3 July 2009: Rock Werchter Festival, Belgium
From WikiColdplay
Contents |
Setlist
- Life In Technicolor
- Violet Hill
- Clocks
- In My Place
- Yellow / All These Things That I've Done
- Cemeteries Of London
- 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) // Billie Jean
- Viva La Vida
- Lost!
- Green Eyes (acoustic)
- Werchter Song
- Death Will Never Conquer (Acoustic, sung by Will)
- Viva La Vida (Remix Interlude)
- Politik
- Lovers In Japan
- Death And All His Friends
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 the Rock Werchter Festival. http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/1698
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=54171
Discussion
All post-show discussion for this show at the forum thread: http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/showthread.php?t=54171
Fan Reviews
All fan reviews have been submitted to us by the members of Coldplaying.com[1], unless stated otherwise.
Back home. It was a special concert. As I believe in the equal distribution of money, I decided not to pay for this gig but listen to it in the middle of nature, close to the river Dyle, 300 metres from the stage. I've paid for more than one concert, bought cds and tour books, but since I live close to Werchter and since I've already experienced this concert last october (Sportpaleis - Antwerp), I decided to get this one for free. It's quite strange to hear Coldplay amidst nature, the good thing is the sound is so bloody loud on the festival grounds that, being a little farther away, I got fabulous quality sound without damaging my ears. And I could look at the stars during the performance of Yellow, that's a first.
So, details for those that couldn't make it. Setlist, same as Arras, but no I'm a believer. Chris covered Michael Jackson's Billie Jean, I think it followed Green Eyes or The hardest part, which he, by the way, dedicated to Lady Gaga, who was also playing the festival. Billie Jean wasn't the only reference to Michael Jackson though, Martin slightly altered the last words of Violet Hill and dedicated the song to the singer. Postcards from far away, I'm not too sure I heard that either, but there was a nice bit of piano with which Martin tied up Politik with Lovers in Japan. Someone else will know for sure. Viva La Vida was, as always, the highpoint of the set, with the crowds going "oh oh oh" for minutes after they ended the song, even when Lost had finished, they briefly started it again. It's quite impressive, hearing this from a distance. Martin did talk quite a lot during the concert, he even apologised for not speaking any French or Flemish. So he seems to know Belgium is a bilingual country, which not many singers do.
Overall appreciations: nice concert, no vocal or instrumental flaws, nothing outstanding though, no real surprises. Ok, there were the techno versions of Talk and God put a smile, but I heard those already and they're not that inventive to be honest. I didn't like the new speed of Yellow, by the way. Much too fast. Ah well, I suppose it's difficult to alter setlists because such a large production is a well-oiled machine. Anyway, it was a nice evening, a unique way to listen to Coldplay and it didn't cost me anything. Now I'm off to bed.
[walewein]
This is my first post here. I was in Werchter last night, it was my first Coldplay gig and they most definitely lived up to my high expectations!
We were really in for a treat yesterday. Elbow earlier was fantastic, I didn't really know them before yesterday but will definitely give them another listen. Bloc Party started a great party. Then on came The Killers, who really started and ended their show with a bang! Chris Martin would later remark that they're not used to closing for The Killers and hoped they'd be worthy.
Anyway, the wait before Coldplay came on was charged. We'd been highly entertained by the previous groups and couldn't wait to see what Coldplay had in store for us. The announcer had said right after The Killers concert that he'd just seen two cute little kids, a boy and a girl, and finished off by saying, "yes, they're really here!". A JayZ song (I presume) was the first sign that Coldplay would be on soon. This was followed by The Blue Danube by Strauss (I don't know if they do this at all gigs or not). It served really well to build up the anticipation. And then on they came, waving fire sticks. You already know the set-list so I won't go into that.
I had the perfect view of the show. I'd moved into the second compartment early on and never left my spot. For safety reasons, there are these corridors in the crowd that allow security to get close to the people. Quite a few people have had to be taken out as it was quite hot. These corridors break the crowd up into compartments and they can control the number of people that get into the front ones. This basically means that once you're in there, there's no pushing or shoving or people trying to get to the front from the back. If it's full, it's full and they don't allow anyone else in there. I opted not to go for the first one, out of fear of too much pushing, ended up at the front of the second one, right in the middle, with an uninterrupted view of the stage. Brilliant! At least you can catch some air there, we could even sit down in between concerts. It's only when Chris Martin decided to run down the corridor right in front of me that everyone behind started pushing to get a clear view of that.
Anyhow, about the show. Other bands (yes, I'm looking at you, Oasis) should really take a look at how Coldplay is performing. I love how Chris Martin is so energetic, running from left to right, jumping, giving his all. Coldplay really makes the crowd feel that this show is special and that the show you're watching is the best ever. Where I was standing, the crowd was really into it all, singing along to nearly every song. At one point, I believe at the end of In My Place, as the last notes were somewhat more silent and Chris could finally hear we'd been singing along, he seemed pleasantly surprised. I suppose they can't really hear the crowd from the stage, unless they take out their earpiece.
The big yellow balloons during Yellow and the paper butterflies work really well in such a large outdoor setting. We had fun with those.
Oh, and as for the Lady Gaga dedication. That was more tongue in cheek than anything else. He was winking when he said he'd dedicate it to the people listening to Lady Gaga on the other stage. It was said in a "those poor sods" kind of way. And so, as he was starting The Hardest Part, he quietly let out 'Poker Face' but quickly reverted back to the Hardest Part, which would then turn into Billy Jean at the end.
Earlier on he'd already tried a mash of i forgot which song and The Killers 'we've got soul but we're not soldiers' line. It was really cute. All through the show, lines would be changed a little to include a reference to 70.000 Belgians, or the previous gigs. Such a refreshing difference from bands who barely know where they're playing, who else is on, etc.
Anyway, it was spectacular end to what was already a brilliant day. Coldplay really are a class act.
[Bye]
OHHHHHH
I was there last night, and the performance of Coldplay was the best ever! Such energy, they played about two hours, Chris smiling and joking all the time, some sweet moments with Jonny, references to all the other bands who played, Chris making the crowd sing 'I've got soul but I'm not a soldier' from The Killers, some nice words for Michael Jackson, butterflies, balloons, B and C stage... I can go on and on about it.
Too bad they didn't play PFFA or I'm a believer, but they did a really funny song instead with lyrics about Belgium. The crowd was amazing, and Chris really enjoyed that.
And if I heard well, Apple and Moses were there as well. I know last time they played Werchter Gwyneth came with him, so perhaps she was there too, I don't know.
I don't have time now for a long review, but for me this was the best Coldplay gig ever. And the Belgian press agrees: even if there are two more days of Werchter with bands like Kings of Leon, Metallica etc, Coldplay are already called the top of Werchter 2009.
Ohh and don't forget: The Killers were awesome too, and Brandon looked cute as always
So, a little more about the gig...
They came on with the sparklers, opened with LiT. Setlist is on here I believe. I think it was the same as Arras.
What I really liked was the amazing crowd, and how Chris seemed to enjoy that. My last gig was in a quiet crowd, but I prefer to sing along and squeeee, of course. Chris was so funny, said things like: let me hear a Belgian squeee, and: I've heard people in Belgium can make some fucking loud noise
And his references to The Killers were awesome too. There were a lot of Victims in the crowd, and they liked it of course.
I had a really good spot, almost at front, and I guess that made it even better for me.
Awwwww *happy sigh* If possible, I love the guys even more now. Such an amazing gig, I still can't get over it. I slept like 3 hours last night, but I'm still full of energy. They are so great. Awww, that special feeling after going to a gig I have to wait till September now
Oh, and amazing too: after the festival the crowd of 80.000 went home all chanting Viva's Who-o-o-o on the way, amazing!
And the press is so nice, they all call Coldplay the best of the best and write so nice words about the boys... I feel so proud to be a fan
[Sirhc]
Hey Niki welcome here! For the coldplayers who know about Sylvie (Poopoopidoo) not coming with me , I actually took Niki with me, she was not a real Coldplay fan, but now I think she is!!! I think it was a really good idea to take her with me since her vids are absolutely amazing!!!! But I'm quite afraid that the girl you hear screaming on her vids is just me..... I sincerely apologize for that.... lol
A lot of reports have been posted already, so I won't say much... I'm still on a cloud, this was a perfect night, even if today I'm physically ruined .... I'm getting too old for that... We were in the golden circle against the fence of the central corridor, and we were so lucky to see Chris coming just in front of us 4 times ( as you can see on the Fix You video...)... We arrived at ten o'clock in the morning, it was so hot and it was very long in spite of the bands entertaining before.... But I must admit that I fell asleep against the fence while Elbow's performance wich is one of the most boring band I've ever seen on stage.... But when The Killers started I forgot everything..... they did an amazing show, we got Ronnie's drumstick, it was perfect! Then Coldplay, WOW.... What a show, Chris is amazing, I don't know how he finds all this energy.... I'm also scared that he breaks his back or his legs one day, he's such an acrobat!!! Everything was perfect, the lights, the butterflies, the balloons, them going from one stage to another, Chris singing passages from All these things that I've done by The Killers, talking about Lady Gaga also ....., singing Billie Jean, he's still so funny and his voice was perfect in spite of the fact that he keeps running everywhere, what a showman!!!!! It was a dream come true.... I can't wait for the Parc des Princes show now and I'm seriously thinking of buying a very expensive ticket on e-bay for Wembley, but my husband doesn't feel like it....
My pics and vids are craps, I don't think I'll post here except if you insist but you've got Niki's brilliant vids.... Thanks again for that Niki even if I really don't understand how you can stay so calm
[chopotte]
Alright, I have seen them before but this one went beyond anything I've ever seen.
BEST OF THE BEST OF THE BEST OF THE BEST!
They got nothing but good reviews in the papers etc. even the Prince of belgium was there and is a fan. and they had the most audience of all the concerts and everyone was singing with them.
Now to the most important part:
I WAS ON THE 1ST ROW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GUY'S SIDE OF THE STAGE & I GOT TO TOUCH WILL'S HAND ! That was such a highlight. He also threw away his drumsticks but apparently he doesn't have a good aim.
The concert had pretty much the same setting of all the others but this time they also had yellow balloons for 'Yellow' I got to carry one to the camping but well, it didn't survive the festival.
and Chris was dressed up in this carnival/Chinese mask and walking around. LOL.
They also changed some of the lyrics that fitted Belgium. Saying we make a lot of noise etc. and he made this little belgian tribude and he kinda lost it and was all "AAAH. Fuck it." & he combined The Killers lyrics "I got soul but I'm not a soldier" with 'Yellow' in the end.
I think everyone kinda went silent or crazy when Chris performed a cover of Billy Jean on Piano and said somethings about Michael Jackson.
He also sang a song for Johnny. kinda. and he kept cracking up. "2nd best member of Coldplay." but he said the same about Will too. and Will's song was fantastic.(they were standing in the crowd too like always) E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G was fantastic.
and through the entire festival the VLV 'ooooh ooooooooooh' was the theme song. Like on the streets or on the festival everyone was yelling/signing that. Almost after every performance. everyone kept clapping and began to sing coldplay. LOL; and we were waiting for Katy Perry and VLV came on the festival radio and the whole crowd went nuts and started sining. That part was better than the concert itself. lol.
I had 5 male friends who told me: "damn. I cried."
We took some pictures and I might put them up later if my friend gives me them tonight.
& little Apple & Moses were also there. Which was sweet.
I remember reading some of the reviews,
"They definitely earn to be called the new U2." "The only bad thing about Coldplay could be the name of the band. Since they & their music are HOT." "The just might be too good of a band to play on a festival." "The Killers & Bloc Party were great but Coldplay is the performance that will be remembered."
[Lostbeth]
I was at Werchter too, front row at Guy's side I spend the day with Vanessa who also posted a few messages on this forum. I quickly saw C&C when we just got in, but there was no more space in front row, so they went to get better places. From what I read here they got great spots, so I'm glad about that!
All the bands that performed that day were great, so the long wait wasn't bad at all. Especially The Killers and Bloc Party were awesome!
Somewhere in the afternoon I saw a little boy with short blond hair with red headphones and a cute girl with long blonde hair. I was thinking to myself, maybe there are Moses and Apple, but I wasn't sure. But then the announcer said Chris' kids were there, so I figured it was them. But as the poster above said they were in LA that day, I guess it wasn't them.
Coldplay put on an excellend show. The show was about the same as the one in Arras, but I didn't mind at all! He was very enthousiastic and smiled a lot, which was great. It's great he really shows interest in the bands that played before them, he named all the bands that played earlier and The Killers "I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier" sing along was very fun.
The cutest moment for me was during In My Place: Jonny was at the right side of the stage at B-stage and Chris wanted to have his lovefest with him, but he was at the complete left side of the stage. Chris went "J, where are you?" or something like that. He sounded so cute and desperate when he said that, so he went running really fast to the other side to have his fun with Jon.
I'm totally in love with Lovers In Japan and the butterflies. I took a lot of them home, god knows what I'm gonna do with them
[Nikki84]
Okay, I'm going to give my review a try. Don't shoot me if there's a gap somewhere, I'm sure C&C will fill it in for me!
So I got to the festival around noon and C&C had taken the perfect spots! I was so happy to see Carla again and finally meet Chavi!! The girls really are lovely and I miss them like crazy!
Since it was a festival, we had to wait and see other bands first. Just Jack, which was good. Elbow was superb! The Killers were great too but after them, Coldplay was on!! We saw the dancing roadie which was great! The crowd loved him! After that, the Blue Danube and the whole crowd clapped along! Then.. Life In Technicolor, and the boys came on with their sparklers and I went crazy!!! Violet Hill ended with a tribute to MJ which was really lovely! During In My Place there was the Jonny/Chris love, it was so sweet!! Yellow was soooo lovely with all the balloons, tho they all went to the right side of the stage and we were on the left side so we couldn't reach them. It ended with a bit of All the things I've done from the Killers which was sweet! 42 was great as ever and during Fix You Chris ran through the crowd and passed us.. I reached out for him and I think I yelled CHRISSY!! (or something like that) He didn't put out his hands tho' so I couldn't touch him. Kelly and Jackie ran after him, which was quite funny to watch! Strawberry Swing, it was such a perfect day.. A really warm summer night, with the best band on earth performing. Couldn't be better!
Then the B-stage part; Jonny and Guy having some fun when they got on there, lovely smiles from both of them The MJ tribute, Billy Jean, was sweet and really beautiful! A worthy tribute..
Viva was awesome, the crowd went wild and I sang on top of my lungs (well, I did that for the whole gig actually )
The C-stage was cool, the boys went by us, just inches away from touching but sadly they didn't stick their hands out and there was so much security! The little Werchter song where Chris got lost and couldn't think of anything anymore! I can't recall them playing I'm a believer, but that could be due to my mushy brain, haha! Chavi spotted Phil watching them from the main stage. I don't know if Carla manged to take a picture because he went backstage when the boys made their way back from the C-stage. During Politik, Chris messed up the first chorus, he got a bit lost there.. No biggie though. Lovers in Japan was magical, all the butterflies falling from the sky! A nice security dude handed me arms full of butterflies after the show and I've got soooo much of them! Lovely, going to frame some and put the rest on the wall in our new house (when we get it). Death And All His Friends, I realized it was almost over.. Sweet song, love it live!! The encore, esp. The Scientist made me cry so bad!! It was so beautiful, full of emotions and gave me goosebumps all over my body.. Life in Technicolor ii, and that was it..
The show was amazing, the boys (esp. Chris) were so in to it, smiling and having fun on stage! I still can't believe it's over, I've been looking forward to this for so long and now it's nothing more than a memory. A sweet one, but it makes me sad nevertheless.. So happy I got to experience this with the lovely C&C! It was the best thing ever and I can't wait for September to be here..
[Raven12]
Media Reviews
Met Coldplay had Rock Werchter één van de meest tot de verbeelding sprekende, Magie in pacht hebbende headliners van deze tijden binnengehaald. In de ultieme vijf minuten vóór het concert begon, stond men zich alvast in dichte drommen te bedenken hoe dit concert ooit tegenover de kleinkinderen beschreven zou worden. En terecht. Deels toch.
Coldplay is zó groot geworden, en het vertrouwen in de helende krachten van Chris Martin-de-Messias dermate blind, dat de groep het zich kan permitteren een mindere dag te hebben: de bekeerden zal het tóch allemaal worst wezen. Coldplay is een blonde stoot met perfecte borsten die dat van zichzelf weet. Geen verwijt: zoiets is menselijk. Het woord voor woord duizendstemmig meezingen, de ooh's en aah's die bij de minste handeling massaal opstijgen,de tot tranen gedreven idolatrie telkens Martin de frontstage induikt: voor Coldplay is het a day at the office. Het móet wel wennen.
Dus ja: het publiek vond het allemaal gewéldig. Toch kunnen wij onmogelijk de enigen zijn geweest die het opviel dat de band vrijwel constant scherpte en cachet miste. Tijdens het openingshalfuurtje (met hits als Clocks, In My Place en Yellow op papier nochtans een sure shot) was Martin méér begaan met het roekeloos verkennen van alle hoeken van het podium dan met het afleveren van de beste zangpartij.
Het vermoeden dat Coldplay de show minstens zo hoog inschat als zijn eigen muziek, won bij elke graai in de speelgoeddoos terrein. De gele ballonnen, de twee kleine podia middenin de massa waarop de groep onverhoeds opdook, de Aziatische drakenkop waarmee Martin zich tooide, het confettikanon: leuk allemaal, maar als de muziek daar niet bóven staat, verzeil je al gauw in Plopsaland.
Het coldwavebad waarin onder meer God Put A Smile Upon Your Face en Talk werden ondergedompeld , verraste. De korte, door Martin solo op de piano gespeelde versie van Michael Jacksons Billie Jean eveneens. Viva La Vida bleek definitief tot de categorie meescandeerbare voetbalhymnes te zijn toegetreden. En tijdens het als een psalm zo zaligmakende Fix You stonden volgens de laatste berichten zeven mensen uit hun rolstoel op.
Maar het was niet genoeg. Door alle over- en weergeloop miste de set vaart, en op sommige momenten hing de songvolgorde met haken en ogen aaneen. Akoestisch (Green Eyes), dreunend (de Viva La Vida-reprise), subtiel (de folkwolk Strawberry Swing): het werd allemaal nogal slordig op een hoopje geveegd. De kleinkinderen hadden er méér van verwacht.
Twitter Updates
- Raven12 Arrived at Werchter, met C&C and have perfect spots!!
- Raven12 http://twitpic.com/957xz - The stage
- coldplay Hello Belgium! R#42 http://twitpic.com/95glj
- Raven12 hugs and kisses to all of you from a sticky warm Belgium. R42 hss been spotted and CP sets foot on stage in aprox. 5 hours. *dance*
- coldplay Elbow are on and they are ever bit as wonderful as I hoped. Can't wait 'til they grace our tour. R#42 http://twitpic.com/95hr1
- Raven12 waiting for the Killers to take the stage. Bash, Hoppy and R42 are sighted already, no sign of Phil or the band yet..
- coldplay I hope the weather stays like this. Show starts in 90 mins... R#42 http://twitpic.com/96e4m
- ChavisToaster Dancing roadie and now blue danube!!!!!
- imfreienfall Woa. Just went outside to listen Rock Werchter, first very loud opera and then I hear Live in Technicolor II XD Coldplay is being original
- vrmens Coldplay starts at Werchter :-) http://twitpic.com/96rwz
- huwstephens leavin Rock Werchter, hearing coldplay over the fields of wheat and corn and stuff. Train from Lueven to Brussels. Nos da!
- jschalkw Coldplay is great and Chris Martin smiles all over, wonderful day at
- pcampo I can hear Rock Werchter from my house! I just heard Coldplay's The Scientist! Awesome!
- zero74 Tribut für Michael Jackson von Coldplay bei Rock Werchter: we all loved him so we got let him go... Und Billy Jean als Pianoversion (Translation: Tribute for MJ from Coldplay at Rock Werchter: .... and Billy Jean as pianoversion)
- ChavisToaster One of the best shows i went to! tears streamed down our faces..
- whisperedsongs Seriously @coldplay was so good I started to cry, you guys are gods, simple as that! Best moment of my life!
- PaulineRebry The Killers were glorious, oasis -> :O, Coldplay shockingly great
- therunnersays If you ever want to see a group of men who absolutely love their job, go see Coldplay. They blew me away tonight at Rock Werchter.
- detheo @coldplay trying to recover from the AMAZING performance you gave last night at the Main Square Festival --cheers for such a beautiful gig
