Coldplay

Coldplay: They’re Tasty (Sorry Chris I couldn’t resist!)

I’m hung-over, tired, with sore feet and little to no voice left, and oh did I mention, I’ve just had the GREATEST DAY OF MY LIFE. In my short 16yrs on this planet, I can honestly say, no gig has ever been this good, like ever!

Unless you’ve been living in some sort of cave for the past few months, you can’t fail to have noticed Coldplay. Dubbed as ‘The great white hopes for British angst rock’ Coldplay were propelled into the major leagues with their 5th single (3rd on the Parlophone label) ‘Yellow’ released 26th June and reaching no.4, and their no.1 debut album ‘Parachutes’ released on 10th July.

Having recently finished co-headlining with Welsh hopefuls Terris, and supporting fellow angst rockers Muse, Coldplay embarked on their first proper sell-out headlining tour. You could describe Coldplay as the light that shone through my revision and exam hell, and in keeping with that theme, the Scala is indeed a veritable light shining out in a less than sparkling area. But lets not dwell on location but rather on music. At this point in time I would like to give a warm mention to the main support act of the night, ‘Mercedes’. Imagine vocals from Bellatrix mixed with sounds from… well I don’t know, but hey I’m not one for comparisons, instead I would prefer to say “wow, what a voice,” oh yeah the rest of the band weren’t bad either! I was pleasantly surprised to say the least. On to the main attraction (and what an attraction it was) enter ‘Coldplay’. When seeing Coldplay you are always guaranteed a great set, and this was certainly no exception. But one thing I find particularly refreshing, is the band’s (and in particular) Chris’s interaction with the crowd. I mean how often do we see a great band playing their set, heads down with no acknowledgement to that all important band member, i.e. the fans. Whether it be a call to tell you to sing louder, a little amusing anecdote or just a simple song intro, at a CP gig there truly is never a dull or silent moment.

Now I’ve seen a lot of bands in my time but in truth live music have never sounded this good, in fact I’ve been to Manic’s gigs that have invoked less passion, and that’s saying a lot! The set was opened by the tranquil and beautiful ‘Spies’, right from the onset the feeling amongst all those present was ‘wow, this is gonna be great!’ On the hottest day of the year a cool sense of irony swept through the crowd as the band played, what for me was the highlight of the set; ‘Shiver’. Other highlights had to include the magnificent ‘Trouble.’ Already one of my favourite songs with its melodious and beautiful sounds, and emotionally driven lyrics, it is true to say that this song comes to life when played live. And for all those who brought ‘Yellow’, just wait until you hear it live. Blinding, just blinding!

I could go on to describe each and every song on the set list, but would rather sum it up as mellow, emotional, truly fantastic and exhilarating. And a set that was to be concluded with the James Bond theme ‘You only live twice’ as an encore quite literally out of this world. All fans, band-members and management included will agree that the gig was excellent, in my view we had all witnessed something very special indeed.

In truth Coldplay are a real fan band, you feel your efforts and loyalty are genuinely appreciated and rewarded by truly amazing live performances. If you can only catch one live band this year, make sure it’s Coldplay, believe me you won’t regret it.

And to all whom said that persistence doesn’t reward, in this case it most certainly did, and in the form of after show passes (thanks Jonny.) Not only did we get the chance to met, speak and get photos with, the band and manager Phil Harvey, we also saw (and in a lot of cases spoke to) none other than Som (MV) Roddy and Rod (iDLEWiLD), Babybird blokey and comedian Sean Hughes (Ok so now I’m just name dropping for the sake of name dropping!) But what can I say; “Blinding”, and they are all so nice.

Speaking to lead singer Chris Martin after the gig, it is apparent that not only is he very charming, but also very modest. He appears to almost blush at even the smallest of compliments. The only thing he seems to be concerned about is reviews: “The only thing that worries me is getting bad reviews, but I suppose that we shouldn’t be to concerned as everybody gets slated at some stage and we are no different.” I shouldn’t worry Chris, even when pushed I can’t think of one bad word to say about the band or their music and I probably never will, (in fact I challenge anyone to, and mean it, for that matter.)

When talking about Coldplay and their music, just ask Chris to describe the band, and you are instantly taken back to the 4PLAY mini documentary, shown earlier this month: “It’s like when bacon, and eggs, and mushrooms, and chips are put on the same plate. It becomes something greater than the individual parts. It becomes a cohesive whole, that’s tasty. Are sound is tasty that’s what are sound is!” But when asked about this at the gig, we got the simple answer, “Oh don’t, that was awful, I hate TV” a little harsh me thinks!

Tasty is one way to describe the gig, but I feel it was better summed up by bassist Guy Berryman on Radio one’s lunchtime social, simply “Excellent!” I couldn’t have put it better myself, which just leaves me one more thing to say, “You know I love you so” (and always will.)

For the few people that didn’t know (where have you been) Coldplay are: Chris Martin (sings), Jonny Buckland (plays guitar), Guy Berryman (plays bass) and Will Champion (plays drums). If you missed this tour and Glasto, then fear not as you can catch a Coldplay on their forthcoming October tour (support comes from Lowgold)…