The Idle Thoughts Of A DayDreamer

The Artist: Coldplay
Date: 2nd July, 2006
Venue: Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Park, Melbourne

When tickets originally went on sale for Coldplay, some ten months ago, I wasn’t actually planning to be in the country by the time the concerts came around. Long story short… still in Melbourne, and not in Germany. Anyway, was sitting having a coffee at the South Melbourne Market on Sunday. As I was drinking my latte, I read a review about the Coldplay concert the previous night. However, the thing that caught my eye was that a limited number of tickets had been released to that nights previously sold out gig. Happy Days! Giving it about a nano seconds worth of thought… I set out to snare a couple of tickets. Some quick shopping at the market, and within fifteen minutes of arriving home… hey presto… two tickets to that nights show!

The last time I saw Coldplay live was a completely different scenario. June 2005. Berlin. Summer. The setting was an open air amphitheatre surrounded by a forest in the burbs of Berlin, with the band playing as the sun went down. Now, much to MonkeyBoy’s horror, I went away a little disappointed from the gig. It was the third odd show in the current tour. There were sound issues, the set was short, the screen didn’t work properly and the crowd was not as enthusiastic as it could have been. That said, The Verve’s Richard Ashcroft played support that night… an absolute highlight!

Thus when we ventured out into a shitty, cold and rainy Melbourne night, it was with great excitement at what was to come. First up were Sydney rockers Youth Group. Followed by some forty minutes of waiting. A quick aside… the band has been doing this tour for over a year now; it shouldn’ take that long for the roadies to setup following a support act. Once the band finally burst onto stage, it was hit song after song. The Setlist ran as:

Square One
Politik
Yellow
Speed Of Sound
God Put A Smile Upon Your Face
What If
White Shadows
How You See The World Number Two
The Scientist
Til Kingdom Come
Ring Of Fire (Johnny Cash cover)
Trouble
Clocks
Talk

Encore:
Can’t Get You Outta My Head (Kylie Minogue cover)
In My Place
Fix You

This time round, the screen behind the band worked properly, along with an amazing lights show. Being inside obviously helped. The highlight of the light show was the ‘Clocks’ red laser show, which replecated the effects from the video clip. Chris Martin was as chatty as ever, with some lively banter amusing the crowd. The band played with great enthusiasim and spirit. As Jimmy James has noted however, the crowd was, in his words, a “top forty crowd”, that didn’t have the passion of the more hardcore fans. This was most evident in two places. Firstly, when the band played How You See The World Number Two, a song recorded for the WarChild album “Help: A Day In The Life”. The crowd didn’t really know how to react to this brilliant song. It wasn’t one of the hits, and therefore a definite flat spot. That said, I thought they nailed it. Guess it helps when you know the song and the words! Secondly, the Kylie number… a ‘tribute’ to a fellow Melburnian. As a musician I don’t rate her or her music, but the cover that Coldplay did elicted one of the biggest cheers of the evening. Even more concerning, my girlfriend knew the words, sang along with more gusto than just about any other time of the night! How did such a self-confessed musical snob end up dating a Kylie (and other dubious pop acts) fan?

One of the real highlights of the evening was during Yellow. Approx fifteen huge yellow balloons were thrown from the rafters of Centre Court during the song. They bounced about the crowd like giant beach balls… except when they popped, they covered the crowd with gold confetti! And of course, Chris’ attempt at a “Pat Cash” sprint through the crowd and up into the stands during the encore.

All things said, it was a memorable show. The band was in fine form, and we had an awesome time. To see one of my favourite bands, especially in the very spontaneous way in which it occurred, was great. It would however, be an amazing experience to see Coldplay in a smaller and more intimate venue. I don’t think that they are a ’stadium band’, such as the Rolling Stones or U2. Perhaps next time, although I doubt it, they’ll play the Forum or some such venue. I doubt it somehow. Hopefully, we don’t have to wait another five years! Ahhh, the joys of being a music fan in Australia…

Check out the transcript of Chris Martin’s appearance on Enough Rope with Andrew Denton here. Or alternatively, download the mp3 of the entire interview here. (Approx 6.5mb)

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