Confessions of a dance floor geek.: July 2012

Saturday 9th June 2012 Manchester Eitihad Stadium

Coldplay are a band who I have always liked but never truly loved. I could probably sing along to most of their albums, but only through hearing them being played repeatedly by my Mum in the background of my old family home. All this changed with their single 'Every Tear Drop Is A Waterfall' and its album 'Mylo Xyloto'. I think I understood where their sound had been heading for the past few years and loved every moment of the album. Past songs like 'Fix You' and 'Viva La Vida' have led the way towards the vibrant, euphoric and uplifting sound that is found on 'Mylo Xyloto' as both an album and a tour.

While an arena tour can be big in scale, ambition and spectacle, a stadium tour can take this even further, pushing it to the limits of live entertainment. But there is sometimes a danger that in a stadium, the audience will feel detached from the performers, simply watching far off dots move about the stage rather than really feeling a connection to the musicians. This was as far from the case with Coldplay, for many reasons, but most notably due to the inclusion of the flashing wrist bands given to members of the crowd on entry. It was an inspired idea, having the audiences wrists light up in time with various songs in the show, controlled by simple radio signals. The whole crowd felt part of the performance, feeding off the music and the visual feast on display around the stadium in a way I haven’t seen at any other gig. It lifted moments like 'Hurts Like Heaven' and 'Charlie Brown' to feel even more exciting, and songs like 'Fix You' and 'Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall' became genuinely emotional. I have only been moved to tears once at a pop concert, but Coldplay came very close indeed.

The stage itself was simple yet very clever, with 4 screens displaying both the members of the band and some impressive visuals, a mammoth catwalk down the centre, an intimate mini stage at the back, with a huge psychedelic glow in the dark backdrop behind the stage matching the album cover. There were streamers, massive beach balls thrown in to the audience, huge lanterns and enough fireworks to feel like the Olympic opening ceremony. There were so many fantastic touches to the phenomenal production, but none of this would matter if the core elements weren’t on form, being the band and their set list. Coldplay are fantastic musicians, their energy managing to compete with, and even surpass, the spectacle around them. Chris Martin is a force to be reckoned with as a front man on stage, consistently running from one end of the stage to the other and engaging with the audience. He manages the rare trick of being excited and giving you 110% one moment, then bringing everything down to become small and intimate in the next. He effortlessly drew the audience in with every lyric, the crowd in the palm of his hand.

As far as the set list goes, it contained the vast majority of the album, as well as most of the bands major singles. It felt like a perfect length, leaving the audience happy but wanting more. Highlights were, as mentioned above, songs that included the wristbands. But current single 'Princess of China' and uplifting hit 'Viva La Vida' were some of my other favourites.

If the 'Mylo Xyloto' album had made me a fan of Coldplay, then the tour made me a super fan. Seeing a band or a singer live is sometimes the perfect way to do this, literally being there and experiencing the music live is a feeling unlike any other. I knew I would enjoy this tour, but nothing prepared me for just how much that would be. I came away feeling that I had not just watched the concert but I had lived it. I had been part of one giant band of thousands of lights and euphoric sound. I hadn’t been to watch Coldplay, I was in Coldplay. As over the top as that sounds, I genuinely felt that way. The concert contained every single element that I love about live music events and was the closest any gig has come to being my 'favourite concert' for a while.

*****

Set List