[25-Apr-2012] Coldplay @ Keyarena, Seattle, WA, USA

[Tash]

MX/Hurts Like Heaven

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Violet Hill (beginning)

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Princess Of China

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Viva La Vida

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Charlie Brown

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[Tash]

MX/Hurts Like Heaven

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Major Minus

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ETIAW

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In My Place

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The Scienstist

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Yellow

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Warning Sign

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GPASUYF

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[Tash]

link

[TecHniCoLoR_MX]

great photos!

[corianderstem]

Hello, hello! Saw the show last night and had a blast (first time seeing them). Great show (although I sure wish it had been a little longer ... oh well). Had a great seat, sang at the top of my lungs, just really enjoyed it. In My Place was probably my favorite part, thanks to the confetti and it being my favorite Coldplay song.

I am DYING to know what song was playing over the PA before the Jay-Z song. I thought I'd remember the repeating lyric well enough to Google it today, but alas, no. I know the Jay-Z song was played at least in Vancouver, not sure if those two songs are the same at each show.

I looked over some of the other threads in the live forum to see if there was a thread that addressed it, but didn't see one. Can anyone help identify that song? Thanks!

[Tash]

Live Review, Photo Set: Coldplay, Metronomy, The Pierces at Key Arena



A little over a decade ago, I saw Coldplay live for the first time. I actually went to the show for Grandaddy; The Sophtware Slump had just come out and they were touring with the buzzworthy young band from England. Coldplay’s Parachutes, already a hit with the press across the Atlantic, were now barely scraping into 120 Mintues regular rotation, and only hinting at a break into TRL canon. But Chris Martin was as chatty as ever, charmingly nervous but willing to play up the part of the big rock star. Multiple times he commented on the strangeness of the venue (they played Benaroya Hall of all places), and even once he said that this would be the perfect venue for a band much, much bigger than they were.



Fast forward to 2012. Coldplay is now playing soccer and football stadiums, with extravagant stage setups and enough set designers in tow to screw in many many fluorescent lightbulbs. Mylo Xyloto marks their fifth album and their fifth reimaging, this time as like a fluorescent, ravetastic version of Disney’s “Newsies”. They brought a piece of the city with them, a large graffiti mural emblazoned with inspirational tidbits and lyric snippet. And of course they have the Arena Rock Catwalk, so they can of course “come into the crowd” and “feel the audience’s energy.” Which they did. Multiple times



Their set breezed by on a tight schedule, bouncing back and forth between earlier and later hits. All killer, no filler, as they say. Taking notes from the Flaming Lips’ live shows, Coldplay brought their toys: paint splattered balloons, a metric ton of M, X, and heart shaped confetti, fluorescent fish (?), lasers, spotlights, scaffolding, blacklights, you name it. Wristbands were distributed before the show which lit up in sequence to the music, giving the concert at the Key Arena the air of a soccer game. And by the feel of the crowd, our team was winning.



Speaking of sports, Chris Martin’s banter was very sports heavy. A shout out to the Seahawks during “ “ and a song dedicated to the poor start of the Mariners (“Us Against The World“) had an audience of all ages eating out of the palm of his hand.

When you think about it objectively, it’s amazing that a band like Coldplay, spanning the years that they have, haven’t really made an egregious misstep in their careers. Every single one of their studio albums is a little better than average, with a healthy amount of truly memorable modern rock moments sprinkled amongst them. And they’ve never been afraid to grow, to reinvent, to change form and run with it. Kind of like Radiohead, but without the art school shackling or the moody estrangement. It was never meant to be more than fun.

But the question remains, does a band like Coldplay, inoffensive enough but never really groundbreaking, deserve a concert like this? As their albums go on, their sound becomes more and more bombastic, epic, arena. But even older tunes like “Warning Sign,” “In My Place,” and even “Yellow,” sound larger than life, larger than they were back in 2001.

When Martin and company were playing Benaroya, I believe he didn’t think Coldplay were going to be the biggest band in the world. But I do believe he thought they’d get close.

PS Metronomy played too. They are a small, small band, rigidly English and not really worth noting. They played like they couldn’t wait to get away from the crowd.

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Photos:

[corianderstem]

They've played at Benaroya? Dang, how is it possible I haven't seen them before this year? Oh well. Live and learn to pay attention to who's coming to town.

[WeddingDom]

Is it my imagination or they're not using the walking man during HLH anymore?

EDIT: Warning Sign
DLIBYH

[Tash]

More photos here

[Tash]

Clocks

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[Tash]

link

[corianderstem]

Great pictures!

[Tash]

Coldplay concert's stunning visuals at KeyArena overshadow music

Rock band Coldplay performed a visually stunning concert at KeyArena Wednesday, but the special effects somewhat overshadowed the authenticity of the music.

There was a moment during Coldplay's KeyArena concert when singer Chris Martin did the seemingly impossible: He ended "Paradise" on the main stage, and moments later began singing "Us Against the World" standing near the back of the hall in the cheap seats. He managed it by being in good enough shape to sprint 100 yards, but also because the clean-cut Martin can easily fit into the landscape of his audience.

Everyman populism has always been at the core of Coldplay's success, and that was abundant at the band's sold-out show Wednesday at KeyArena. The band delivered 90 minutes of hits, complete with state of the art production that rivaled a Broadway show. Those effects started during "Hurts Like Heaven" when wristbands given to the audience began to blink, making the crowd appear like a Lite-Brite toy whenever the band cued up certain songs. Soon, confetti machines filled the sky. During "Major Minus," a cascade of beach balls followed.

The night's high points, however, came when Martin and his three bandmates dispensed with the chicanery, as on "Violet Hill," and let their anthemic rock soar unadorned. And though this was the "Mylo Xyloto" tour, it was the title track from their previous album, "Viva La Vida," that most engaged the audience, albeit with canned strings, particularly with drummer Will Champion's skilled playing.

A show with so many special effects and lighting cues had to lack some spontaneity, so it was telling that Martin's most authentic sentiment came not during a song, but during an introduction, in which he said he was singing about his "self loathing." As if he'd revealed too much, he quickly added, "no, it's about a girl." Both sentiments could apply to every song in Coldplay's catalog, but this one, done at the piano, felt like Martin unguarded.

A show that started with confetti, flashing wristbands and laser lights was bound to end that way, and Martin was soon back to running all over KeyArena. By the time he threw up his arms during the finale of "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall," he seemed both filled with the exuberance of an athlete sprinting across the finish line, and an actor hitting the final curtain call of the night.

link

[wabbit]

EVEN more here, Tash!

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...9735343&type=3

[Tash]

DLIBYH

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