By Amping Up The Theatrics, Coldplay Raises Their Game -- Chicago Concert Review

Concert Review

Coldplay
with Carli XCX and
Marina & the Diamonds
United Center
August 8, 2012
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Even after my friend Paolo--who attends more concerts than I do--told me that Coldplay's performance on Tuesday was the "best show I have seen all year," I remained skeptical about how much I would enjoy their show Wednesday night at the UC.

Although I had picked up a $29.50 behind-the-stage ticket the other day, due to wanting to see--and yes, review--the latest tour by arguably the biggest band going at the moment, I had been underwhelmed by Coldplay's 2006 and 2008 concerts at the same venue.

I have enjoyed the British band's music to varying extents over the years--I still believe their second and first albums (of five primary studio discs) remain the best, in that order--and loved them the first time I saw them live, at the relatively intimate Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee, in 2003.

But especially for a band that had hit the highest of commercial heights, their past United Center shows had seemed rather tepid; 90-minute by-the-book affairs that offered a few nice songs and lighting cues, but were rather devoid of spontaneity or anything to put them over-the-top.

Though many artists have delivered superlative concerts without rearranging their nightly setlists, not coincidentally my favorite live performers--notably Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam, among others--are those that provide a unique show every evening in every city, even if only by swapping a few songs in and out.

I realize that it seemingly shouldn't affect my enjoyment of a Coldplay show in Chicago to know they played the exact same one in Cleveland, Detroit and Indianapolis (per se), or even on the previous night in Chicago, but this sense of scripted regimentation made their gigs seem relatively lackluster.

But while Wednesday night's show was filled with undeniably scripted elements--including light-up wristbands that fans received on arrival, a ton of confetti and huge balloons bounding through the crowd, all by the fourth song--all the theatrics (i.e. gimmicks) served Coldplay terrifically well.

By turning every song into an event--in addition to the above, the band played on a B-stage in the middle of the arena, a C-stage near the back of the stands, employed all sorts of lights & lasers, and more--the band correspondingly amped up their own performance. Or at least it felt that way, which is good enough.

Singer Chris Martin never stopped bouncing around his considerable terrain and in providing the backbeat to this three-ring circus, Will Champion's drumming sounded particularly powerful.

Although for another band, all this jazz might have come off as overbearingly hokey, to Coldplay's credit, they quite satisfyingly figured out how to go from merely performing a concert to thoroughly putting on a show from beginning to end.

Yes, their best songs remain those they played in 2003--"In My Place," "Yellow," "Clocks," "The Scientist," "God Put A Smile Upon Your Face"--but all the bombast pumped life into so-so cuts from 2011's Mylo Xyloto and helped to ensure the 100-minute show never dragged.

And after reading that on Tuesday, Martin tried to honor a fan request to play "Amsterdam" (from A Rush of Blood to the Head) only to abort it after the first verse, it was nice that on Night 2 in Chicago, Coldplay played it in full for the first time since 2005. A few more random acts of inspiration would do them good, and they certainly have the catalog to do it ("Politik," "Shiver," "Everything's Not Lost," "Talk," "Moses" and "Til Kingdom Come" are just a few unplayed old favorites they could easily sprinkle in).

You can take a look at Wednesday's setlist on Setlist.fm; other than "Amsterdam" it matches almost every other show they've played in 2012. But rather than feeling like they were going through the motions, Wednesday's performance (and apparently Tuesday's) seemed like something special, and not just because Martin kept proclaiming his love for Chicago or name-dropped Michael Jordan in his "What a Wonderful World" intro to "Fix You."

Although I was hoping for the best, going in I was expecting to write about how Coldplay delivered a good, but far from great show. That I believe they delivered a fantastic one only makes me sense how satisfying their performance must have been to much more fervent fans.

And while a lot of people seemingly decry "arena rock" and might cringe at the thought of such a populist show, sitting in the third deck, behind the stage at the United Center was infinitely more comfortable--and thus enjoyable--than being crammed in at the Metro, which I was for Garbage on Tuesday night.

To get a sense of all the festivities, look for any live Coldplay clip from 2012 on YouTube. But since this song was only played in full on August 8, I'll leave you with a video of "Amsterdam" (not shot by me):


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Opening the show were two acts featuring pretty, innocuous female singers from Britain, Carli XCX and Marina & the Diamonds, who impressed most with their tight bare midriffs. At least in 2008, I got Richard Ashcroft (of The Verve). Kudos to you, Coldplay, for a superb show, but next time bring along Maximo Park, Kaiser Chiefs or someone else that deserves greater American exposure.