Live review, setlist, photos: Coldplay

Coldplay w/ Elbow, Kitty Daisy & Lewis

Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre

Aug. 7, 2009

The Deal: Coldplay bring along a few British mates — Kitty, Daisy & Lewis and Elbow — for latest tour in support of Viva La Vida.

The Good: The night got kicked off just before 7 p.m. with a 40-minute set by the family trio known as Kitty, Daisy & Lewis. The two sisters and brother were joined by mom (bass) and dad (guitar) for their energetic set that quickly rifled from one song to another. They noted it was their final show on the Coldplay tour and seemed to enjoy every moment, stretching out their last song for a five-minute instrumental jam. They were also joined by Jamaica’s Eddie ‘Tan Tan’ Thornton for two songs.

Next up was the British group Elbow that did it’s best to win over the crowd with a mellow brand of rock that seemed like a bit of a downer after the upbeat rockabilly of KD&L.

By the time Coldplay hit the stage, the sold-out crowd was more than ready to sing along with every word. The band members stood behind a black screen and waved sparklers around before the instrumental of “Life in Technicolor.” The curtain dropped, the crowd went crazy and the band launched into “Violet Hill” before slowing things down for “Clocks.” Throughout the night, singer Chris Martin was leaping around the stage, running down short ramps on the sides of the stage.

Large globes hovered above the stage for number of songs — at times changing colors and showing live video at other times. It was an interesting take on concert visuals outside of the now-standard LED screen backdrops. The band made it’s way to a small stage in the middle of the venue floor (between the front and back sections) for a three-song set that included a solo performance by Martin at the piano.

“Fix You” almost felt hymnal with its raw emotion and powerful imagery in a mellow setting. Martin later told the crowd, “Thank you for spending Friday night with Coldplay instead of staying in to watch something like Desperate Housewives.”

It wasn’t the only time the band got close to the crowd as they later ran off stage and headed into the lawn for a brief acoustic set that included a cover of “Billie Jean.” It may have taken a bit of time to get back to the stage, but it all built up into “Lovers in Japan” — as video from the country was shown on the screen, thousands and thousands of confetti butterflies were dropping onto the crowd from above the stage and behind the sections.

As Martin started “Death and All His Friends,” he did a quick restart after a mixup and asked fans “not to post it on YouTube.” The band returned for a short, two-song encore and told fans they’d all get a free EP CD on their way out of the concert.

The Bad: Not much to complain about. Those in attendance soaked up every moment of the Coldplay’s emotional lyrics. The band tried to get a stadium-like wave going with cell phones, but it was an “epic fail” as those in the crowd were simply waving their cell phones instead of having them go up and down from one side of the crowd to the other.

The Verdict: It was a hot, steamy night, but it didn’t seem to slow anyone down.

Elbow setlist

Starlings

Bones of You

Mirrorball

Station Approaches

Grounds for Divorce

Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver

One Day Like This

Coldplay setlist

Life In Technicolor

Violet Hill

Clocks

In My Place

Yellow

Glass of Water

Cemeteries of London

42

Fix You

Strawberry Swing

Mid-stage

God Put A Smile Upon Your Face

Talk

The Hardest Part (Chris Solo Piano)

Postcards From Far Away (Chris Solo Piano)

Main stage

Viva La Vida

Lost!

Lawn stage

Green Eyes (Acoustic)

Death Will Never Conquer (Acoustic, sung by Will)

Billie Jean (Acoustic)

Viva La Vida (Remix Interlude)

Main stage

Politik

Lovers In Japan

Death And All His Friends

The Scientist

Life In Technicolor ii

The Escapist (Outro)

This article appears in Best of Charlotte 2009.