18 July 2003: Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia

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Setlist

Media Reviews

Mellow, yellow affair

Chris Martin is as baffled as anyone about Coldplay's arena-sized upgrade since their two visits in 2001. The band only has two hits, the lead singer reminded us, so they were deeply grateful to find 10,000 Australians prepared to sit through all the "shit songs" they were obliged to shuffle in between.

He was joking. Kind of. Those nursing their scarves for Yellow and Clocks had to wait a long time to start waving them, but given that both of Coldplay's albums have sold hundreds of thousands here, the English rockers' intensely sober and sensitive fare was repaid in kind.

In fact, why seats were removed on the floor was a mystery. Coldplay rocked hard at times - too hard, like a college debating team with something to prove down at the pub on a Friday night - but the crowd's reaction peaked at a vigorous head-nod during the opening song, Politik.

The tune's crash-to-whisper dynamics and steady climb to an emotional falsetto in the mid-section pretty much defined the Coldplay formula. With his powerful, keening voice, Martin's gift for melancholy melodic twists is the band's primary asset.

Martin also worked hard to involve the audience physically, though his band's absence of stagecraft, charisma and musical innovation quickly made light of those "new U2" comments filtering in from the US.

For the likes of Daylight and Everything's Not Lost, guitarist Jon Buckland conjures great counter-melodies, but there is none of the Edge's textural invention. And the lads' wardrobe could sure handle a rethink now that they're playing such a long way from the back seats.

Alternating between guitar and an upright piano centre-stage, Martin led a passionate charge through most of the new album, A Rush of Blood to the Head, to the surprise exclusion of a couple of highlights from 2000's Parachutes CD (whither Shiver? Spies?).

Old-timers got Trouble and Don't Panic for their pains, and added a soft but tenacious singalong to Everything's Not Lost, perhaps the show's most moving moment. A mellow mood prevailed, though, to the extent that Martin had to politely insist the audience be upstanding for Yellow.

In keeping with his simmering political conscience, Martin also threw in a brief plug for maketradefair.com and a solo snatch of Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World - albeit with the satirical subtext replaced by a warm and fuzzy reference to "playing concerts Down Under".

An encore of Clocks, In My Place and the fragile piano piece Amsterdam completed an evening which was no more or less than Coldplay's most ardent fan or rancorous critic would expect: nice.

Michael Dwyer

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/07/21/1058639721694.html

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