer, a percussionist, and a keyboard player with Amadou playing jazz/rock guitar, and two long lanky dancer/back-up singers. They sounded like a blend of rock/funk/reggae and South African pop, (only without an accordian). I guess they are somewhat famous (never heard of them till now), a few people there were looking forward to them. They were a seasoned outfit and played tightly, and if you are in the mood for this type of music, they put on a decent show. The trouble I have with these South African style rock bands is that every song has the same excact backbeat, only the guitar was slightly different; the percussionist did the same bongo solo on nearly every song to which the two dancer/backup singers did a sort of tribal freakout dance.
I won't say these two warmup acts sucked, because they didn't, they were competent in their own right. It wasn't what you'd expect and normally that's sorta refreshing...but not when you shell out $120 per ticket. The first warm-up act would be fine in a club or as one of those pavillion acts you see at a major theme park, but not on a big ticket event with a major rock act. The second act woulda been fine in the context of their own genre on their own shed circuit or a festival maybe. Niether fit the bill in my opinion. It pains me that in other areas of the country people will get to see a relevant, upper tier warm-up act like Elbow, and the west coast gets something from left-field. For the money that's getting charged for a concert these days, I found the warm-up acts to be merely inccidental, out of context, and a good excuse to arrive late, provided you have reserved seats.
As for Coldplay, I stated before that I had no expectation, and given the warm-up acts, they had a low bar to surpass, and they did in spades. It was a rather extensive stage show for a 'shed circuit' what with the giant screens, video effects, laser, smoke (the whole 9 yards) and loud sound system (the gorge is a natural ampitheater within the walls of Columbia river, so the music had a lot of percussive impact). The sound was amazing considering it was an outdoor concert (we were kinda close anyway). They had two smaller seperate auxiliery stages around the venue, and they did a couple of songs from each one (one of them only about four rows behind us). It was a ready for DVD performance with no real mistakes. They've been at it a while and their stage presence is top-notch. Another pleasant surprise was that their material came across way better here than their albums - the songs were basically performed as you've heard them before, but in this concert they were played at slightly faster tempo and with a lot more energy. No overly precious moments here. The drummer was gonzos. He does backing vocals and does sing one song (some unmemorable little ditty) but it did strike me that he had a similar tone to Martin. So in case Martin ever does a 'Gabriel' and leaves, the drummer can do a 'Collins'...or something like that.
If I had to pick a nit, it'd be the same nit I pick about their studio albums, in that the guitarist shares a lot in common with Edge from U2 - he plays in the same chord, and all his solos and riffs sound the same from song to song. And Martin does a few kinda cloying things to rouse crowd response, which I've never liked at any concert. He was appropriately British in his banter of course and the girls and women ate it up (he's married to Gweneth Paltrow so I guess that makes him Jude Law or something). He isn't the greatest vocalist in the world, and he knows it, so he did play with that a time or two with a knowing British, wry wink-wink sort of thing.
At the end my wife was on cloud nine and I came away forgetting that we got jobbed on the opening acts. It was a big show and Coldplay made it worth the effort and money. With a viable opening act, this show should come off as a great bang for the buck, even at today's concert prices. As a sorta thanks for coming, the band gives out a CD called Left Right Left Right Left, a 40 minute album of live songs from the current tour (or at least they had the venue hand them out). I think the same thing is available as a download at their website. All-in-all, I think it impressed my wife enough to warrant spending the caish on other concerts, something I found I really miss attending.