Coldplay Closes Big
Coldplay closed out the All Points West Festival in style, giving the audience a light show, an encore, and a tip of the hat for enduring all the mud and rain.
The fans were in full frenetic force while waiting for the band to come out onto the stage and this level of excitement continued throughout the set. Coldplay's biggest devotees appeared to be in the female (so much unnecessary shrieking) and Abercrombie-esque male categories (fist pumping,) but as a whole everyone seemed to be familiar with at least some the songs and pleased to be at the show.
Coldplay has been together since 1996, and it is easy see the chemistry and long standing friendship that the band shares both on the stage and off. While performing Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman and Will Champion all don similar outfits, giving them a continuity that makes the performance even more of a visual spectacle.
Martin is dynamic, jumping and falling around the stage while his band mates watch and laugh. He plays the piano like Schroeder from Peanuts and sweats like a mad man. Right away he began speaking to the crowd, creating a relaxed tone that allowed him to do things like mess up and start over, or announce that this was the "weirdest smelling" festival he had ever attended. Martin makes the audience feel important, as if we are part of the show, not just watching it.
Acknowledging that Jay Z had already done a similar tribute, Martin gave a shout out to "absent friends" before singing his own version of The Beastie Boys' "Fight For Your Right (To Party)." In true Coldplay style the song was slower but sweeter, and given the unfortunate circumstances of the band's absence from the festival the Martin version was all the more appropriate. Again following in Jay Z's footsteps the band also did their own rendition of a Michael Jackson classic, slowing down 'Billie Jean' and having the audience sing along.
Coldplay uped the anty of audience involvement by leaving the stage and playing a few songs on a small platform over to the right; this allowed other fans a chance to catch a glimpse of the flesh and blood men and not just the big screens they were projected on. Later the band left the stage a second time walking through the audience to a platform much further back where they played the saccharine lullabye "Green Eyes" and then switched it all up so Will the drummer would sing a song of his own.
The concert featured all the old favorites like 'Yellow', 'Clocks' and 'The Scientist' while also playing a few newer numbers from Viva La Vida. Possessing the uncanny ability to sound exactly like they do on their albums, Coldplay's soothing alternative rock just makes you want to close your eyes and be IN the music. As a whole they produce a gentle and lovely sound, so while sometimes being criticized as too main stream, the music is easily accessible and hard to hate.
Complete with balloons, lasers, glowing orbs and paper butterfly confetti (my personal favorite), the festival was closed out in a truly captivating and harmonious way. The skies were clear, and the night was warm, and for a few moments it was as if the audience was able to forget that for the past three days they had all been standing ankle-deep in mud.
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