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Live Review
by SaschaS
23-6-2002
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| Chris Martin's (not) Coldplay |
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Live: Coldplay
Royal Festival Hall, London
Saturday, June 22, 2002
Coldplay delight Meltdown crowd with old and future hits
The longest day’s just made its exit and it is summertime when, according to a song, living is easy but music gets a bit… too tedious, kitschy and air-headed. Unless you happen to hold a ticket for the Meltdown 2002 festival, curetted by David Bowie: after Television, we’ve got Coldplay, Suede and the ‘Thin White Duke’ to come. Tonight is the turn of Chris Martin and his bandmates to present a selection from the August-due second album ‘A Rush Of Blood To The Head’.
On a stage initially unadorned, four individual ‘screens’ descend later to ‘televise’ them individually, remaining largely in the dark, the mesmerising light-décor is mainly blinding the fans; the sounds of quality summer flow like a dry-ice’d scene in a ‘blockbuster’ flick. And yet, it is not all smooth; there are awkward moments and mostly down to Martin’s gap-filling announcements, such as claiming that a new song is “good… We think it’s good, you might think it is rubbish”; or, ‘boasting’ that ‘Trouble’ is the one “that made us millions” only to interrupt the song’s intro to contradict himself by saying that it hadn’t really. Later on he’d admit to be “the world’s worst ever song-introducer.”
No matter, he ain’t a stand-up comedian and it simply displays his impulsiveness, spontaneity and cool-ness; he is an aware musician (very few are, believe us) and when a (male?!) fan takes over lead of mass-singing ‘Yellow’, Martin introduces him as ‘Gareth Gates!’ (Poor chap did look like, actually.) Then, there was a crack about a ‘Royal Box’ with no royalty in it but it was the first (?!) venue Coldplay performed in where there was one, thus the acknowledgement.
As usual, Coldplay display Hyde/Jekyll nature of their creativity, the emo-facet and the full facially-frontal rocking, both handled with genuine ease. The new songs tend to be of mature and more adventurous kind but it could be live-versions-syndrome. The emo-tunes cut deeper, the rocking ones are mightier and such transformation is also bestowed upon the versions of ‘established’ favourites. Long performing has shaped and sharpened the likes of ‘Trouble’ into giant anthems on life’s terraces. (My ticket states so: Level 5 – Terrace.)
There is little evidence of the new albnum, as Martin’s stated, being inspired by Echo And The Bunnymen… Hits from the debut album ‘Parachutes’ are nicely spaced between the new songs – ‘In My Place’ (first single), ‘Daylight’, ‘God Put A Smile Upon Your Face’ – but it is that unfamiliarity with new material that keeps audience grounded in arse-accommodators. They applaud wildly after each song but there is no standing and aisle-crowding. Until they are encouraged to before the penultimate song of the official set, ‘Yellow’.
Discussion whether Coldplay are one of the major ‘new’ bands to emerge in Britain over the past couple of years is finally closed. Can’t wait to dedicate my ears to the new album!
SaschaS
23-6-2002
Coldplay’s single ‘In My Place’ is released 05 August on Parlophone/EMI
Coldplay’s album ‘A Rush Of Blood To The Head’ is released 26 August on Parlophone/EMI
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