There was also a part here where Chris Martin led the audience in one of those crowd waves you see at sports stadiums, only this time done with cellphones. Whether the "cell wave" was successful or not is debatable, but all those cellphones against the desert sky was still a striking visual.
Although a fair chunk of Coldplay's set was devoted to songs from Viva La Vida (and its companion E.P. Prospekts March), many of Coldplay's biggest hits were played very early in the set. Of these, "In My Place" and "Yellow" were textbook (the latter played with the prerequisite yellow balloons filling the air). Personally, I was quite pleasantly surprised by the band's inspired showing on "Clocks" though. This is a song that Coldplay have to be somewhat tired of playing every night, yet here they made it sound fresh as new by adding some new vocal nuances and a nice additional keyboard part near the end.
Over all, Coldplay really impressed me on this night.
They played their tails off, sounding so tight to my ears that I'm ready to go out on a limb here and say this is a band that could be right on the edge of becoming one of the truly great ones—if they haven't already done so. From the differing vantage points where they performed not one, but two mini-sets, to the free live CD they handed out to everyone at the end, Coldplay also seem to genuinely care about their fans.
I'm not afraid to admit that I was already a fan anyway. But you know what? These guys deserve a lot more respect than they get in some quarters.
It's time to stop dissing Coldplay.
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)
Talk (techno version)
The Hardest Part (Chris piano)
Postcards From Far Away (piano instrumental)
Viva La Vida
Lost!
Green Eyes (acoustic)
Death Will Never Conquer (acoustic - Will vocals)
Billie Jean
Viva La Vida (remix interlude)
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Politik
Lovers In Japan
Death And All His Friends
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The Scientist
Life in Technicolor ii
The Escapist (outro)
Article comments
1 - Dadwhotookhiskid
So I went and I saw. Walked in ambivalent about them and walked out an impressed fan. The review nailed it.
2 - Glen Boyd
I hope that your kid enjoyed it too Mr. Dad. After a day of gorgeous weather and great music though, reality set back in the next day when I arrived back home in Seattle and of course it was pouring down rain. Damn reality...
-Glen
3 - Patty
I loved coldplay already but was completely blown away with there performance it was the best iv ever seen.
4 - DeJ
I was there and it was quite Awesome! Best concert experience I have had in my 42 years. The Venue is always amazing but this night was even more so.
5 - whidbeywoman
Had the exact same experience as Dadwhotookhiskid and agree the review was right on...I'm now a fan! Have attended 30+ shows at the Gorge and this ranks in the top five!
6 - Glen Boyd
Thanks for all of the great comments everybody.
This was the third time I've seen Coldplay myself, and hands down was the best show of the three. A perfect marriage of band, venue, crowd and great weather (at least when it cooled down as the sun went down) made for a great show.
Hopefuly they'll make this a permanent tour stop, rather than doing White River or the Key from now on.
Thanks to all for the comments.
-Glen
7 - Brian
I didn't attend the Gorge show, but I was at the show the previous night at the Clark County Amphitheater in Ridgefield, WA. The setlist was very similar (perhaps the same), and they also did the acoustic Billie Jean cover and cellphone wave. Show was great, but the facility there is terrible. No comparison to the wonderful Gorge.