14 March 2009: Sound Relief Bushfire Benefit Concert, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
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Setlist
Photos
Photos from this show can be found at Coldplaying.com in the Gallery thread for Sydney. http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/1742
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=54798
Discussion
All post-show discussion for this show at the forum thread: http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/showthread.php?t=54798
Fan Reviews
All fan reviews have been submitted to us by the members of Coldplaying.com[1], unless stated otherwise.
Media Reviews
Coldplay kicks off bushfire benefit
British rock super group Coldplay have opened Sydney's Sound Relief concert, with singer Chris Martin making an extraordinary dash through the crowd.
After a six song set, which included a duet with John Farnham, Martin leapt off the stage and ran half the length of the Sydney Cricket Ground to greet fans at the back of the event.
Martin embraced a number of fans, high fived people as he was running along and briefly took refuge on one side of the stadium, before returning into the crowd and clambering back on to the stage. He then managed to finish singing the lyrics to the Coldplay song Fix You.
Previous to that song Martin welcomed Australian singing legend Farnham onto stage for a rendition of You're The Voice.
"Ladies and gentleman, please welcome to sing the Australian national anthem, John Farnham, said Martin, with a laugh before playing backup music to You're The Voice.
In what was an unusual sight for the UK rock band, the SCG was less than half full when they took the stage at 12.20pm, but many fans sprinted across the ground when they heard the first song being played by the band.
The group started with a brief instrumental, which led into their classic hit Yellow.
While many fans were jammed in towards the front of the stage to get a close-up view of Martin and his bandmates, others took a more casual approach - setting up picnic rugs at the back of the SCG's grassy area.
At the end of their set, the band sent their best wishes to the victims of the Victorian bushfires and the Queensland floods.
The concert event, which is being held simultaneously in Sydney and Melbourne, is expected to stretch for at least 10 hours with groups including Wolfmother, Jet and Bee Gees legend Barry Gibb due to perform on stage.
Gibb is the headliner of the Sydney event and will appear on stage alongside Olivia Newtown John.
In Melbourne Kylie Minogue is due to appear and Midnight Oil will make the headline performance this evening, with Federal MP Peter Garrett back on stage as frontman.
The proceeds for the Sydney Sound Relief concert will be split between Victorian bushfire victims and those affected by devastating floods in Queensland.
The Melbourne event is being staged entirely for bushfire victims, given the horrific losses suffered there through bushfires.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2009/...919615407.html
Sound relief hits Sydney and Melbourne
Australian rock lovers are in for a big trip down memory lane as performers from more than three decades hit the stage at Saturday's Sound Relief concerts in Melbourne and Sydney. Some iconic Aussie bands - including Midnight Oil and Hunters & Collectors - are getting back together for one night only in aid of the victims of Victoria's devastating bushfires and Queensland's floods. In Melbourne, the music gets under way at the MCG from midday with Jet, who broke through in 2004 with the single Are You Gonna Be My Girl, followed by young pop sensation Gabriella Cilmi. Augie March and Wolfmother will also play to the 80,000 strong crowd, along with Paul Kelly and Split Enz and international acts Kings of Leon and Jack Johnson. Pop princess Kylie Minogue has flown in from London to be the show's "special MC". All profits from the $75 a head event will go to the Bushfire Fund Appeal. Singer Chris Martin says he feels like an honorary Australian after his band Coldplay opened the Sydney Sound Relief bushfire benefit concert. The UK superstars, who took to the stage at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) just after midday (AEDT) on Saturday, later cemented their `Aussie credentials' when they were joined on stage by John Farnham. "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to sing the Australian national anthem, John Farnham," Martin said. With Coldplay as his backing band, Farnham led a crowd of thousands in a rousing rendition of You're The Voice. Martin opened the set with an extended intro of Viva La Vida before launching their huge hit Yellow as dozens of yellow balloons bounced around the audience. "Today, is the only day we can claim to be honorary Australians," Martin said. Cricketer Shane Warne appeared onstage, while actress Toni Collette and her baby daughter Sage were among the crowd who paid $75 a ticket to attend the benefit bash. Half the profits will go to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal, the other half to The Premier's Disaster Relief Fund Appeal in Queensland for victims of the recent floods. The Sydney concert is being held simultaneously with one in Melbourne. Together they are expected to raise more than $5 million. Wolfmother were the second act to take the Sydney stage, playing hits including Woman and Colossal. "I'm very proud to be a part of this event," frontman Andrew Stockdale told the media before the show. "It's an enormous, historical moment ... "That just shows what this country does: it gets behind people when they are down and out, and tries to help." At the other end of the day, Bee Gee Barry Gibb will close the show with some of his famous hits, as well as a special performance with Olivia Newton-John. 1980s band Icehouse have reformed for the benefit, You Am I and Hoodoo Gurus are sure to be crowd favourites, while Jet and the new-look Wolfmother will take to the stage in Melbourne and Sydney. Dance duo The Presets, US country sensation Taylor Swift, and Perth bands Eskimo Joe and Little Birdy are among the other big names on the bill. Profits from the Sydney concert will be split between the Victorian bushfire and Queensland flood relief efforts. AAP
http://www.thewest.com.au/default.as...ntentID=129980
GETTING the biggest bands in the country to play Sound Relief was always going to be enough to draw big crowds. But when the show's co-promoters Michael Gudinski and Michael Chugg realised that two of the biggest rock bands in the world, Kings of Leon and Coldplay, would both be in the country on March 13 to play arena shows in Melbourne and Sydney, the stars had aligned in more ways than one.
The stage was set for the clash for the heavyweight rock world championship. Before Kings of Leon strutted onto the MCG stage for its highly anticipated early afternoon set, footage of Coldplay's Sydney sun-drenched show was broadcast on the MCG's big screens. Coldplay certainly took early honours with singer Chris Martin stalking the stage to wring every last bit of emotion out of songs such as Yellow, until he collapsed on the floor.
He also won points for humour. "We never thought we'd be the 15th support act for the Bee Gees," Martin joked.
In contrast, Kings of Leon were more low key. Frontman Caleb Followill delivered songs in his raspy growl from the one position. It didn't help that the band had decided against playing its biggest hit, Sex on Fire, deeming it inappropriate (whether that was because of its incendiary title or its references to STDs remained unclear).
At a press conference before its set, the band also suggested that every time it played an outdoor stadium, it seemed to rain. Those words were prophetic when the heavens opened as soon as it struck its first notes. Victory, then, to Coldplay, though they lost some points for inviting John Farnham on stage to belt out what Martin playfully referred to as "the Australian national anthem", You're the Voice.
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