11 December 2008: MEN Arena, Manchester, UK
From WikiColdplay
Contents |
Setlist
- Life In Technicolor
- Violet Hill
- Clocks
- In My Place
- Speed Of Sound
- Yellow
- Chinese Sleep Chant
- 42
- Fix You
- Strawberry Swing
- God Put A Smile Upon Your Face (partial techno remix)
- Talk (partial techno remix)
- The Hardest Part (Chris solo piano)
- Postcards From Far Away (Chris solo piano)
- Viva La Vida
- Lost!
- Green Eyes (acoustic)
- Death Will Never Conquer (acoustic - Will lead vocals)
- Viva La Vida (remix interlude)
First Encore - Politik
- Lovers In Japan
- Death And All His Friends
Second Encore - The Scientist
- Life In Technicolor ii
- The Escapist (outro)
Photos
Photos from this show can be found at Coldplaying.com in the Gallery thread for Manchester. http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/1565
Videos
Videos from this show can be found in the first post of the Coldplaying forum live thread for this show at http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/showthread.php?t=45474
Discussion
All post-show discussion for this show at the forum thread: http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/showthread.php?t=45474
Fan Reviews
All fan reviews have been submitted to us by the members of Coldplaying.com[1], unless stated otherwise.
That was the set, including the usual Gnossienne No1 after Politik and the Back To Good after The Scientist.
Admittedly the crowd were a little slow to get going in terms of standing - the floor appeared to be up at the start and it took a while before the seats got going but by the end most of the 200s, including myself, were up. However, the singing was rather loud and good, with Chris getting the audience to sing bits over and over, particularly the last outro verse in Yellow and the ending of 42. He didn't, like in Sheffield, get the audience to sing the whole of Yellow instead singing the majority himself. Saying all that, Chris appeared to like the noise that everyone was creating (even if it was whilst sat down) and claimed that Manchester is one of the best crowds, were no1 out of 87(?) shows and had brightened up the bands' day.
The band themselves had as much energy as ever, Chris not missing an opportunity to leap around, Will banging the life out of his drums and Jonny and Guy moving around as much as they normally do.
I was pleased to see the return of the yellow balls during Yellow and was rather amused to see some people carrying them out of the arena at the end.
Personal highlights was a chance to see the songs that weren't played at Sheffield - The Hardest Part, Green Eyes, The Scientist (normal version) and Life In Technicolor II. Sadly Politik didn't have the same powerful impact on me this time as it did in Sheffield, where it literally sent shivers up my spine. I would have also preferred having Life In Technicolor II to open and have an extra song instead but not to worry, I enjoyed the set none the less.
But judging that I've just drank two pints of orange since I got in 20mins ago and am still sounding hoarse, suggests it was a good night.
[r2ro]
what a gig, I've just got back home now and my voice is absolutely shreaded
Chris's voice blew me away once again! On '42' he really bigged the last note up by pausing and as he seemed to be running out of breath he said "this is a massive note" and then bellowed out the last note, gave me goosebumps!
The lazers during 'Clocks' were amazing, the techno versions of 'God Put A Smile...' and 'Talk' were amazing and the acoustic section at the back of the arena was fantastic aswell. 'Green Eyes' was amazing I was so made up it was in the set tonight Also loved Will's singing on 'Death Will Never Conquer'
I loved the way Chris got the crowd going by getting Guy's side of the arena to scream and go mad and then Jonny's side of the arena to scream. I was on Guy's side of the arena and was going nuts hahahaha
'Fix You' was simply awesome, so powerful and was probably the highlight of the night not forgetting 'Viva La Vida' with everyone singing the end bit!
Only negative was I thought 'Lost' sounded abit well, lost. It just sounded off tonight for some reason couldn't put my finger on what it was but apart from that the whole set was mind blowingly amazing!
I took some vids so I'll upload them tomorrow but I wasn't that close to the stage but I'll upload them anyway. I'm off to drink something my throat is absolutely nackered
[thehitcher]
Media Reviews
Coldplay still have plenty of vida left in them
We've said it before but it bears repeating: Coldplay are unfairly maligned. Just because they make popular songs, are hugely rich and yet don't conform to every rock-band cliche in the book (OK, we'll pass over the one about the frontman marrying a film star), it seems necessary to mock their every move. No wonder they've been taken to American hearts: there they actually like and encourage success.
Perhaps all those who denegrate Coldplay as being whiny bedwetting cohorts of Keane and Snow Patrol would think differently if they saw them live. At the Arena last night, Martin and co were awesomely powerful, Jonny Buckland's riffs set to stadium and anthem after anthem blowing away any of the bad moods they'd suggested they'd been in.
True, Martin doesn't so much like the sound of his own voice as like the sound of the crowd's - too often he opts for simply playing along as the audience bellow the words to Yellow. It's fun for a while, and then a little annoying - you don't pay £42.50 to hear the bloke next to you roaring the words. But in a sense it does prove how effortless Martin and co find writing memorable, clear-eyed pop songs.
The new songs from Viva La Vida fit snugly into the greatest hits; particularly the immense bombast of Lovers In Japan and 42. But the surprise - and they continually do surprise here, playing songs down the runway; at the back of the arena; letting the drummer sing - is when they play a techno version of God Put A Smile Upon Your Face, melding it into Talk and back again and somehow making it all work.
And yet it's The Hardest Part which sums Coldplay up. Or rather, the intro to it. Martin says it's a song about 'realising you'll never be quite as good as Oasis'. Look at their records and you have to wonder whether that's actually true - three out of four for Coldplay ain't bad compared to the Gallaghers' hit-rate of, ooh, two and a half out of seven. They want the critical acclaim that a Radiohead or an Arcade Fire enjoy, and yet they want the era-defining swagger of Oasis. Say one thing for them, at least Coldplay are still hungry - striving for, basically, an impossible dream.
http://manchesterblog.metro.co.uk
PERHAPS the most important rule when attending a Coldplay concert is to check all cynicism which may stem your enjoyment at the door - last night a capacity M.E.N. Arena crowd were more than happy to comply with such a belief.
As, away from all the tabloid sniggering about macrobiotic diets and oddball names plumped for offspring, it's often overlooked just how passionate and single-minded Chris Martin and Co are about music - to the extent where looking hip or cool is of little concern. Take this mission statement-esque quote from the man himself when the band burst into the British consciousness in 2000 with the shimmering single, Yellow: "Rock'n'roll is about doing what you want. It doesn't have to be about doing huge amounts of drugs or being hedonistic. It's about not caring what anyone else thinks of you. "Rock'n'roll is about the seeking of the ultimate pleasure."
Two hours after whipping a demographic-straddling crowd into a care-free, communal frenzy last night, the obvious pleasure they reap from performing was reflected in the masses who merrily filed out of the venue repeatedly bellowing the "whoa-o-oah" refrain from the title track of their fourth LP, Viva La Vida. This was date number 72 of a world tour, which won't reach its climax of for another nine months - yet there were no signs of fatique, from the get-go it was clear just what a labour of love it is for the quartet.
Sparklers
Dressed in their now trademark revolutionary outfits and clutching sparklers, the four-piece entered from stage left to the joyous string-ladden strains of album opener Life In Technicolor and didn't take long - despite sound issues on the melancholy Violet Hill - to hit the ground running. The aforementioned Yellow (replete with the now de rigeur glitter-filled balloons) and In My Place sparked euphoric sing-a-longs, while Fix You rose to such a crescendo it was hard not to get carried away with the emotion of it all.
Bounded
All the while, as drummer Will Champion and bassist Guy Berryman expertly held down the rhythm, Martin bounded about the stage displaying energy levels to make Carlos Tevez or Dirk Kuyt look positively pedestrian. Cannily, the band also patently had put a lot of thought into engaging the whole audience with a mix of arena-playing tricks both old and new - and the crowd reacted with gusto when divided into three for a cheesy, but effective 'call and response' moment, while two runways either side of the stage enabled the masses to get within touching distance of their Grammy-nominated heroes.
Acoustic moments
It was the more intimate, acoustic moments that really struck refreshing chords though, decamping first to the front of one of the runways for a vulnerably delivered The Hardest Part and then to back of the venue for a touching rendition of oldie Green Eyes. Anyone who has ever read a interview with the Devon frontman will know just what an infuriating mass of contradictions he can be - one minute doubting the band's right to be so successful and even his own looks, another proclaiming to have written the best album in the world - yet his slightly bumbling, Hugh Grant-esque Englishness on stage is strangly endearing and by the time the audience is showered with fluorescent paper butterflies during the orchestral Lovers In Japan he is faced with a sea of giddy smiles.
Quick to personalise the concert whereever possible (lyrics are changed to include Manchester on several occasions), Martin had recently spoken of his desire to support reformed manband Take That and in the last encore cutely knitted their biggest hit Back For Good on to the back of The Scientist, to whoops of delight from large throngs of the female audience. Following another performance tonight, Coldplay will return to play Old Traffford Cricket Ground next September with a pulling power-displaying hip-hop superstar (Jay-Z) as a warm-up act.
Gary Barlow and the boys are yet to confirm a support act for their run of sold out summer shows at the same venue, after this lovingly-delivered homage, perhaps Martin should wait by the phone.
And all the security guards in the MEN Arena were a bit Yellow.
Half of them was anyway. The security here really stand out, in their bright yellow blazers. It was an odd sight when they all took their positions just before the doors. All these organised yellow dots, covering the arena entrances. The biggest line of yellow, being by the stage barriers. The dots of yellow were far less organised a few hours later. As balloons were thrown in to the crowd by the roadies at the mix desk, by the stage and up in the rafters. Yellow bopped and popped all around the place. Most of them, seemed to gravitate towards the stage. By the end of the song, Chris Martin was beating them away with his guitar, surrounded by inflatables.
It all looks like chaos when that happens. But it’s very well organised really. The balloon-inflating session has become a regular fixture of the schedule for a few of the roadies in the afternoon. I came down to get some t-shirts from the Oxfam case earlier, only to find it covered in yellow balloons!
Not discouraged though, I battled through the balloons, got my volunteers t-shirts, dished them out, and they went out there talking to the fans. Another incredible night for Oxfam and the petition here. 1970 more people made the pledge for Health and Education For All. Those governments will have to take note of the number of people signing up just on this tour, let alone, around the world.
The band are in full flow at the moment. ‘Lost!’ is beating through the Manchester Evening News arena. It’s a massive place. 14′000 people here tonight. That means 1 in 7 of that huge number, signed Oxfam’s petition. That’s awesome. The last time I was here, I came to see the Foo Fighters on my 18th birthday. That was a brilliant day. Today has been too. I like this place.
I wonder if Peter Kay will be at one of the shows. He used to work in one of those yellow blazers and returned for his own stand-up show here. I talked to one of the blazer people here earlier, who said she was here when he started. He’s a very funny man.
The band just finished ‘Green Eyes’ up amongst the crowd, so I should get on with it and get back upstairs. I just want to add one more thing. I hear that Manchester is the home of Coldplaying.com. I also saw the names of Ian and Jenny Betley on our petition earlier. Thank you Coldplaying people!
http://www.oxfamblogs.org/coldplay/?p=129
