Overnight, it takes less than eight hours to dismantle. Coldplay performed
for roughly two hours. They left the arena at the speed of sound to a
police escort. That’s life in the super wad squad.
After a pathetic global warming charm offensive at Live 8 (except for
Richard Ashcroft’s fantastic Bitter Sweet Symphony slot) it was time
for pop’s slush puppies to show their mettle. Sandwiched between legends U2,
The Who and Pink Floyd, they were made to look like complete novices last
Saturday.
Their recent album X&Y is selling like hot cakes, though it shows no
real signs of progression or adventure. The third album, recognised in the
music industry as the ‘difficult one’, continues the predictable no risks,
play it safe formula using their penchant melodic template.
The single Speed Of Sound was a recent global download phenomenon,
though a certain frog keep them away from their desired number one in the UK
singles chart, much to the annoyance of Chris Martin.
So what of this night? Thirty thousand fans braved the elements as thunder
clouds threatened to turn the event into a damp squib. Taking to the stage to
a huge roar, the foursome launched into a vibrant Square One, as the tee-total
one bopped like an excited teenager. Followed rapidly by Politik, Chris Martin
chomped at the keys of the rickety piano, and then took to guitar on a
thunderous Yellow, as the lights went into complimentary colour. From
the outset they sounded very good, remaining so all night with CM singing much
better than Saturday. But would I finally fall in love with Coldplay?
Moving from photo pit to my stand seat, I could hear Speed Of Sound
blasting out inside the stadium. In my seat, I had a chance to see the bigger
picture. Considering the enormity of the wrap-around stage and gear, the light
show was low-tech until the latter stages, and even then it was hardly dynamic.
Taking it down a pace, Warning Sign was delivered with great tenderness
but all too short. White Shadows showcased their arena engulfing sound
with Buckland’s riffs and Berryman’s synths echoing into the twilight. Clocks
brought out the rockers in them, going into frenetic overdrive with collective
simultaneous clapping and jumping.
Talk was more of a Simple Minds tribute. A finale brought a sublime
In My Place and two video takes of Fix You complete with fireworks
blast, sending smoke across the whole stadium. Individually, Buckland rarely
exhibits any emotion or showboating almost in The Edge’s low-key manner.
Berryman is always industrious and effective, with Champion being the unsung
hero on thumping sticks.
As a unit they are top class, allowing Martin to do the PR work. They are a
very good live band, and I like their tunefulness. But I never fell for them,
as they never touched me like Zeppelin, Queen, Red Hot Chili Peppers, U2,
Elton John et al.
There’s a line in the next single Fix You - ‘…stuck in reverse…’.
Coldplay are not so much as stuck in reverse, as not quite out of first gear.
Self proclaimed ‘best band in the world’? Get in line boys!
For prints of any of Elly's concert pics online,
email Elly
or call 07765 862017.
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
DVDfever.co.uk - Charts, News and Reviews of DVDs, Games, Hardware, Laserdiscs, Cinema Films & more
If you enjoyed this movie in the cinema, it may be worth another look, but given the lack of extras it's
not a particular keeper at full price. Bear in mind that it's the decent picture and average sound that's
propping up the overall rating.
The main menu features a few brief clips from the movie but it's highly repetitive. Subtitles are in
English only and the dialogue is similar but with options for both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1.
Usually, I'd say it's good to include both but, sadly, this isn't a film that takes advantage of the
format. There are 32 chapters to the movie.
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
So what of this night? Thirty thousand fans braved the elements as thunder
clouds threatened to turn the event into a damp squib. Taking to the stage to
a huge roar, the foursome launched into a vibrant Square One, as the tee-total
one bopped like an excited teenager. Followed rapidly by Politik, Chris Martin
chomped at the keys of the rickety piano, and then took to guitar on a
thunderous Yellow, as the lights went into complimentary colour. From
the outset they sounded very good, remaining so all night with CM singing much
better than Saturday. But would I finally fall in love with Coldplay?
Talk was more of a Simple Minds tribute. A finale brought a sublime
In My Place and two video takes of Fix You complete with fireworks
blast, sending smoke across the whole stadium. Individually, Buckland rarely
exhibits any emotion or showboating almost in The Edge’s low-key manner.
Berryman is always industrious and effective, with Champion being the unsung
hero on thumping sticks.
Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2008.
