Despite the Yellow weather warning from the met office, the rain stayed away above Hampden. Even if it had, I don’t think it would have dampened the mood because the Coldplay audience were having an Amazing Day (if it had been at Parkhead, I could have used the ‘Para-Para-Paradise’ line).
As you entered the stadium, each person was handed a wristband (or Xyloband). Instructions on how to activate it and wear them appeared on the big screen prior to the show. The lighting effect of tens of thousands of these across the whole stadium was amazing, like rainbow fireflies dancing above the audience. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
We had seats in the West Stand, with a stretch of tarmac and the First Aid tent between us and the packed standing area. It felt like we were sitting in an overflow car park, the distance it left us from the stage and its long extension through the middle of the audience. The squinty First Aid sign also frustrated me, but not so much that I could be bothered faking an illness in order to get through the barrier to the Standing area to straighten it.
We missed the first support act but caught the second. Lianne La Havas offered some strong vocals and a guitar groove that was infectious, even if few of the audience agreed when she asked them to sing ‘Turn up your love’. The camera pan on the big screen displayed a sea of staring, closed-mouthed fans. Nevertheless a fine support act.
Coldplay came on at 8.45pm and played through to 10.50pm. There were fireworks, explosions of floating colour, giant balloons, lasers and even shooting flames, most of which lost their impact until the sun set. This didn’t matter though because deep down Coldplay is about four blokes playing great stadium pop-rock. Chris Martin is a charismatic frontman and musician and the band is solid.
A lot of people mock Coldplay, a fact which Chris Martin acknowledges, but I think those people just don’t get it. Coldplay capture and share joy in performance. Chris Martin is a man-child who never had his dreams crushed by life. He loves what he does and it shows: with talent, with humour and with uninhibited dance moves, like you might have done as a kid and not cared. It’s all about being happy and having fun. What's not to love?
They played from three different locations within the stadium: main stage, end of walkway stage and in the Stand opposite the stage, none of which were any closer to us, a fact for which Chris apologised. Nice guy.
As always, a few fans caught my attention. The tall Chris Martin clone, with the University of Glasgow lanyard and cycle helmet, who sat in front of me was an annoyance, because, when he was sitting, he used the back of his seat as an elbow rest and kept hitting my knee, and when he stood up he blocked my view.
The dancers on the tarmac were heart-warming. Two, in particular, stood out: the one I imagined to be Susan Boyle’s blond sister, in a black top and leggings, who performed her own form of expressionistic dance during the entire concert, adding a purple balloon prop later on. She was brilliant, even shimmying all the way up to the fencing at the First Aid tent for a quick vape; and the bare-backed squaw in the yellow dress and gold sandals, wearing sunglasses and a hairband, who performed a ‘keep the rain away’ dance with her lanky male partner for the entire show provided lots of vigour. Not a dance inhibition between them. (videos to follow)
Overall, it was a great concert experience, despite the view.
Setlist
A-Stage:
O Mio Babino Caro (Maria Callas song) tape
A Head Full of Dreams (extended intro with Charlie Chaplin speech)
Yellow
Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall
The Scientist
Birds (with "Oceans" excerpt in intro)
Paradise (with Tiësto remix outro)
B-stage:
Magic
Ink
Everglow (Single Version)
A-stage:
Clocks
Midnight (Partial)
Charlie Brown
Hymn for the Weekend
Fix You (with "Midnight" excerpt in intro)
"Heroes" (David Bowie cover)
Viva la Vida
Adventure of a Lifetime
C-stage:
Kaleidoscope (extended)
In My Place (acoustic)
The Hardest Part (audience request song; acoustic)
See You Soon (with a snippet of "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers)
A-stage:
Amazing Day (extended intro)
A Sky Full of Stars
Up&Up
End Credits (concert credits on screen)
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