CONCERT REVIEW:
Coldplay
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Kool Haus, Toronto
Tickets to Coldplay’s North American club gigs prior to the release of their third studio album, X&Y (due out June 6) naturally sold out in minutes, so I felt rather lucky to be one of 200 HMV contest winners of tickets to their Kool Haus show here last week.
Starting with the opening track to the new album, “Square One,” it was the most futuristic and ominous sound Coldplay has yet displayed, and the strong, dramatic opener set the tone perfectly for what was to be a spectacular night.
From there they launched into two of the edgier tracks from 2002’s classic A Rush Of Blood To The Head, “Politik” and “God Put A Smile Upon My Face.” In all, Coldplay performed six tracks from their sophomore album-the two aforementioned tunes along with “Warning Sign,” “The Scientist,” “Clocks,” and “In My Place.” All were met with expected enthusiasm-the sing-along during “In My Place” during the encore was certainly a highlight for both the crowd and the band, as confirmed by lead singer Chris Martin’s ear-to-ear grin.
Midway through the evening, Martin took a quick poll of the audience to see who had been there back when Coldplay first played the Kool Haus (then known as The Warehouse) back in 2001.
The only bit of déjà vu for those us had been there the first time had come a bit earlier when Coldplay performed their first breakthrough single, “Yellow”-the only song from Parachutes in the set. While some in attendance may have missed the early material, I was glad to see it trimmed to a minimum. The band’s sound has grown so much since the soft, acoustic days of Parachutes that the songs don’t really fit into the mix that well anymore.
This night was all about the new material, however, and the songs from X&Y definitely made up most of the high points of the night. Latest single “Speed Of Sound” was well received, having been in heavy rotation on radio for a good month now.
“Till Kingdom Come” was introduced as one of the worst kept secrets ever. The song, which will appear as the hidden track at the end of the new album, was originally written to be performed by one of Martin’s boyhood heroes, Johnny Cash, before his passing last year and displayed a genuine country feel.
The set closed with a sure-to-be Coldplay classic, “What If?”, a touching, epic ballad with the heart-breaking refrain: “What if you should decide that you don’t want me there by your side/That you don’t want me there in your life?” So much for those that worried that new father and husband Martin would be too happy to write his trademark melancholia.
“Fix You,” the final song of the evening, is the first song in the Coldplay cannon with vocals from all four members of the band. On MuchMusic earlier in the week, Martin joked that the song was an attempt to cash in on the popularity of multiple-part vocal harmony acts like the Backstreet Boys. All kidding aside, Coldplay scores another sentimental winner with this one.
By the sound of the new material displayed Wednesday night, X&Y could very well be the biggest album for Coldplay yet. While their music seems to have retained all the muscle of A Rush Of Blood To The Head, the lyrics seem to be reaching back to the more straight-up sentimentality of Parachutes. While it would be very difficult to top their last effort, it seems as though Coldplay have nailed a winning formula that should keep current fans more than satisfied while bringing back the saps who may have left the fold after the less accessible second album.
