Coldplay Opening Night

Quite a day yesterday. Stood in line for four hours for an iPhone (something I said I would never do). All the time wondering, "Doesn't anyone work? It's Monday morning!" But once I got in line, I was committed. Partly because I was desperate too (Water damage ruined my phone a few weeks back and I lost everything!). As four-hour lines go, this one went by faster than I imagined (maybe just a rationalization for being insane) mostly because of the tight community I had built with complete strangers around the shared misery of unrequited love.

But I have to admit the greater highlight ended up being Coldplay on the opening night of their worldwide tour. Dorene and I sat straight back in Loge 1, pretty decent seats at the Forum (but the picture doesn't do it justice...OK, great phone but still junky camera apparently).

I've taken to their new album with Brian Eno, different themes, less falsetto, and was curious what kind of cocktail this would create with the rest of their songbook. If Chris Martin's comment out of the blocks ("This is our first concert since we became a new band") served as any clue about the direction of their tour (and career), the band left no doubt as they subsequently worked through six of the opening eight songs from their newest release Viva la Vida! including "Violet Hill" and the title track. It was not only a gutsy move to make a statement with their newest and most accessible singles that early in the show, but it was also an indication of where they were hanging their hat. It paid off.

I've had the pleasure of seeing each of their previous tours. This show, anchored by the new songs and considerable soul-searching between albums, has translated into a more layered sound, the music more textured and substantial, the presentation more ethereal and advant garde. Martin's voice was noticabely stronger and better and more confident. Even the old favorites like "Trouble," "the Scientist" and "Fix You" seemed to go through a reinterpretation in the new framework. Giant mood balls hanging from the ceiling, paired with the darker tones in the lyrics, resulted in a sometimes psychedelic, even beatlesque feeling in the arena, hinting at the more troubling times in the world outside.

Still they wouldn't be Coldplay without the soaring athemic attempt to inspire and connect with the audience as good-natured, self-deprecating, everyday blokes, something that makes Martin an especially endearing frontman. The new stuff still works in an arena, and the band's choice to join the crowd in the "cheap seats" at one juncture for "Yellow" and "Death Will Never Conquer" was a clue we had turned a corner for the evening. As the confetti fell over the crowd during "Lovers in Japan," simulating cherry blossom petals falling delicately from heaven, Spring had arrived at the Forum. When the band led out with joyous resolve in the finale "Death and All His Friends," Coldplay left you with the sense that whatever doubts or demons may exist, hope is there too, for them as a band, and also for us.