30 January 2006: Arco Arena, Sacramento, CA
From WikiColdplay
Setlist
- Square One
- Politik
- Yellow
- Speed Of Sound
- God Put A Smile Upon Your Face
- X&Y
- How You See The World
- Don't Panic
- White Shadows
- The Scientist
- Til Kingdom Come (partial)
- Ring Of Fire (cover)
- Green Eyes
- Clocks
- Talk
Encore
Reviews
Chris Martin meant well by sprinting into Arco Arena's audience. The singer must've figured that was the perfect way to bring Coldplay's music to the people. Bad idea. Once he jumped into the arena's bottom tier, singing bits from "In My Place," Martin was nearly turned into rock star mincemeat by the grabbing hands around him. He's lucky he made it out of the mob with his shirt and shoes intact.
Coldplay is just too big now to get so cozy with the crowd. Someone might get their eye poked out - or worse, lose a "Twisted Logic Tour" T-shirt that just set them back $35.
So Coldplay is good at working up its fans but bad at hiding how much it rips off U2.
At least it's a rip-off of U2 that sounds good. So what if half of Jon Buckland's chiming guitar lines sound like the Edge's leftovers? Coldplay pretty much owns an arena when it takes the stage.
And it started Monday night with 15,000 Coldplay fans freaking out while the band kicked off with "Square One." A giant video screen showed the countdown from an LCD clock, and right as the time reached 00:00, Martin touched down from a giant jump.
Coldplay might be dismissed in some circles as a bunch of soft-hands alternative rockers who moan too much. But in concert, Coldplay certainly aims for the Really Big Show. It's 90 minutes of razzle-dazzle lights, yellow balloons dropped on the crowd during "Yellow," and anthemic versions of "Clocks" and "Fix You."
Coldplay connected with its larger-than-thou rhythms in "Politik" and a thick overall sound that's built for the arena-rock experience. But if you closed your eyes and let Coldplay's delay-driven guitar tones and insistent drumming ring around your head, it felt like serious U2 déjà vu. "Talk" sounded so much like a U2 song that the entire band should have worn fly-guy sunglasses, a la Bono.
So much for originality, but Coldplay was still fairly charming. Through all the fandom and epic sounds around him, Martin glowed with an "aw, shucks" aura. He joked that his latest haircut made him look like Napoleon Dynamite, and got all goofy after he broke a string on his acoustic guitar during " 'Til Kingdom Come."
Coldplay's set also included a cover of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire," albeit with an impromptu touch. Martin changed a lyric in the song to "When you're in Sacramento and break a string."
Without these kinds of lighthearted moments, this Coldplay concert would've felt way too pompous. And it definitely needed a bit of comic relief after Fiona Apple's opening set.
Apple is one of pop music's reigning drama queens. She writes songs that sting like the shrapnel from a broken heart, and seethes while hunched over her piano bench. During "Shadowboxer," Apple spun in a kind of tantrum dance, and at one point it looked as if she was going to storm off stage.
There was a bit of dirgelike sameness to her set, but Apple belted some powerful vocals through clenched teeth. In a smaller venue, this could've been a cool kind of cabaret act.
But if Apple had run into the arena's crowd, like Martin did later, people might've run for cover.
Source: http://www.sacbee.com
Lights, numbers, action. When Britain's Coldplay took the stage Monday night, singer Chris Martin cut a shadowy figure, his form silhouetted against a giant LED display of rapidly blinking digits that resembled a bedside alarm clock gone berserk.
For fans, it proved to be a welcome wake-up call and when Martin - a.k.a. Mr. Gwyneth Paltrow - started singing "Square One" it was clear that his sweet, smoky voice was more than capable of outshining any gimmicky stage show.
By the time Coldplay jumped into "Yellow" -accompanied by a shower of bright yellow balloons, most of the crowd was on its feet, swaying in time to the melodic rocker.
The effect - powerful and palpable, was exactly what Brittny Farris had been hoping for.
Farris' has been a fan of the band, in town to promote its latest album "X&Y," since she was a teen. The 20-year-old West Sacramento resident first saw them perform during their last Sacramento-area show at the Sleep train Amphitheatre near Marysville, and she wanted this stop to live up to her memory of that experience.
"That was on their second show," Farris said. "It was so good - when they did 'Clocks' there were laser beams shooting out. It was so cool."
It wasn't just the theatrics that won her over, however, the fan - attending with her sister and some friends, said she appreciates the way Martin throws himself into each performance. "He just really gets into the show."
That's what Sonny Scroggin was looking forward to.
Asked if he's a Coldplay fan, he gave the questioner a pitying, withering look as if to say, "Duh, who here isn't?"
Then he smiled more forgivingly. His favorite song is "Square One," said Scroggin, 25, of Fairfield, and he expects that hearing it live will far exceed anything he's heard from the band before.
"I've only seen them on DVD before, and I'm expecting a really good show," said Scroggin. "Live, it will be about feeling the energy that comes from the stage."
Source: http://www.sacbee.com
Grammy voters are wack. Coldplay (tickets | music) is arguably today's most important rock band, currently touring in support of arguably the best mainstream rock record of last year, and the group deserves to go head-to-head with the likes of Kanye West and Mariah Carey in the major categories.
Coldplay, which is nominated for three trophies in the rock field, certainly came across like a band for the ages during its Monday night (1/30) concert at Arco Arena in Sacramento, CA.
The quartet delivered a thrilling performance during the first third of a three-night trip through Northern California. One might assume that supply would outweigh demand, given that the band was playing three dates at three venues that were all within roughly 120 miles of each other. Yet, the Sacramento date drew a full house, and the concerts in Oakland (1/31) and San Jose (2/1) were also expected to do big business.
It seems that music fans simply can't get enough of Coldplay, and the Arco Arena date showed exactly why. Most songs came across like true rock anthems, ones that could potentially outlive the band, and the musicianship was superb. The group's leader, Chris Martin, was in fine voice, came across as both witty and well-spoken, and was agile and energetic on stage. Plus, he sported a brand new hairdo, which shocked many in attendance.
"I know that it's an annoying thing when you go to see a band and you wind up at the show and the singer has a different haircut than he had on the album," Martin said of his poofy, tightly curled locks, which made him look as if he had just received a perm. "I suppose you all want your money back now. That's OK, because we are going to make all that money back when we make the sequel to 'Napoleon Dynamite.'"
Besides getting a good chuckle and roughly 20 great Coldplay tunes, fans also got the chance to see Fiona Apple (tickets | music) open the show. Most, however, could have done without her presence.
That's not a knock on Apple, who made an extraordinary comeback last year with her utterly likeable CD "Extraordinary Machine." Indeed, she sounded strong as she ran through smoky versions of "I Know" (from 1999's "When the Pawn ...") and the title track from her new album.
It's just that these fans wanted to see Coldplay and didn't really appreciate the 28-year-old New Yorker's arm-waving rants and lyrical raves--I mean, Chris Martin doesn't do those things.
When Apple finally left the stage, following a version of "Fast as You Can" (also from "Pawn"), she received a resounding ovation--but not for the reasons an artist would hope.
Coldplay, as expected, did much better as it began its show, appropriately, at "Square One." From that track, which also kicks off "X&Y," the band struck a nerve with the tumultuous "Politik," which remains the group's finest concert offering.
"Politik," the lead track off of 2002's "A Rush of Blood to the Head," takes the loud-soft-loud dynamic to new heights, going from thunderous percussion-driven music to a precious melody and near-hushed vocals in a very convincing manner. When Martin screams over crashing drums and banging piano to "open up your eyes," you truly want to see what he is seeing.
The band then delivered "Yellow," the mega-hit from 2000's "Parachutes," and the new album's single "Speed of Sound." It followed with a raucous version of "God Put a Smile Upon Your Face," and then returned to "Parachutes" for a comforting take on "Don't Panic."
After a so-so stripped-down segment--highlighted by a pretty decent cover of the Johnny Cash-staple "Ring of Fire"--the band decided it was time to wind up "Clocks." Just like on "Parachutes," the song came across like a prime example of elegant songwriting delivered with extreme passion. And that was this entire show in a nutshell.
If only the Grammy voters had been there to witness it.
Source: http://www.livedaily.com
Fantastic show!!! It’s my first time seeing Coldplay and I was very impressed. Set list was pretty standard, but we did get “Green Eyes” tonight which was a nice treat.
Chris did a nice job interacting with the crowd and made some funny improvisations during a few song bits. Only lowlight of the night occured during “Til Kingdom Come” when Chris broke a guitar string and had to cut the song short.
Anyway, here’s what they played tonight:
Square One Politik Yellow Speed Of Sound God Put A Smile Upon Your Face X & Y How You See The World Don’t Panic White Shadows The Scientist Til Kingdom Come (partial) Ring Of Fire Green Eyes Clocks Talk
Swallowed In The Sea In My Place Fix You
[Thanks Sactofan]
It was so exciting, when he jumped into my row. I could actually see the beads of sweat dripping off is head. lol it was fantastic. And the light shows was just mesmerizing. Between his voice, the band, and the lights, i was just enthralled. It was the best concert ever.
[Thanks AmandaCA85]
As normal it was a great show. Chris reallly did get pretty beat up by the fans, when he came back down I was suprised to see any clothes left on him. The fans were great, except the one behind me who was so drunk when she swayed her arms (after finishing making out with a stranger) she smacked me across the back of the head. Oh and I agree with Lancer Fiona Apple was BAD…but it just made Coldplay even better, if that is possible. Can’t wait for the next concert.
[Thanks Atatgirl]
I saw Coldplay this summer in Mountainview, making last night my second Coldplay live experience. Any criticisms i have need to be taken with a grain of salt, considering that, at the end of the day, it was one of the better shows of my life.
However, the ratio of soccer moms to young fans had me slightly put-back. We had pretty good floor seats, and when the set started, my friend and i rushed to the front (as one should do at a concert) only to be treated as if we had just peed on those sitting in the front row. It was unbelievable the amount of negative energy that was put out by the soccer moms and their muscle-shirt bearing husbands. We had brought England flags and a sign that read "YALPDLOC" in the font used in the Talk video.
I'll admit, we were getting VERY into the show, and were dancing our hearts out, and chances are, we probably bumped into a view people in doing so (GOD FORBID! HUMAN CONTACT AT A CONCERT!). Three times guys over thirty threatened to beat us up. I would have thought that if there was ANY place to go to avoid guys like this it was a Coldplay concert.
Right when a band comes to represent something beautiful and starts to not only have a BIG, but a GOOD influence on the world, guys like this come and ruin it for the rest of us. If there's any proof that scalping and ticket prices are ruining concerts, its the fact that most of those guys would have never woken up at 2 in the morning to camp out for tickets, but would have gladly forked over a credit card the night before the show on ebay.
I have nothing against a band having a wide range of audience, I actually enjoy that, but when people start coming to concerts to alienate young people who still have feelings and passion, thats where i draw the line. So, i'm sorry if i spilled anyone's wine (especially if it was a PREMIUM shot), and i'm sorry if i forced anyone to stand up during the show. That said, the show was fantastic. As always, the Scientist reverse ending was beautiful.
Personal Highlights: God Put a Smile on your Face (Jonny's new part with Phaser was absolutely beautiful). and Green Eyes. Thanks to all real fans who came. There's still hope!
[Thanks Scott Ferreter]
