06 September 2002: Greek Theater, Berkeley, California
From WikiColdplay
Setlist
- Politik
- Shiver
- Spies
- Daylight
- Trouble
- One I Love
- Don’t Panic
- Everything’s Not Lost
- Green Eyes
- God Put A Smile Upon Your Face
- Yellow
- The Scientist
- A Rush Of Blood To The Head
Encore - Clocks
- In My Place
- Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay
- Life Is For Living
Reviews
(What a night! Coldplay and Ash played to a capacity crowd in one of Northern California's most beautiful outdoor venues.)
The Opening Act (ASH):
Northern Ireland's darlings returned to the States after gracing the stage of Moby's Area 2 Summer Tour. I've been a fan of Ash's music since 1996 (my first year in college), and oddly enough this was my first time seeing the band in action (so thanks to Coldplay for giving the coveted support slot to Ash). Those in the crowd who were familiar with the band shouldn't have gone home disappointed.
Tim was a very kind frontman, saying "thanks" after every song (there's nothing like a guy who says "thanks" every now and then), and cracking a couple of jokes with the audience. I don't remember all the songs they played, but Ash performed a solid set. Highlights of their set included:
- "Girl From Mars" (second song of the set. i spotted chris watching and dancing from the side of the stage...and later saw guy watching - towards the end of the set)
- "Sometimes" (who could resist a line like "cigarettes keep you skinny"?)
- "Goldfinger" (tim introduced this song by saying thanks to coldplay, and dedicated it to the band...how sweet!)
- "Kung Fu" (do you recall the clapping part towards the end? tim encouraged the audience to clap along...a good moment for all ash fans)
- "Burn Baby Burn" (last song of the set. ash received a good round of applause. after witnessing this performance, i'll be sure to catch them the next time they visit San Francisco!).
The Headlining Act (COLDPLAY):
The band who had given the performance of a lifetime at Bimbo's made a triumphant return to the San Francisco Bay Area. Having sold more than 100,000 copies of their latest cd in the USA (in its first week), the Coldplay band members proved to the sold-out audience why they're considered one of the best bands on the planet. Performing a set somewhat similar to that at Bimbo's, Coldplay amazed their crowd with each and every song.
Highlights of their fantastic set included (in no particular order):
- "Trouble" (apparently, chris has done his fair share of watching "american idol". he said that "trouble" was a little indie hit and quipped about having kelly--the winner of "american idol"--sing the song one day and making it a huge success! chris invited the audience to sing the last few lines...he said we were "marvelous!")
- "Yellow" (what can i say? the song is phenomenal. the band is phenomenal. The crowd went absolutely nuts! chris thanked us repeatedly since it was the band's first biggest solo gig ever. guy was in total awe of the audience...you should've seen the look on his face, it was priceless!)
- "Clocks" (what a terrific song. chris closed this by repeating the phrase "make trade fair dot com" )
- "Green Eyes" (chris and jonny performed the most gorgeous acoustic version of this song that night...imagine having this on a b-side! it was the first time i've seen them perform "green eyes" and i do hope that one of the local radio stations recorded it. anyway, chris introduced the song with the prediction that the band would "split-up"--halved to him and jonny--and would play shows in las vegas. i was never a fan of this song till i saw this performance...it was simply superb! easily, the best song of the night. caught jonny smiling when chris sang "whoa oh oh"...very sweet)
- "In My Place" (no wall climbing for this crowd...unfortunately, chris' mic chord got tangled up)
- "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay/Life is for Living" (the final song of the night. chris, sitting on his piano, wowed the crowd with a verse from otis redding's classic "sitting on the dock of the bay" before launching into "life is for living" -- "i left my home in georgia/headed for the frisco bay"...the audience clapped in unison...this was for us, the people of san francisco...what a moment!)
- and a classic line from Chris -- "let's see those tanned Californian hands!"
I've been a Coldplay fan since the year 2000. This was the third time I've seen them live in concert, and I still can't believe how down-to-earth the guys are. Overall, the show at the Greek was amazing. I can't wait to see them again.
Till then, ElectroClash
Last Friday was my fourth time ever seeing Coldplay in the SF Bay Area, but my first time at the UC Berkeley Greek Amphitheater venue. Parking was rather heinous on campus as school was still in session. By the time I had arrived at 6 pm after driving for nearly 2 hours from work, I had to walk another mile just to get to the venue. There were two lines formed at the two separate entrances of the venue (each leading into the left and right sides of the venue). I recognized quite a few faces, primarily those who were at the first two Coldplay concerts in the Bay Area (some were coldplay forum members too).
We were allowed to go in early, almost half an hour before the supposed doors open time. Security didn't seem to mind cameras (so I'm sure some of your readers/reviewers have photos to contribute!) and I saw someone hold something that resembled a video camcorder (mini one) so why that was allowed and not audio recording equipment, I don't know.
A brief note about the amphitheater. I don't know a whole lot about it, but it does have that ancient Greek historical feel to it. I felt like I was in Greece or Rome watching a Shakespeare play. The seating capacity was arguably between 6000 to 8000, and the show was indeed sold out.
Ash came on promptly at 8 pm and from what my friend (who is a big fan) told me, they played their greatest hits, and was well received by the crowd. About 11 songs total. Not too much else to report on their set except having heard them live and their music for the first time I thought they did great and gave it their all.
Coldplay came on around 9:15 pm and the crowd went wild. Having attended the Bimbo's gig and read reports on the Seattle setlist I already knew what to expect. So rather than saying the gig was "brilliant" or what not I'll focus on the highlights and lowlights.
The lowlights were:
1) Relatively low volumes from the speaker stacks. I'm told the decibel level limit is around 98 dB. While I have no clue how loud this is, my ears were not ringing at all when I left the venue. Perhaps I was too far away.
2) Because the music wasn't as loud as an enclosed club like Bimbo's, screams and yells from annoying audience members weren't drowned out.
3) Some people think the acoustics of the Greek Ampthitheater are excellent. I didn't think the "house" mix (ie the job done by the soundman) was superb. Then again it could be a combination of amphitheater acoustics in addition to the way the speakers were set up. There were only two large stacks on both sides of the stage.
4) This I cannot stress enough... a lot of annoying audience members (mostly girls...sorry if I offended anyone but it's the truth) screaming throughout the show. It's one thing to scream when a song ends or if Chris Martin does some gyric sexy thrust on his hips (which he didn't), but to scream at least 3 to 4 times during a song is just plain ridiculous. Yes it is a rock show, but I've been to more "civilized" rock shows that people were able to enjoy the music without yelling. The young girls behind me felt it was appropriate to yell along simply because they felt like it (and because everyone else was doing it too).
The yelling and screaming was one of the reasons why I couldn't enjoy the show fully.
HIGHLIGHTS:
1) Despite the large capacity of the venue, Coldplay and Chris Martin were able to put on a great show and make the best of it. Chris is such a wonderful entertainer....he could be a stand up comedian if he weren't in the band. Before launching into Spies, during the intro music he hummed "I... left... my.. heart... in... San.... Francisco", an old song which he actually played in full as the final encore at the San Francisco Warfield show on 6/20/01. He also made references to "Kelly" of American Idol that they were competing with her, and maybe she will cover "Trouble" in the future. Last but not least was their stripped down Jonny and Chris on solo acoustic, performing "Green Eyes". Before that Chris introduced this as if they were rehearsing for the future, maybe 20 years from now they will be playing hotels in Las Vegas, and those of us in the audience have kids and pass by their shows in the future and remark "oh look it's coldplay, or two of them!".
2) Towards the end of Everything's Not Lost he sang a verse from a Nelly song (or so I am told it was Nelly).
3) Another reason why Coldplay shows in SF Bay Area are top notch. Before launching into "Life Is For Living" Chris played the piano and sang a few verses from Otis Redding's "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" (referencing San Francisco Bay). Crowd participation was great here, singing along and clapping.
4) The crowd singing along to "they spun a web for me". Although it wasn't Glastonbury 2002 quality in numbers singalong, 6000+ people isn't bad for California. ;-)
5) During "The One I Love", "Don't Panic" (I believe) on the background there were four large vertical screens. Each one had "footage" (not sure if it was live or not) of each band member playing, in black and white film. For Don't Panic Jonny again has been playing the harmonica solo, then tossing it into the audience.
6) They played "A Rush of Blood To The Head". Excellent rendition, the first time ever live on this 2002 US tour. It smells of "Bigger Stronger" especially the way the song is played and arranged. A pity they won't revisit the older songs in the catalog, but the title track is as close as we will get!
Overall it was a great show, but overshadowed by too much screaming and not enough punch from the speakers to drown those annoying screams out. Bimbo's was definitely a much more intimate setting, as well as a much better performance. There's simply nothing like seeing a great band in a smaller setting and I'm glad I had the chance to see Coldplay perform in two different settings.
Setlist
Politik Shiver Spies Daylight Trouble One I Love Don't Panic Everything's Not Lost Green Eyes God Put A Smile Upon Your Face Yellow The Scientist A Rush Of Blood To The Head Clocks In My Place Sitting On the Dock Of the Bay/Life Is For Living
~Ken
