29 July 2008: Bell Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada

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Setlist:

Life In Technicolor
Violet Hill
Clocks
In My Place
Yes
Viva La Vida
42
Fix You
Strawberry Swing
Chinese Sleep Chant (side stage)
God Put A Smile Upon Your Face (side stage/techno version)
Speed Of Sound
Yellow
Lost!
The Scientist (SIde Stage - Acoustic)
Death Will Never Conquer (Side Stage - Acoustic - Will)
Encore
Talk (Remix Video Interlude)
Politik
Lovers In Japan
Death And All His Friends
The Escapist
Encore 2
Green Eyes
The Dubliners (new song)

Drawing heavily on new material and feeling the love from a huge crowd, British rockers appear to be well on their way to new ground

Love-ins of this magnitude don't happen often. British rock band Coldplay held court last night, bringing its soaring, anthemic pop to an enraptured crowd of 19,000 fans at the Bell Centre. It's no secret that Coldplay wants to be the new U2. A lack of musical heft aside, the group appears to be well on its way. The standing ovation started the moment the lights dropped, and didn't let up until the end of the encore. Cheers were deafening and singalongs were omnipresent.

Leaning heavily on material from their new album Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, Chris Martin and crew - guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman and drummer Will Champion - made a point of not resting on their laurels. Rather, they showed a continued determination to perfect the art of the unifying, larger-than-life rock concert.

After setting the mood with the new disc's intro Life in Technicolour, they jumped right into its raunchiest track, the bluesy Violet Hill. The crowd didn't miss a beat, joining in from the first verse. Old favourite Clocks followed, eliciting a roar from the opening piano notes. A laser light show provided visual enhancement. But it was nothing compared to the energy Martin brought to In My Place.

Calling for the house lights to be turned up, he went into showman mode - skipping, fist-pumping and bouncing from side to side - much to the crowd's delight. The chorus, "Yeaaaahhh ... How long must you wait for him?" was sung by virtually everyone in attendance.

But Martin was not done. Joining Buckland at the end of the catwalk, he draped his arm over his bandmate's shoulder and sang to the rafters, falling to the ground at song's end. His schtick worked like a charm, as did pretty much everything last night. Martin's exuberant, goofball grace is contagious. And his band held its own, particularly Buckland, who seemed to delight in drawing new sonic textures out of his guitar.

"Sometimes we go to certain towns - in England, Wales, Germany or Australia - and people don't sing along, so we get depressed," Martin said. "So we come here, and everyone is going for it 100 per cent, and it makes us feel fantastic."

It was a savvy introduction to the next number, the band's ginormous, career-launching ballad Yellow. The room erupted. It was the only song of the night off the band's 2000 debut Parachutes. The message: Coldplay has moved on. And its fans have followed.

The group gave thanks, sprinting to the back of the arena to perform The Scientist from up in the stands. The encore brought confetti (during Politik), and fireworks (on the big screen); and, in closing, three more off the new album. Handclaps and chants of "Olé olé-olé-olé!" continued well after the lights came up. The night, as they say, was won.

Brooklyn singer-rapper Santogold brought urban edge to the opening slot. An indie-rock-hip-hop version of M.I.A., she'll fare better when she returns to a more intimate venue.