Coldplay, Youthgroup
Entertainment Center
Wed 5 July


Without a doubt, Coldplay are one of the biggest bands to have toured Adelaide in recent times. Once the crowed settled into the Entertainment Centre, they were greeted with a performance from Youth Group. The band was generally well received, however it was clear that the audience was there to see just one band.

Coldplay started the gig in explosive style with the upbeat Square One. The opening track saw Chris Martin dancing in his own style, consisting of jumps and rapid head and arm movements, combined perfectly with the soaring guitar lines of Johnny Buckland, the beats of Will Champion and the thumping bass lines of Guy Berryman to warm up the crowd with immediate success. For the next 90 minutes they played through selections from their three albums, with the majority of songs picked from X&Y. With Chris Martin abandoning his acoustic guitar, for an electric, and the addition of giant-sized yellow balloons, Coldplay treated the crowd with a stadium version of Yellow. Other highlights were Clocks, Talk, White Shadows and the non-LP track How You See the World. The concert also featured a middle section, where the band abandoned their usual specialties, with the drummer playing keyboard and the bass player playing harmonica and acoustic guitar. With this unique set up they played the brilliant Til Kingdom Come and a Johnny Cash cover, Ring Of Fire, and an alternate stripped down version of Trouble. Playing only one encore, many fans may have felt the concert ended a few songs too short. Nonetheless, the finale was brilliant, Fix You's climatic conclusion provided a fitting end to what many felt was a brilliant display of live music.

Gone are the days of playing modest sized venues where the only thing that used to matter was providing a good live music performance, but in the current stage of Coldplay's career they have extended their performance to include stadium theatrics, though remaining ever so tight and enthusiastic when they perform. However in comparison to the Coldplay of old, it lacked a certain modesty and charm that was present in 2001.

Hieu Doan