In 2023, a Coldplay live performance opens like a triumphant finale — LED wristbands flashing, confetti canons on overdrive, a singalong of 68,000 voices repeating “You’ve got a higher power,” to match frontman Chris Martin’s vitality.
Flags representing attendees from Argentina, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Colombia, Venezuela, South Korea and Brazil have been raised; youngsters and the aged sang alongside to acquainted radio hits. Live music is not church, however for 2 hours on Sunday night time, the British band received shut.
A brief movie on the conservation efforts of Coldplay’s international stadium tour for his or her 2021 album “Music of the Spheres” previewed the band’s North American tour closer at the Rose Bowl, just outside of Los Angeles. Then: an explosion of rainbow lighting effects, tie-dye orbs, and wholesome bits — for “Paradise,” Martin requested the viewers to have interaction within the “quietest singalong ever,” chanting the title in a whisper.
In one second, he participated in a gender reveal — a pair handed him an envelope, which he opened for the cameras — blue for boy. In one other, he learn among the indicators held excessive above heads within the crowd earlier than inviting two women from Mexico on stage to sing “Let Somebody Go.” When he was handed a small stool, he joked, “We’re the most popular soft rock band in the world and we can’t afford a stool?”
“This song you’ve chosen, we used to play it a bit, but we, when we recorded it, we recorded it with Selena Gomez,” Martin advised the 2 women. They sang collectively, earlier than Gomez herself emerged from the stage beneath for her verse. Then, opener H.E.R. joined and performed guitar — an surprising shock for a wonderful remaining night time.
Elsewhere, the virtuosity of the band was obvious. Drummer Will Champion sang whereas main the percussion; guitarist Jonny Buckland and bassist Guy Berryman took turns enjoying keys and synths. For a band that fashioned 26 years in the past, there was a way that this was a full-circle second — that they nonetheless keep in mind these early days of cigarettes and writing collectively in small follow areas, and that enables them the power to see their future.
The overarching sentiment for the night time, in fact, was empathy. Martin ran round with a trans-inclusive rainbow satisfaction flag and routinely reminded the viewers that “everyone is an alien somewhere,” as his graphic t-shirt learn. Routinely, he spoke in Spanish and requested the viewers to sing in Korean for the BTS collaboration, “My Universe.”
At the top of the present: a killer sequence of singles, together with “A Sky Full of Stars,” “Fix You” and an acoustic encore of “Magic.” Then, fireworks. There is a cause the band is beloved all over the world — after the encore, Coldplay performed the viewers out with “Believe in Love,” a welcome reminder.
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