Coldplay - Live in Phoenix

Coldplay wrapped up their 2008 US tour in Phoenix last week, where I was on hand to take it all in.  My wife is a much bigger Coldplay fan than I am, and if it weren't for her, I probably wouldn't have gone.  It's pretty hard to miss Coldplay, especially with their radio friendly hooks and catchy melodies.  Live, they're even stronger. 

We missed the opening act, but did catch the somewhat boring trance DJ with his mega bass and various blips and beeps set to acid-induced Dr Seuss cartoons.  Maybe this could be good background music, but I didn't think it really matched the vibe for a Coldplay concert.  When Coldplay took to the stage after an opening waltz, it was a whole different show.  Singer Chris Martin was a whirling dervish, spinning around on stage, leaping, dancing, singing, playing guitar and piano with boundless energy.  

It was a good mix of material from their most recent "Viva La Vida" as well as older albums like "X&Y."  While Coldplay's set list doesn't change much show to show, it included most of the big hits like "Clocks" (my wife's favorite), "In My Place," "Fix You," "Viva La Vida" and of course "Yellow" to end the show.   For my nephews who were attending their first ever concert, it was a great introduction.  There were lasers, big screens, sing-alongs, and cool videos.  It was also nice when the bend went onto a smaller "techno" stage that put them closer to the audience.  And in the second encore, they played a short acoustic set up in the stands.  I managed to get some decent photos as well as some video of the show which you can view on PicasaWeb and YouTube respectively.

While this is likely sacrilege to the fanatical Coldplay fans, I don't think they are in the same league as U2 and other top-notch arena rockers.  But it was still a very good show with a lot of upbeat music and well worth seeing.  I think it could use a bit more guitar, but hey, this is GuitarVibe, not PianoVibe, right?  For those interested, "Viva La Vida" is on sale for $5 at Amazon as part of the Top 50 CDs.

Note: For some reason, YouTube wouldn't let me post a video of Chris Martin playing a solo piano to rendition of "The Hardest Part."  If anyone has a suggestion of another place to post this, let me know.  It's a great video and I'd love to share it.

• Amazon: X&Y , Viva La Vida, Top 50 CDs
• Photos & Video: PicasaWeb, YouTube

• Coldplay: Official site, Wikipedia, Fan Wiki site, Set list

Comments

[Jeremy Silva]

Excellent concert!! it was my first Coldplay concert, i checked out your vids on youtube and their incredible, i was wondering if you could send them to me, maybe through mediafire or rapidshare? U kan try to upload that chris martin vid playing the hardest part to

vimeo.com
dailymotion.com

Thanks for blogging about the concert :)

[Joe Satriani]

Did Coldplay copy Joe Satriani?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ofFw9DKu_I
Guitar Hero - Joe Satriani & Funtwo - YouTube Live
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBHfb2sVWV4