3 March 2009: Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia
From WikiColdplay
Contents |
Setlist
- Life In Technicolor
- Violet Hill
- Clocks
- In My Place
- Yellow
- Cemeteries Of London
- Chinese Sleep Chant
- 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)
- Postcards From Far Away (Chris solo piano)
- Viva La Vida
- Lost!
- Speed Of Sound (acoustic)
- Green Eyes (acoustic)
- 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 Melbourne. http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/1656
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=51991
Discussion
All post-show discussion for this show at the forum thread: http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/showthread.php?t=51991
Fan Reviews
All fan reviews have been submitted to us by the members of Coldplaying.com[1], unless stated otherwise.
Incredible. Incredible. Incredible.
It was amazing. Unbelievable, but I forgot how so enormously magnificent COLDPLAY are LIVE, live.
I had Reserved Seating, so I didn't get to ROD LAVER until about 8.00PM; caught the end of Mercury Rev, I think -- and I regret not listening to them in full; they had an incredible sound. Hopefully, I'll hear them tomorrow. Possibly the only support act I'll enjoy!
Anyway, of course, took photos out the front of the venue; posers... Then I spent the waiting hour detailing basically every little tidbit about the show for my sister and friend; the 'magic balls', the yellow balloons, piano solo of 'The Hardest Part', Jonny's guitar at the end of 'DAAHF' etc.
I was directly in front of the stage, behind the FoH – and who do I see? Miller! Setting up a camera facing the stage. I was asking my sister and friend if I should go talk to him, get his signature (which I did, but not until after the show).
Jay-Z erupted from the speakers, followed by the Blue Danube; I felt like a true Coldplay fan knowing that they'd be on next -- stood up, jumped around! Concert started; loved the setlist -- it didn’t change -- I wrote it all over my arms (pictures to follow on Friday/ Saturday/ Sunday).
I was disappointed in the crowd -- I swear I was the only one who stood the entire time in my section; I was asked to sit down once, but it was really only for this banner I made -- I stopped using the banner, but I continued to stand!
Like I mentioned, the entire show was fantastic – I won’t go into detail, but if you want to know any specifics, please just ask!
Great finish – the butterflies in ‘Lovers In Japan’ were amazing against the backdrops – there were thousands and thousands of them! For the first time I didn’t feel disappointed after the end; most certainly because I still have two nights to go.
I got a few pictures and videos, but I’m not too sure how they’ll turn out once transferred onto the computer – we’ll see...
So the show finished, I moved to the FoH Main Area and asked if I could ‘Please have a seat list,’ I scored one (although it varied slightly from the night’s set). Couldn’t believe how easy it was – after reading everyone’s experiences, it didn’t seem hard, but I was just so nervous it wouldn’t happen! I’m going to try and get one for the next two nights!
Then I ran down to GA and grab a handful of butterflies (I’m planning on grabbing a bag full, lol, on the last night when I’m actually standing underneath them). Then as I was coming back up the stairs to my section, Miller was back removing the camera he’d previously set up, so I went over to him and asked if I could get his signature.
He was really... cute, and terribly nice. He seemed a little surprised that someone was asking for his signature, but I was just like; “I know it’s a little strange, but we love you over at Coldplaying.com,” and he signed my setlist.
I asked him (and another lighting/ sound guy -- he wasn’t part of the Coldplay crew) how he was enjoying the shows (he thought they were great), and how he was enjoying Australia; he loves it, but said he was still jetlagged – not too badly, but still there. He was awesome – a good sport.
It was a perfect night, and I really can’t wait until tomorrow. I think I got everything in – I do have a question for anyone who went GA tonight though; what time did you start lining up?
Best. Concert. Ever.
"Jonny, you are the sea, upon which we three float." -- Chris Martin, Green Eyes
[ilovealias4ever]
Ok wow! Just got back from Melbourne to home in Adelaide. Here is my review:
So after a morning walk, we arrived from our hotel to the Rod Laver Arena - we were the 4th there, and guess what!? The first 10 people to arrive - all earlybirds like us, were from Adelaide! We have to make sure they hear of this!!
Anyways, it was sooo windy outside, and we toiled in the heat and wind with the others only to be moved to the front (away from where they initially told us to wait). It was really unfair, cos we had been waiting since 10am and we (and the others) deserved to go in first, yet where we were waiting, all these other people rocked up at 6ish and they got in before us!!!
However, we earlybirds stuck up for each other and after a shietload of stress we made it to the front row (actually, my group didn't - we were 2nd row, some punks made 1st row who didn't even know what the 2nd album was called )
Decoder Ring were interesting, nice video footage, but all instrumental and not very interactive. Mercury Rev were...more interesting - but more interaction and better music.
Okay! Coldplay! Mega woot when they came on to that classical piece (sorry 4got the name). From being a regular here I knew what was coming, but you could tell some people were like 'meh'. But when they came on it was ballistic! Just as good as the Twisted Logic gig - better! Some highlights were the roars from Jonny, Guy and Will air punching! Viva, Lost, Strawberry Swing, LIJ were off the rocker! Chris was on fire! Also, we had made two banners; 1st one said: "Happy B-day Chris: Long Live the King!" The 2nd said: "Vote 1 G.B 4 P.M" Chris pointed and winked at his and laughed a bit. Guy eventually acknowledged his, but he was shy (as per usual )
Still on cloud 9, but lastly, today, we went by the hotel they were staying at, and as we walked by, Jonny walked by with his wife and child in a pram! Naww factor was off the scales. But we left them to it, I felt guilty just for being there even though they didn't see us.
So yay! Was an awesome time, and well worth missing out on my first week of Uni! And we saw Jonny and wife and baby!!! YYYYYYAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY !!!!!!! VIVA LA COLDPLAY!!!
[crestingwaves]
All I can say is WOW!
Coldplay have truly mastered the arena spectacular. So much colour, so much noise, they set the lighting so well for the moods of the songs.
I thought the Twisted Logic tour was good until last night!
Only disappointment of the night was my Digital SLR getting canned by the security because the lens was too long (17-50mm is too long WTF?). So my photos were shit, but hopefully, my memory of that amazing night will last.
Decoder Ring were ok, Moody instrumentals, accompanied by cool visuals, but as my friend pointed out "none of their songs were particularly complex" with the main gist of most of their songs being synth and effects laden across one, two or perhaps at the most three chords.
As for Mercury Rev, Roadie 42's praise of them seemed unfounded when I heard them play, with most of their songs sounding very similar. The singer's voice sounded like some hybrid of Michael Stipe, Isaac Slade, and James Blunt, and perhaps stopped me from fully enjoying the rest of the band. If anything good can be said about them, it was that they definately didn't steal Coldplay's thunder.
Anyway, those are my thoughts on an amazing gig!
[crackers]
Media Reviews
It appears Bono was right. Chris Martin is a wanker. However, had chance happened any other way, the wanker could have been Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman or Will Champion instead.
At tonight’s Coldplay show at Rod Laver Arena, Martin told the story of how his wankerness was set more than a decade ago. “13 years ago we met and decided to become soft rock stars,” he told the Melbourne crowd. “At our first band meeting we had to decide who the lead singer would be and I drew the short straw. So for the last 13 years I’ve been taking all the shit including Bono’s swear words”.
This was Martin’s first public appearance since Bono said on the BBC, “I think he is that good a melodist. I mean, he's a wanker.”
It may have been tongue-in-cheek, but Bono still said it. Martin’s tongue-in-cheek retort to Bono was also acknowledged with a slightly more subtle reference to U2 just before Coldplay came on. Before they came on stage, U2’s ‘Magnificent’ was playing over the loud speakers.
Martin knows his place in the music world for sure. “We are called Coldplay. We are one of England’s premium soft rock bands,” he said at the start of the show. Not too soft mind you. While Bono gets to take the piss out of Chris Martin, Martin got to bitch-slap Celine Dion. “Even if you came along on the wrong night for a Celine Dion concert and you are just waiting around until she arrives, sing this,” he said launching into ‘Yellow’.
So how does Coldplay sound, you ask? Let me tell you (and once again quoting that well placed U2 song) MAGNIFICENT.
I’ve said it before and I’ll state it again. Coldplay is the last of the super acts. A Coldplay show is very much as dynamic as a U2 show (sorry Bono but he is as good as you) minus the gigantic outdoor circus act.
The band’s most recent album ‘Viva La Vida’ is one of the few “albums” of the 21st Century that was about a collection of songs united. This tour focuses directly on the ‘Viva La Vida’ album and despite the number of “new” songs in the current set list the album is of such substantial quality that it is a pleasure to hear them all live.
IT'S easy to see why Coldplay have become the world's biggest band in less than a decade. Quite simply they've got brilliant songs and plenty of them - a knack for timeless melodies first displayed on Yellow which stretches to triumphant anthem Viva la Vida - the soundtrack to pop music in 2008.
It's harder to see why Chris Martin has such a problem with his own band; his constant self-criticism is instantly negated by the euphoric reaction that greeted Coldplay at last night's Rod Laver Arena show. Martin seemingly finds it harder to embrace his band than the fans do - introducing them as one of England's premiere soft rock bands, last night.
Whatever.
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends pulled off a rare trick - experimental but accessible and also last year's highest-selling album worldwide. After boring themselves with the bloated autopilot stadium rock of previous release X&Y, accordingly their latest tour is a deliberately intimate show in a not-so-intimate venue. The attention to detail is impressive. Multiple screens and two huge catwalks which knock out plenty of floorspace - a bad move financially but a priceless way for diehard fans to get closer to their heroes.
Then a tiny stage at the rear of the venue lets those in the nosebleed section get up close and personal with the band. Like their music, the staging techniques aren't original, but Coldplay are masters at recycling in style and injecting their own charm.
Pleasingly heavy on songs from Viva la Vida, their stunning live show saw envelope-pushing album tracks like 42 and Chinese Sleep Chant alongside tried-and-true world-beaters like Clocks, The Scientist and Fix You. Forget what Chris Martin says, Coldplay are something very special.
BONO may have jokingly called Chris Martin a "wanker" this week, but Martin responded in the most emphatic way possible last night as he led Coldplay through an outstanding night of modern rock.
Playing the first of three shows at Rod Laver Arena on their first tour in almost three years, the band are more than 100 shows into a world tour and have their 90-minute arena extravaganza down pat. The multi-stage performance features two catwalks and umpteen multimedia tricks. Last year was a reinvigorating one for Coldplay, which employed famed producer Brian Eno to help them record their fourth album, Viva La Vida.
It was a worldwide smash and won them a swag of Grammys last month. Opening the show behind a sheer curtain with Life In Technicolor, the band quickly lurched into a rocking Violet Hill. Album highlight 42 was also given a terrific reading as it was paired with Fix You.
Martin remains an eccentric and charismatic performer, often skipping around the stage. His voice crackled a little early on but swiftly recovered. The band dressed like 19th-century French revolutionary soldiers in costumes they designed themselves.
Introducing the members, Martin described them as "one of the premier soft-rock bands from England". Pre-show, he joked with journalists backstage when asked about Bono's comments. "I think it's great we have arch enemies," he said, after relating details of a quiet night out in the city with his father at CBD haunt the Gin Palace.
Although the new album was well represented last night, and its title track generated a huge singalong, the set list also embraced Coldplay's biggest hits: Clocks, Yellow, Speed of Sound and In My Place. With them came the gimmicks — the strobe lights for Clocks and yellow balloons for Yellow. A crowd of about 13,000 was squashed into the venue, but Martin endeavoured to make the show as intimate as possible. The Scientist, for instance, was performed on a mini-stage, up in the nosebleeds.
Martin's self-deprecating humour is a key show trait and was on frequent display for last night's performance, which eventually soared in all the right places. Brilliant.
With thanks to some poorly placed words on the BBC last week, Bono generated a Coldplay vs U2 rivalry not seen since the days of Oasis vs Robbie Williams. That all begs the question. How good are Coldplay and where do they sit in a world of U2 and Radiohead?
The answer is they are all good. We don’t have to pick one because we have them all. Coldplay are about 100 shows into the Viva La Vida tour already so Australia got them at the well-oiled stage.
Everything about this show was perfection. Visually the band have paid attention to representing the music with the right mood and they do have to budget to carry that off. The yellow balloons during ‘Yellow’, the lasers through ‘Clocks’, the video backdrop during ‘Lovers In Japan’ all kept the feel of the show at a different pace.
Also their B and C stage parts gave different parts of the audience a close-up view at various times. It didn’t hurt that Coldplay are coming off the back of their biggest album ever either. All bar one ‘Viva La Vida’ song is represented in the setlist. Because the album was so big, the fans knew all the songs anyway so it was like a greatest hits set.
With ‘Viva La Vida’ taking up have the set, the old songs had to be cherry-picked and they chose well. ‘’The Scientist’, ‘Politik’, ‘Fix You’, ‘In My Place’, ‘Yellow’ and ‘Clocks’ satisfied the hit-starved sector of the crowd. Chris Martin was witty (“we’re one of England’s premier soft rock bands”). He got his Bono jibe in (“I’ve had to put up with shit from Bono for 13 years”.
But what was obvious moreso than on previous tours was that Coldplay now plays as a band. Will Champion especially compliments Martin on vocals from behind the drum-kit and has a bit of a Phil Collins thing going on with the band if ever Martin decides he wants to do a Peter Gabriel.
Radiohead has been absent from the Australian soil for too many years. They could pull off this size event and get away with it. Muse should be able too. With a new album on the way, they may just about to hit their peak and go to this level as well. U2 are already there which is why Bono must be so nervous about the bands coming up behind him.
Coldplay haven’t even gone the Stadium tour yet. Let’s hope they can keep it at Arena size.
Twitter Updates
These Twitter updates have been taken from the search feature on Twitter:
- grayishwing: Coldplay concert was made of AWESOME.... Chris Martin is definitely one of the most amusing yet fascinating entertainers I've seen yet...
- Koritsi: Loved the Coldplay concert tonight!!!!!!!!!!
- kincuri: @coldplay thanks lads for an aces show tonight, even if it was a Tuesday night!
- theLoksta: Has "free merch" from Coldplay - a busted Yellow balloon and multi-coloured butterflies ;-)
- sasha99: The Coldplay concert was AMAZING! Chris Martin is out of this world!
- samdevlin: Just got back from seeing coldplay -great gig, but these aussie don't mosh like the brits!
- judily: Coldplay rocked! w00t!
- apples33ds: just got back from Coldplay... HOLY MOTHER OF GOD. Front row baby and it was something special
- steevan: Coldplay are standing 2 ft away from me http://twitpic.com/1tf69
- montyhamilton: http://twitpic.com/1tf60 Incredible in this day and age, @coldplay walks into crowd, up aisle to waiting guitars, plays from the crowd!
- montyhamilton: http://twitpic.com/1tetl Fark... This is a very good concert, @coldplay very good live
