18 December 2011: Sportpaleis, Antwerp, Belgium
From WikiColdplay
Contents |
Setlist
- Mylo Xyloto
- Hurts Like Heaven
- Yellow
- In My Place
- Major Minus
- Lost!
- The Scientist
- Violet Hill
- God Put A Smile Upon Your Face
- Up In Flames
- Us Against The World
- Politik
- Viva La Vida
- Charlie Brown
- Paradise
encore - Clocks
- White Christmas
- Fix You
- Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall
Photos
Photos from this show can be found at Coldplaying.com in the Gallery thread for Antwerp. http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/1891
Videos
Videos from this show can be found in the Coldplaying forum live thread for this show at http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/showthread.php?t=88643&page=15 (page 15 onwards)
Discussion
All post-show discussion for this show at the forum thread http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/showthread.php?t=88643
Fan Reviews
All fan reviews have been submitted to us by the members of Coldplaying.com[1], unless stated otherwise.
Just got home. Went to both gigs (rotterdam and antwerp). Same setlist, other crowd.... Yesterday was more of a party all around. Tonight the crowd was a little less intense imho. Still had a great time and looking forward to sept 6th! On a (rather long) sidenote: Having seen them for about 10 times now in 10 years I really feel they seem to play on routine nowadays. Sense that it's becoming more like a "must do" instead of a "love to do" thing. I'm not here to offend, and they are still the best band in the world by far, but I cannot help the fact that i feel they became too much of a mainstream band as I would like them to be. So maybe thats the whole issue. [thanks schnautzi]
I can confirm that the setlist was an exact copy of the one played in Rotterdam. Reading this forums (previous concerts) leaves almost no room for surprises. The Scientist started with : Come up to Belgium. He kissed the floor at the end. He dedicated Us Against The World to the drama in Belgium the past week. I had a fantastic time. Only bummer : 83 minutes for 70 euros. But I would do it again immediately. Sweet dreams! [thanks LadeniusM]
Back from this concert! So, as already said, i thought it was really short! shorter than as usual! Chris was less in the mood than other times according to me (less jumps, less talks, no jokes at all,...) Anyway, I really appreciated the dedication of Us against the world to the 6 killed people and 125 injured, to the family and friends affected by this drama a few days ago... I was seating in the side, first line near the backstage and in front of the stairs to go to the stage, so I could see some interesting things: -During the Pre show song from Jay-Z I clearly saw the 4 guys arriving alone, one by one and entering in a 3mX3m curtained room behind the stage for the last 4 minutes. Probably for the pre-gig hug. -I'm also pretty sure, one or more of the guys had family with them tonight. Tomorrow they have a day off so it would make sense. Just before the start some people (7-8 in total) arrived from the backstage with 3 kids (2 youngest were in arms and the oldest (a blond girl) was by foot and they were wearing big colored ear-protections). Security brought them to reserved seats. I'm absolutely not interested in people so I can't say if Gwyneth was there ;-) (but there was a tall blond woman). Kids were between 3 and 7 years old more or less, (at least 2 girls, within a blond,...) -Just before the encore, the oldest girl went to the curtained room behind the stage to wait and meet his dad! So cute! The 2 youngest left during the encore. They were asleep in the arms of some adults :-) I have the feeling the band was "in a hurry" I mean, after a song, no talks, no jokes, they just run to pick up the next guitar and start singing the next song. Same after the show, quick thanks an good bye than running to the back stage. Anyway, Coldplay is my best band ever, and I had good time (even if, for me, it was the less impressive show) Best songs for me: God Put a Smile Upon Your face: The band seems really to really enjoy this "new" song. And it rocks! Charlie brown! Just amazing! Worst song: Viva la Vida. Nothing to do with the previous tour, this song has gone now, they don't seem to enjoy anymore, they don't even let the crowd singing at the end as during the viva tour. [thanks francois]
Had a great but with one negative point. We had seats but I was standing during HLH and Yellow. After Yellow the man behind me asked if I would stand the whole concert. I said Yes. So I did but during In My Place he took my shoulder and said pretty aggresive that he was angry of me standing. So I stayed standing but than he beat me on my head (softly). So I was really angry until the end of Major MInus. As of GPASUYF the whole crowd was standing and we laughed in the man's face. I'm still really angry about it. I didn't enjoy the first three songs. And that are three of my favourites. Hope that that loser will never see coldplay again, he doesn't deserves it. [thanks LifeInTechniKarel]
Whew, my 3rd Coldplay show to date, and I enjoyed it. Time for a little review. The first two Coldplay shows I attended took place at the Werchter meadow (2009 and 2011), and I was curious about how the atmosphere would be in the relatively smaller and indoor Sportpaleis. After waiting outside for some time we found ourselves a nice spot on the floor at the left (Jonnyboy!), close to the stage, halfway the main stage and B-stage. I wasn't impressed with the opening act - Emeli tried her best, but it's not my kind of music at all - so when the lights went out and MX/Hurts Like Heaven kicked in, with the most amazing visual show ever, I couldn't be saved. It was loud and epic, and the pace was kept up during Yellow and In My Place. Balloons, confettis, all you can imagine, added to all of this and almost distracted us from the music during the first leg of the show. During Major Minus, possibly the best live song on Mylo Xyloto, I couldn't help realising that the acoustics of the arena weren't good at all. Luckily I I knew what I had to hear so my auditory cortex could filter the right chords from the wall of noise. It was an epic start that blew everybody away.
But I wouldn't be me if I was positive about everthing. The scientist, one of my favourites, couldn't give me the satisfaction I expected. Was it because it came too early in the setlist? Quite possibly. Or was it because the crowd wasn't that much into it? It didn't compare to the festival crowds I'd been part of at least two times. The show went on, Violet Hill was flawless and GPASUYF blasted everyone who was still standing. Later, the B-stage set was a bit disappointing because they all faced away from me. Up In Flames was definitely the lamest moment of the show. Us Against The World was better, but it missed some of the magic it had during the festival summer. Anyway, whoever didn't see Politik coming probably passed out because of the loudness, or the epicness. Again, I think the crowd could have sung along more and better. After that, the rest of the show, including the encore, was a lot like a catchiest-hits-offensive to close the night. Too bad it didn't impress me all that much. Paradise competes with Up In Flames for most boring moment (at least in my opinion), White Christmas was unneeded - we won't get a white Christmas this year anyway - and Every Teardrop left me with a feeling that the concert was too short (only 1h20min!) and they didn't throw everything at me to get me satisfied. I'm happy most attendees enjoyed the living shit out of it though.
So here's a little more negative criticism: It was too short, and the setlist was identical to the one at Werchter this year, which made it predictable and a bit boring at times. Plus, I missed a chance to see/hear my all-time favourite songs they seem to have forgotten about. Too bad Shiver, in my eyes the peak moment at Werchter, Everything's Not Lost (I'm afraid half of the crowd wouldn't be able to sing most of the lyrics anyway) and Life Is For Living (in every respect a 1000 times a better closer than Paradise) were left out and replaced by the 3 songs I enjoyed least. Too bad they couldn't fill a 2 hour show with their amazing back catalogue, instead they gave us the same short show they've been doing all year and a lot of us had witnessed already. On top of that, it felt a lot like a collection of their greatest hits, with minimal inclusion of darker, moodier and less known old songs for the more knowledgeable fans. But anyway, enough ranting. A very incredible start, a little less unforgettable after that, but certainly a geat show despite everything. I want to conclude that even though I dislike their latest album, they are still the best live band out there and they can seemingly effortlessly kill any show. And on top of all that, they really had mad fun themselves. That sent us back home in the snow with a smile upon our faces. [thanks Tryptophan]
i'm still digesting everything, to be honest. i can't believe it's over already - i'd been looking forward to this for months and months. i kind of have to agree with what most people have said already. there was something missing - i can't quite put my finger on what it was. this was the sixth time i've seen them play and they're still the best live band out there - i don't think anything can compete, ever - but i didn't leave feeling as euphoric as i did the other times.
to be honest, what bothered me most was that i was in the front row (right in front of jonny, with clear view of the drums) and i was surrounded by people who didn't even know the titles of the songs. as a result, i was the only one that was belting out the songs together with the band. i suppose that's what usually makes a concert great, for me, when the crowd just loses itself in the music and sings and dances the entire time the band is playing. that didn't happen this time (and i do think the people standing next to me were kind of annoyed with how loudly and off key i was singing along). i don't think this can be blamed entirely on the band, although chris didn't talk to us as much as i remember him doing other times (though props to the man for always saying something in dutch, whatever silly word it is, at least he puts in an effort), but i suppose it's also the newer generation of fans and perhaps the more casual fans that started coming to the shows. i think the performance itself was brilliant, though. whatever songs they played, they played them flawlessly and i'm always happy when will gets a chance to sing, because i think his voice is just amazing. i did miss a couple of songs that i had hoped they would play - life is for living, for one, and another handful of songs that i knew they were never going to play simply because they're too old. "up in flames" was perhaps the low point of the night for me, as it is the low point of the album for me, as well - i just don't really like the song. i'd much rather they'd played "up with the birds" or even "u.f.o." - but i suppose you can't have everything.
"politik" keeps blowing me away, even after having heard it a million times, maybe. it was never my favourite song off AROBTTH and it never will be, but hearing it live is just something different entirely. same thing with "charlie brown", by the way. i love it the way it is on the album, but whenever they play it live, the song just gets to me and judging from the reaction of the crowd around me (this was the only time anyone was dancing), i'm not the only one. the xylobands were awesome. it was spectacular to see, all these lights flashing along to the music. brilliant move on the band's part. i loved the show, i don't think i'll ever be able to not love something coldplay has done, but i think out of all performances i've seen them do, this is the least impressive. i suppose what happened here was that the band knew too well what was coming, and a big part of the crowd (or at least the part that surrounded me) didn't know. and that's perhaps why the big fans felt like it missed a bit of spark? [thanks nohwrah]
Media Reviews (in Dutch and Belgian)
- Coldplay brengt laaiend enthousiast Sportpaleis op kookpunt
Een half nummer. Zolang duurde het gisteren voor Coldplay het Sportpaleis op een kookpunt kreeg. Chris Martin een melodramatische softie? Jazeker, maar wel de hartelijkste en best zingende die we dit jaar zagen. Nog voor het concert veilde Coldplay al zijn platina plaat voor meer dan 20.000 verkochte cd’s ten voordele van Music for Life. Daarmee was de toon gezet. Het zou een warme avond worden, met volle zaal die wat blij was de winterse buien buiten te laten, en met een goedgeluimde gastheer, die zaterdag in Rotterdam ook al een platina plaat kreeg.
En of het een warme avond werd. In een verduisterd Sportpaleis kwam de band onzichtbaar het podium op, met één druk op de knop lichtten alle uitgedeelde polsbandjes in het publiek op en joeg opener Hurts like heaven een extra golf energie door de zaal. Toen al had de band een worldwide music industry award -de amai-MIA- op zak voor ’meest visueel verbluffende moment van het jaar’. Bij het tweede nummer Yellow kreeg het middenplein een lading bonte ballonnen op z’n kop, op de cirkelvormige schermen rondom dat plein verschenen ondertussen de gezichten van de vier bandleden. Jaloers
Dat Yellow, een song die inmiddels elf jaar oud is, gisteren zo goed werkte, zegt veel over de wereldgroep die Coldplay in die tijd geworden is. Een klein nummer kan de band ondertussen probleemloos opblazen tot stadionformaat, zonder dat de ballon barst. Voor de vergeetachtigen onder ons: ooit was er ook een tijd waarin het bon ton was om wat lacherig te doen over de geloofwaardigheid van Chris Martin, maar met de jaren is die frontman uitgegroeid tot iemand op wie elke geloofwaardige artiest jaloers moet zijn omdat hij pakweg Lost kan zingen. Warmte -zeiden we het al?- was nog zo’n onderdeel waarin Coldplay gisteren uitblonk. “Echt waar bedankt”, sprak Martin, “dat jullie er een zondagavond en files voor over hebben om ons te zien.” Het klonk verdorie gemeend, de intussen wild enthousiaste zaal reageerde met een stormachtig gejoel. Martin toonde ook zijn medeleven voor de slachtoffers van het drama in Luik: voor Us against the world verwees hij naar ‘a terrible week for Belgium’ (een verschrikkelijke week voor België, red.).
Minpunten? Met wat slechte wil zou je kunnen zeggen dat Martin zich zonder veel bindteksten door deel een van het concert haastte. En Up in flames was zo solo aan de piano zelfs naar Martins normen wat melig. Maar dat blijft gejammer in de marge. Coldplay bewees gisteren ondanks die groepsnaam een van de warmste rockband van nu te zijn. The scientist vroeg en kreeg ohoooh- oh’s uit de zaal, een hit als Violet hill klonk tegelijk soepel en strak, inclusief funky drumroffel. Meer nog dan het nieuwe U2 is Coldplay zichzelf: de supergroep van een nieuwe generatie concertgangers. Die in het Sportpaleis gisteren het warmste indoorconcert van het jaar zagen. Of zeiden we dat al? [2]
- Dimanche soir, dans un Sportpaleis d’Anvers rempli à 360º, Coldplay a donné le dernier gros concert de l’année. Et comme c’est bientôt Noël, le groupe londonien a multiplié les cadeaux.
Le premier fut l’Écossaise Emeli Sande en première partie. La chanteuse soul, qui publiera en février prochain son premier album, a déjà emporté le Prix de la critique aux récents Brit Awards, grâce à son single «Heaven» et son duo avec Professor Green (présent à Anvers), «Read all about it» mais surtout cette voix forte, sorte de version européenne d’Alicia Keys et Rihanna, sans le côté bling bling. Emeli Sande sera au Cirque royal le 2 avril prochain. Deuxième cadeau de Coldplay: un bracelet lumineux reçu à l’entrée. Dès l’entame du concert, par «Mylo Xyloto», le public se transforme ainsi en sapin de Noël clignotant. L’aspect inédit du gadget? Le bracelet ne s’allume que sur commande au moment où le groupe le décide. Coldplay a donc décidé de s’amuser avec nous. Pour «Yellow», ensuite, ce sont des ballons géants qui tombent du ciel, avant les confettis soufflés sur «In my place». Du coup, il règne une belle ambiance différente de leur prestation à Werchter cet été. Le dernier album se taille bien sûr la part du lion. Du coup, Parachutes et X&Y ne sont plus cités qu’une seule fois et Viva la Vida trois fois. C’est leur second album, A Rush Of Blood To The Head qui a leur préférence, avec «In my place», «The Scientist», «God Put A Smile Up Your Face», «Politik» et «Clocks». Une scène centrale, dans le public, sert pour deux seuls morceaux. Le spectacle, de toute façon, reste dans la salle, avec ces quatre écrans géants circulaires, les 17.000 guirlandes humaines et ces couleurs fluos qui sont le thème du spectacle. Chris Martin redevient malgré tout sérieux au moment de dédier «Us against the world» à cette Belgique qui a vécu une semaine horrible, afin que tous, nous restions unis. Dernier cadeau à ces «best fans of the world», comme le lancera Chris: un «White Christmas» d’Irving Berlin, seul au piano, avant le final par «Fix You» et «Every Teardrop is a Waterfall». Qui clôt un concert très joyeux et coloré, qui a offert au public le bonheur dont il avait bien besoin en cette fin d’année. [3]
- Chris Martin et son groupe ont illuminé le Sportpaleis d’Anvers dimanche soir
ANVERS Les 17.000 billets mis en vente pour le concert anversois de Coldplay s’étaient arrachés comme des petits pains. Et dimanche soir, la foule était nombreuse pour venir écouter le groupe britannique. Une salle comble, remplie même derrière la scène, attendait de pied ferme Chris Martin et ses potes. À quelques jours de Noël, le groupe aura offert aux spectateurs un show aussi coloré qu’un sapin de fête. Jeux de lumières et fresques de dessins exécutées par le groupe en studio ont également été agrémentés de jolies surprises très ludiques ! À l’entrée de la salle, chaque spectateur a ainsi reçu un bracelet de couleur différente. Avant le show, certains se demandaient à quoi ce bijou était destiné. Ils auront eu la réponse sur fond de Mylo Xyloto où tous les bracelets, commandés à distance, se sont mis à clignoter au rythme de la musique. Un gadget qui fait son effet et forme un magnifique tapis lumineux dans la salle. Lors du titre suivant, Yellow , ce sont cette fois d’énormes ballons qui tombent dans la foule. Et aux notes d’In My Place , les spectateurs sont arrosés par une pluie de papillons en confettis ! Autant de petits détails qui font la différence et apportent une touche enfantine à la soirée. Si Chris Martin s’excuse de ne pas parler le français ou le flamand, il souligne qu’“il n’y a qu’à voir nos sourires pour voir à quel point nous sommes contents d’être là ” . Le chanteur a également tenu à dédier le titre Us Against the World aux Belges qui ont vécu le drame liégeois. Si le groupe a évidement fait la part belle à leur dernier album, Mylo Xyloto , il n’en a pas pour autant oublié ses grands classiques comme The Scientist , God Put A Smile Up Your Face , Fix you , Viva la vida ou encore Clocks . Rodé comme un spectacle à l’américaine, le concert se sera terminé par un joli rappel aux sonorités de Noël avec le traditionnel chant d’Irving Berlin White Christmas mais aussi Fix You et Every Teardrop is a Waterfall . Une jolie soirée que nombreux auront trouvée un peu courte. Et si le concert s’est déroulé comme du papier à musique, il manquait parfois d’une petite note de folie… [4]
