Coldplay
May 23rd 2009
Comcast Theater, Hartford CT
After releasing a hugely successful, Grammy winning album and touring the world non-stop for the past year, you would think Coldplay would be ready for a nice long vacation. However, the band did not become one of the world’s biggest by sitting on a beach in the Caribbean, and they won’t be doing that any time soon. Instead, they are spending their summer playing amphitheaters in cities that most do their best to avoid. One of those cities is Hartford, Connecticut, where Coldplay would continue their Viva La Vida tour at the Comcast Theater. While their live show hasn’t change much since I saw them on the first leg of the tour last summer, they amazed me once again, belting out their biggest hits along with a few new surprises in another memorable performance.
New Jersey native and Syracuse graduate Pete Y0rn opened the show with a sleep-educing forty minute set of dull ballads and soft rock numbers that were better suited for an elevator than a packed amphitheater. Yorn sauntered around the stage for most of the set, barely acknowledging the crowd and saying little between songs. The rest of his band looked even less interested, often blankly staring off into space while playing their instruments with as little enthusiasm as humanly possible. While Yorn’s songs have been featured in TV dramas such as House and in romantic comedies such as Me, Myself, and Irene, they simply didn’t come across well in this setting.
Thirty minutes after Yorn and company left the stage to a small smattering of applause, A semi-transparent black screen was lowered over the stage and the lights were dimmed. Lead singer Chris Martin led the rest of the band, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, and drummer Will Champion out on stage. With sparkling torches held aloft, the band jogged to the drum set, extinguished the flames, and began the show with the customary opener, “Life In Technicolor.” After the screen dropped and the band was finally revealed, they segued into “Violet Hill,” which inspired the first giant sing along of the night. The setlist focused mainly on the band’s older hits, as well as a good deal of material from their latest full-length, Viva La Vida, and it’s follow up EP, Prospect’s March.
An early highlight of the set was the band’s first big hit “Yellow,” which featured an impressive laser show that stretched all the way to the lawn
, as well as confetti-filled yellow balloons bouncing all over the venue. Another early highlight was the performance of “Fix You” from 2005’s X & Y. After jumping around the stage and working the crowd into a tizzy for most of the song, Martin simply sat at his piano and listened as the 13,000 in attendance sang the last chorus back to him in (not quite) perfect harmony.
After an upbeat performance of “Strawberry Swing,” the band ventured off stage and into the crowd, stopping at a small platform located in the center of the pavilion. The quartet has been doing this throughout their Viva La Vida tour, to the delight of those in the cheap(er) seats, who got an unexpectedly close view for these three songs. Without a drum set, the band presented “techno” versions of “God Put A Smile On Your Face” and “Talk.” Both sounded slightly awkward and didn’t live up to their full band versions, but they seemed to please the crowd nonetheless. Champion, Buckland, and Berryman then returned to the stage, leaving Martin alone on the platform with his piano. The lead singer announced that this would be the boring part of the set, and he instructed those in the audience who might be craving a hot dog to head to the concession stands. While few took him up on the offer, Martin’s rendition of “The Hardest Part” certainly wasn’t the highlight of the set. That would follow shortly.
As Martin made his way back through the crowd and a recorded version of the instrumental track “Postcards From Far Away” was played, an enormous bongo drum was rolled to the front of the stage, where Champion stood ready. Just as Martin made it back, the opening notes from “Viva La Vida” could be heard, and the crowd instantly roared its approval. As he would do all show, Martin bounced around the stage , getting up close and personal with as many fans as possible. He ended “Viva La Vida” singing the melody on his back, and the crowd ate it up. After performing “Lost!,” the band would once again leave the stage.
This time, Martin and Co. would venture even further from the elaborately designed set, making their way to a platform on the lawn, nearly causing a stampede of fans who had been lounging on blankets and folding chairs only minutes before. Martin would then string together a series of cheesy but humorous rhymes about Hartford and playing for the fans in the back, one of which went “When you’re depressed and sitting on your butt, come play a show in Connecticut.” The band would then perform “Green Eyes” from A Rush of Blood To the Head, as well as “Death Will Never Conquer,” a short folk-ish track the band released free on their website featuring Champion on lead vocals. Martin had introduced the drummer with a rhyme that sounded something like “Now you’re all in for a thrill, for here’s our drummer Will.” Is Martin preparing for a future career as a children’s novelist? I hope not.
After finishing their set on the lawn with a sing-along cover of Neil Diamond’s “I’m A Believer,” the band would take a short break before finally 
returning to the main stage. Here they would preform one of their most rocking tracks, Politik,” and then “Lovers In Japan.” The latter brought a blizzard-like storm of brightly colored confetti that nearly obscured the entire stage. After grabbing not only a Japanese umbrella but also an enormous dragon head costume (seriously), Martin would bring the song to and end and then end the set with “Death And All His Friends.”
After the band left the stage, the crowd began to sing the melody to “Viva La Vida,” and before long, the quartet returned to the stage to preform a two song encore. It began with “The Scientist” and then concluded with “Life in Technicolor II” from the Prospect’s March EP. Surprisingly, the crowd was as into this song as any the band had played, singing along as if the tune was their biggest single. Coldplay then took their bows and made their exit. As thousands of very satisfied fans did the same, they continued to sing the melody to “Viva La Vida,” and it could be heard on the concourse and even as the throngs made their way outside the venue and back to the parking lots. With this most likely being Coldplay’s last visit to Hartford for some time, it was obvious the band had left their mark with this performance. At the beginning of the show, Martin brought up the fact they were trying to make up for a sub-par showing during their last visit to the city. While they may not have given the “eight billion percent” effort the lead singer had promised, they certainly made their previous missteps seem like a very distant memory.
Setlist
Life In Technicolor
Violet Hill
Clocks
In My Place
Yellow
Glass Of Water
Cemeteries Of London
42
Fix You
Strawberry Swing
God Put A Smile Upon Your Face (techno version, Pavilion)
Talk (techno version, Pavilion)
The Hardest Part (Pavilion)
Postcards From Far Away
Viva La Vida
Lost!
Green Eyes (Lawn)
Death Will Never Conquer (Lawm)
I’m A Believer (Neil Diamond Cover, Lawn)
Viva La Vida (remix interlude)
——
Politik
Lovers In Japan
Death And All His Friends
——-
The Scientist
Life in Technicolor ii
Filed under: Show reviews | Tagged: 2009, Coldplay, Comcast Theater, Hartford, live, Pete Yorn, set list, Viva La Vida Tour | Leave a Comment »
New Found Glory
Friendly Fires
Even if you don’t know Ok Go, chances are you know Ok Go. They’re “that treadmill band,” the one that got big based on the absurdity of their choreographed video for “Here It Goes Again,” which quickly became one of the most watched videos on the Internet when it was released in 2006. While they write catchy pop songs, their work has always been just a little too complex to gain any serious radio play, but this hasn’t stopped the band from becoming an act that can draw sell out crowds to clubs all across the country, as shown by their current national headlining run. Their two shows in Northhampton and Boston Mass. proved that fans can expect great things from their forthcoming record, but it also proved that there are some drawbacks that come with the fame the band has achieved.
Nordwind, sans base, hammered out a beat with two mallets on a large drum, while Kulash performed a new song with an acoustic guitar. Mid-song, the duo was joined by guitarist Andy Ross and drummer Dan Konopka, and the band transitioned into more familiar territory with “Get Over It” and “A Million Ways.” Between songs Kulash would joke with the crowd and talk about the band’s new record, creating a connection with the audience that neither of the openers had. Among the topics discussed by Kulash included an upcoming Woodstock movie he has a part in, an e-mail from a church choir hoping to perform the band’s songs, and the time the band has spent sequestered in the studio as of late.
While it seemed like some in the crowd would rather be doing other things with their free time, it became apparent what the members of Ok Go had been doing with theirs. The band performed “What To Do” not as a full band or acoustically, but instead using hand bells, and not just one or two hand bells, but a collection so large a special velvet-draped table was needed to hold them. The band somehow managed not to break out in laughter during the song, but the crowd wasn’t so successful in containing theirs. It was obvious that if there were ever an award to be given to the band with the most free time on their hands, Ok Go would win in a landslide.
set, displaying just as much energy as they had the night before. However, the crowd seemed even less interested this time around, if that’s possible. Many simply stood and stared at the band, even during their biggest hits, while those who were actually into the show stuck out like sore thumbs. The Paradise, for all it’s supposed charm, is a pretty terrible venue, with polls blocking what would be prime viewing locations and a staff that could be described as “unfriendly” at best. While these elements did detract somewhat from the show, it wasn’t hard to see just how good Ok Go is in a live setting. Most impressive was guitarist Andy Ross, who juggled a handful of different instruments, including an 18 string guitar and a large set of hanging bells. Overall, Ok Go certainly catered this tour to the band’s most dedicated fans, offering an extensive preview of their new record before a release date has even been confirmed. Those in the crowd who knew the band only from their treadmill antics seemed unimpressed, but for the trained ear, the band’s performance hinted at big things to come.
Picture the scene: It is a Saturday night in early March at the University of New Hampshire, and thousands of excited students make their way across campus to a crowded arena. As the students squeeze their way into the building, they search for spots close to the action. They soon witness a thrilling performance featuring enough energy, emotion, and adrenaline to fill an entire semester. They leave exhausted and horse from screaming at the tops of their lungs. Is the UNH basketball team looking to secure a spot in the NCAA tournament? Nope. Is the Wildcats hockey team wrapping up another Hockey East title? Close, but wrong again. This night did not belong to any of the UNH athletic teams, but to Long Island cult favorites Brand New. The band, who had played only a handful of shows since completing a major US tour with Thrice over a year earlier, was in the middle of a brief run of East Coast college shows. Their devoted fans had obviously not forgotten about them, for UNH’s sold-out Lundholm Gymnasium was jam packed on this night, which began with a 45 minute set from Philadelphia’s mewithoutYou.
As is typical of most Brand New shows, Jesse screamed and flailed as if every song was the last he would ever sing, and the crowd ate it up. The sound inside the gym wasn’t perfect and could have been louder, but there’s only so much you can expect from a college show, and everything else about the production was spot on. Despite the fact that Lacey said little in between songs and most of it was inaudible, the band still seemed to be enjoying themselves. As the set progressed, Brand New ventured into more material from their most recent effort, 2006’s The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me, and they also included a new song known as “Bride” which they have been playing live for some time. The set came to a close with “You Won’t Know,” during which lead guitarist Vin Accardi tossed his instrument at least ten feet over his head and caught it as if grabbing the handle of an ax.
The Color Fred, Angels and Airwaves, The Early November, Metro Station. What do these bands have in common? Well, not much, other than the fact that I don’t think that highly of any of them, and probably wouldn’t go out of my way to see them live. However, I’ve seen all of them perform… twice. Why is this important? Well, I’m using it to show you just how strange it was that January 25th, 2009 was the first time I had the chance to see Funeral for a Friend, one of my all time favorite bands, perform live. The Welsh quintet has made only a select few appearances on American soil as of late, mainly a stint on the 2006 Warped Tour, and a brief summer headlining run to support 2007’s Tales Don’t Tell Themselves. On this night, they would take the stage at the Upstairs portion of Worcester’s Palladium with The Sleeping, Emarosa, and This is Hell.
by tracks from Memory and Humanity and 2003’s Casually Dressed and Deep in Conversation. Songs from the latter record, arguably the band’s strongest effort, including “She Drove Me to Daytime Television,” “Novella,” and “Juneau” were a more than welcome surprise, and received the greatest response from the crowd. On a number of occasions Davies let those at the front of the stage do the singing while lead guitarist Chris Coombs-Roberts proved that the band’s musical prowess isn’t simply studio magic. While Davies didn’t talk for long, he did make a point of addressing the crowd on a number of occasions, and at one point he told the crowd Worcester was making a strong case for inclusion on the band’s next US tour, which he promised would not take another two years to become a reality.
The band decided to stack the end of the show with some of their strongest tracks, including “Reunion (Into Oblivion),” which inspired a huge sing along and was (somewhat) surprisingly the only song played off of 2007’s ambitious yet sub-par Tales Don’t Tell Themselves. The band would also perform “Streetcar,” the second song from Hours, and then close the set with “Escape Artists Never Die,” a song the crowd had been impatiently requesting all night.
