20 June 2002: Mountford Hall, Liverpool University, UK
From WikiColdplay
Setlist
- Politik
- Shiver
- Spies
- Daylight
- Trouble
- One I Love
- Don’t Panic
- Everything’s Not Lost
- We Never Change
- God Put A Smile Upon Your Face
- Yellow
- The Scientist
- Clocks
Review
Defiant and determined, Coldplay have resurfaced refreshed, revitalised and reborn. Opening with new album track Politik - a thumping five-minute slab of piano and thrashing guitars, from the moment the band step onstage to a packed out Liverpool audience, it's clear that the 'music for bedwetters' tag no longer applies.
Of the 15 songs Chris Martin and bandmates play here tonight, half are from upcoming album A Rush of Blood To The Head and, if they all contain a common trait, it's a refusal to retread where Parachutes delicately laid.
Daylight is a throbbing industrial number built around a pounding take on The Beatles Tomorrow Never Knows drumbeat. One I Love sounds like vintage U2 - all surging guitars and wailing vocals, while new single In My Place is an exquisite journey through the type of traditional songwriting that first made the band so popular.
Quite how much of the decision to return to the studio and re-record Parachutes much awaited follow-up was actually down to 11 September, as reported, or in fact due to the sombre realisation that they had at first merely rehashed their debut, only the band truly know. Whatever the reason, from the new material played here tonight (in particular Clocks and The Scientist - both post studio return), it's clear that it has paid off.
Coldplay may have ended last year's world tour feeling a pedestrian Travis-like existence lay ahead of them, but in daring not to play it safe they've defied all expectations. By the time that local hero Ian McCulloch joins them onstage for a closing rendition of the Bunnymen classic Lips Like Sugar their battle has already been won.
Dispersing revitalised versions of crowd favourites Spies, Trouble, Shiver and inevitably Yellow throughout their set, the band tonight displayed their true calibre. Appearing like worthy arena performers, as opposed to the twee indie four-piece they once seemed, Coldplay have come back stronger, leaner and more focused than they ever were. The radio-friendly songs of woe may still be there but the band have gained a harder, sharper edge, and in doing so, sound better now than ever.
HIGHLIGHT - A serene rendition of Everything's Not Lost complete with extended sing along playout.
LOWLIGHT - The inevitable moments of audience restlessness during the new material.
Review courtesy of: worldpop.com
