Coldplay concert [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

PDA

View Full Version : Coldplay concert



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.

Auricauricle
07-13-2009, 10:36 AM
Nicely written review, SL! I have not listened much to CP's music, so unfortunately I have little frame of reference. Now you've whet the appetite a little more and might take some trouble if they find their way to this neck of the woods.

BTW, I heard that B. Eno may be teaming up with CP soon. Heard anything on that?

3LB
07-13-2009, 11:28 AM
Early Radiohead is the frame of reference here.

I haven't heard about Eno - not only would that not surprise me, it wouldn't interest me. I've never been much of an Eno fan...or a Coldplay fan either really. Coldplay has some great songs in their canon, but they fail to hold me for an entire album, as a lot of their stuff on CD is somewhat balladish or plaintiffly pretty. I'd suggest opting for a concert DVD.

Porcupine Tree treads similar territory, but is much more dynamic and dramatic in their execution than Coldplay. What would be great, would be if Steven Wilson could get a hold of these guys and give their sound some much needed edge and complexity in the studio...maybe some ballsier guitar while he's at it.

Luvin Da Blues
07-13-2009, 11:33 AM
[QUOTE=3LB]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. [QUOTE]

What a great place for a concert. Absolutley a beautiful place for any event.

3-LockBox
07-13-2009, 12:47 PM
The Gorge at George, WA

(this is an older picture)


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/Gorge_Amphitheatre.jpg/800px-Gorge_Amphitheatre.jpg (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Gorge_Amphitheatre.jpg)

ForeverAutumn
07-13-2009, 12:47 PM
It pains me that in other areas of the country people will get to see a relevant, upper tier warm-up act like Elbow.

:)


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.

Michael Stipes did the same thing when we saw REM last summer. He talked about his pitch and then said something like "I'm usually forgiven because I'm so charming". Yeah, whatever.

Thanks for the great review. Like you, I'm seeing Coldplay mostly because my husband wanted to go and he doesn't usually want to spend big money on concerts (that's my territory). But he wanted to see them and you won't usually catch me complaining about going to see live music. But I'm really looking forward to it now in a way that I wasn't, initially.

Troy
07-13-2009, 03:42 PM
Wow, what a cool looking venue.

Peter Gabriel does the same thing with his opening acts. Time to hit the bar . . .

Coldplay sounds like U2 lite to me. Glad to hear they firm-up the songs a little, live. But really, Coldplay are candyasses compared to Porcupine Tree.

3LB
07-13-2009, 05:43 PM
Coldplay sounds like U2 lite to me. Glad to hear they firm-up the songs a little, live. But really, Coldplay are candyasses compared to Porcupine Tree.

Don't disagree with you at all, though I'd pay to see U2 live-in-person if it were cheap to do so.

Niether the guitarist nor bassist were greatshakes, they were just there. All the guitar player needed was a funny hat and he'd a been a dead ringer for The Edge. Funny, I did pick up on a very U2ish vibe as well. And boy oh boy, we were surrounded by some unabashed fanboys...one dude near me was as big a football player and I thought he'd cream his jeans at any moment. I'd have to think back to a Superbowl winner to see a big dude like that gush the way this guy did.

And I wasn't comparing PT and Coldplay outright, just that the softer, poppier moments of PT are similar to Coldplay's overall sound on CD, but at least they played with some spunk on-stage. I traded away the two Coldplay CDs I had a few years back (my wife bought Viva La Vida) and I don't regret doing it.

With all the acts these guys could tour with...I dunno...maybe they ensure they'll be the biggest hit with the audience if they have little to no competition from the supporting acts. At least Amadou & Mariam would fit in more within the context of Gabriel.

3LB
07-14-2009, 07:39 AM
BTW, I heard that B. Eno may be teaming up with CP soon. Heard anything on that?

Actually, I was wrong about a couple of things - Eno was indeed the producer on the latest album, Viva La Vida, and also - that might explain the slightly more anthemic sound on this record, as well as it sounding even more U2ish than previous outings. Guitars have that Edge shimmer and the rythm section has been pushed beyond the usual turtle pace of most earlier Coldplay tunes, or at least, there is more bite to Coldplay's presentation on Viva...a sense of urgency if you will - in other words, a slighty edgier sound than the sweeping majesty the band is usually shooting for. Think Joshua Tree (Eno produced that album for U2). A song like Lovers In Japan is so U2 it isn't funny and I'm surprised it never came up given the accusations of plagerism concerning the title track (I hadn't given this new album muchuva spin until recently).

So, I guess I need to eat crow regarding my first response to Eno producing Coldplay. Not experimental at all, but retro chic, Eno made this album sound less polite, less brooding and more like a rock album, even if he does borrow another band's sound. However, it does reaffirm what I stated yesterday, this band needs someone to push them performance-wise. Musically speaking, I'm not sure this album is as well written as previous releases. A guy like Steve Wilson could teach these guys a thing or two. It'd be like Rundgren producing for XTC.

I have no idea if Eno's influence has anything to do with the current tour and stage show, since I have no real point of reference, but with all the big banners, flags and quasi-military 18th century costumes...one wonders.

Monkey Bones
07-14-2009, 11:15 AM
Sheesh, next thing you know you'll be posting about your monthly bouts of "lower abdominal" pain.


:)

3LB
07-14-2009, 12:33 PM
Sheesh, next thing you know you'll be posting about your monthly bouts of "lower abdominal" pain.

Gee, is it summertime already?


;)

Swish
07-14-2009, 04:03 PM
When you say you drank ' a lot of beer', could you at least tell what kind? Some nice IPAs mebbe? Now that would have interested me, and not the rambling on about Coldplay (yawn).

They are Radiohead lite if you ask me, and the Edge is hardly an original either. He took plenty from Will Sergeant of Echo and the Bunnymen. Everyone knows that, don't they?

3LB
07-15-2009, 08:19 AM
No, I didn't drink designer beer on a 98 degree day. Coronas w/ lime.

When it comes to good guitar players, or guitar bands, or rock bands, neither Coldplay, U2, or Echo and The Bunnymen comes to the front of my mind.

Swish
07-15-2009, 11:09 AM
No, I didn't drink designer beer on a 98 degree day. Coronas w/ lime.

When it comes to good guitar players, or guitar bands, or rock bands, neither Coldplay, U2, or Echo and The Bunnymen comes to the front of my mind.

...not that you can really compare them. That's nearly as subjective as music itself. Will Sergeant is a fine guitarist, let me assure you of that. I've been playing for nearly 40 years and wish I had half his skill.

ForeverAutumn
07-31-2009, 06:39 AM
I saw Coldplay last night and there’s isn’t much that I can say that 3LB hasn’t already said. They put on a great show and I was surprised at the band’s energy. They upped the tempo of many songs and added more of a dance beat in the bass and drums. They even played a pre-recorded dance mix of Viva La Vida for a few minutes while the band was off the stage.

Some of the effects they used were really cool. We saw them in a 50,000 seat baseball stadium with a closed roof. There must have been hundreds of big yellow balloons bouncing around during Yellow. As we were sitting on the second tier, we could watch them bouncing around the baseball field sized floor and it looked great! I took a couple of pictures with my phone (lame, I know) and if I can figure out how to load the pictures onto my computer, I’ll post one.

They also organized the crown into doing a ‘wave’ with cell phones. I have to say that its the first time that I’ve seen this and it looked great!

Hearing 50,000 people singing Fix You was very impressive. But I have to say that the modern practice of waving your cell phone in the air during a ballad has nothing on the older practice of waving a lighter.

If I had any complaints about the evening it would be the venue. A 50,000 seat venue is too big for a concert. We had reasonably good seats that we purchased during a pre-sale and we still had to watch the show on the video screens because we were too far away from the stage. But I guess the fact that Coldplay could sell out this 50,000 seat venue says a lot for the bands popularity and great showmanship. My second complaint was the editing of the show on the video screens. The edits were so fast that I found it hard to watch. Its something that I find is a common practice in a lot of movies, music videos and concert footage these days, and it annoys the hell out of me.

Kitty, Daisy and Lewis were the first band on the stage. As we entered the venue, we ran into my brother (he works at the venue). KD&L were already on stage and my brother, who saw their first song, referred to them as “the hillbillies”. We stepped into the stadium long enough for half a song and quickly decided that we could miss “the hillbillies” and this would be a good time to go out and find something to eat. We returned to our seats in time for Elbow.

Elbow were great! They played about a half dozen songs! They even had the crowd singing along during Grounds For Divorce. Which was pretty amazing considering that 90% of the people there, I’m sure, had never heard of them. They kept their set fairly upbeat, which can be difficult for the low key Elbow. The singer told the crowd that it was their job to warm the crowd up for Coldplay and I think they did their job very well.

I would love to see Elbow again in a smaller venue. They don’t have the energy that Coldplay has and I just don’t think that their music or showmanship is suited to such a large venue. If they came back again, I would definitely go and see them.

Overall, it was a great evening. We had a lot of fun and I enjoyed Coldplay live a whole lot more than I was expecting to.

As an added bonus, we were handed a free live CD on the way out of the show. We plugged it into the car CD player and listened to a few tracks on the way home. It’s pretty good and a nice memento of the evening. Especially for free!

Hmmmm. Looking at how much I just wrote...I guess that there’s a lot that I can say that 3LB hadn’t already said. :)

3LB
07-31-2009, 09:01 AM
^ Glad you liked it FA. They did they yellow bouncy ball thing too, only I think two-thirds of them wound up bouncing down the canyon. They must be halfway up the Canadian coast by now.

Oh and BTW, I much prefer the cell-phone to the cigarette lighter, considering the limited mental capacity of the people who use cigarette lighters at concerts.

Wow, KD&L made it to the east coast leg of the tour - Satan's comin to collect their souls when this one is over. Or they have compromising pictures of somebody important, with farm animals.

I envy that you got to see Elbow. Who knows, they might be better in concert if they were headlining, but the lead singer sounds like he knew which side his bread was buttered.

ForeverAutumn
07-31-2009, 10:45 AM
Wow, KD&L made it to the east coast leg of the tour - Satan's comin to collect their souls when this one is over. Or they have compromising pictures of somebody important, with farm animals.

LOL. That's pretty much exactly what I said. They are part of the WHOLE tour as the opening band, while the support band changes based on dates. You saw whoever it was that you saw. Snow Patrol opened for a while. Elbow is opening for the next few weeks and then it's someone else. For KD&L to be part of the whole tour suggests that Coldplay must owe someone a HUGE favour...or that one of the girls in the band is sleeping with one of Coldplay's members.


I envy that you got to see Elbow. Who knows, they might be better in concert if they were headlining, but the lead singer sounds like he knew which side his bread was buttered.

That they would better if they were headlining is the impression I got. These guys looked like seasoned musicians who are very comfortable on stage. It's not easy to be the back-up band for 50,000 crazed Coldplay fans, but they did it and they did it well. They were very professional.