3 December 2011: SECC, Glasgow, UK
From WikiColdplay
Contents |
Setlist
- Mylo Xyloto
- Hurts Like Heaven
- Yellow
- Lost!
- Major Minus
- In My Place
- What If
- Daylight
- Violet Hill
- God Put A Smile Upon Your Face
- The Scientist
- Up In Flames
- 'Til Kingdom Come
- Politik
- Viva La Vida
- Charlie Brown
- Paradise
encore - Clocks
- Fix You
- Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall
Discussion
All post-show discussion for this show at the forum thread http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/showthread.php?t=88637
Photos
Photos from this show can be found at Coldplaying.com in the Gallery thread for the SECC. http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/1885
Radio-controlled wristbands debuted in Glasgow
A large percentage of the sell-out crowd had been given an LED wristband on the way in. It wasn't until their opening track that all the wristbands simultaneously shot into flashing colour, forming an overwhelming rainbow galaxy in the SECC.[1] Here's how it looked during Charlie Brown:
Fan Reviews
All fan reviews have been submitted to us by the members of Coldplaying.com[2], unless stated otherwise.
Just got back from SECC. Another amazing night. Crowd took a while to get going but hey thats Glasgow for you. The wristbands are amazing!!! Played lots of oldies, Daylight, What If, Lost, Violet Hill, Politik and an amazing GPASUYF. The new songs were fab; Charlie Brown was spectacular and so was Teardrop. However, Clocks in the encore sounded like they were all playing three different versions, but I forgive them. Wristband still flashing crossing the tunnel on the way home. Cool! Played Paradise, Hurts Like Heaven, Major minus, Up in Flames. I think that was all. Also played the old favourites like, Vida, Yellow, Fix You, Scientist, In My Place. Had a bit of everything really. They did do Til Kingdom Come. [thanks sg2006]
Media Reviews
- Coldplay put Glasgow in their place (STV)
Review: Bringing their fifth album live with a bang, Coldplay kicked off their world tour in Glasgow's SECC in an attempt to take fans to Paradise. Long after the neon splatterings of the nu-rave revolution, Coldplay took to a kaleidoscopic stage this evening to tour latest album, Mylo Xyloto. Entering to a regal fanfare fit for a grand superhero movie, (or more accurately Back To The Future), the super-group strode onto the stage, backed by a neon graffiti backdrop and the radiating outline of giant flowers. Bursting into sound, the instantly overpowering audio matched the visual saturation, where a large percentage of the sell-out crowd had been given a wristband on the way in. It wasn't until their opening track that all the wristbands simultaneously shot into flashing colour, forming an overwhelming rainbow galaxy in the SECC. A wild rendition of breakthrough single Yellow featured early in the set, the high impact version of the anthem losing some of its intimacies, though enforcing uplifting euphoria on the Saturday night crowd. The sensory overdose was enhanced even further with the release of a batch of oversized balloons, bouncing across the roof of the crowd. Engaging the full audience in the performance, Martin and the band play through exaggerated body movements and mammoth stadium volume.
With the high budget show pulling out all stops, Coldplay's next trick is multicoloured, paper butterfly explosions during the familiar guitar hook of In My Place. Certainly providing A Rush Of Blood To The Head, Martin and guitarist Jonny Buckland strut their way along a runway, to a smaller stage embedded in the enthusiastic crowd. With a gargantuan sound this evening, Coldplay come across as much rockier than the meek and mild persona they're generally known. Although providing a wilder show for the crowd to charge along to, this sacrifices much of the band's endearing quality, with an understated rendition of The Scientist leaning more in their favour. Up until here, their set has been impressive, but distinctly lacking in any sort of personality. With the band collecting at the end of the runway in the heart of the crowd, some stripped back jams go through the motions, though again, the show is slightly clinical and somewhat detached, regardless of the modest honesty of Til Kingdom Come, the hidden track on 2005 album X & Y. Singing about their soul, which is masked fairly well in the show, bolder tracks, Politik and Viva La Vida suit this evening's setup, with the crowd roaring along, and Martin throwing himself around the stage in a series of backwards rolls and bad dance moves, last seen in the monkey enclosure of Edinburgh Zoo.
There's no doubt about Coldplay having the anthems, though their character-lacking performance mellowed their set into something that was a bit one level, once you'd appreciated the spectacular light show and props. They did, however, have the entire arena jumping, though Saturday night Glasgow doesn't need too much encouragement to have a good party. Latest single Paradise had the crowd screaming along, before an encore of Clocks, Fix You and Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall. With the crowd fully involved in the show, Coldplay don't disappoint fans, though on their way to commercial Paradise they seem to have Lost all sentiment, where other stadium bands have prospered. From the reaction of the ten thousand strong, capacity audience tonight, however, it doesn't look like Coldplay will be in Trouble any time soon. [3]
- Coldplay at the SECC, Glasgow, review (The Telegraph)
An evilly cold and rainy Saturday night in a big concrete shed in Glasgow, and nice Chris Martin is in a sweary mood. The Scottish city is “the best f---ing place” to start Coldplay’s world tour. “Let’s f---ing go for it!” the singer bellows during God Put a Smile Upon Your Face. “If anyone’s writing a review of the show, please don’t ---- us on that one,” the sweat-sodden frontman beseeches, after fluffing the piano on echoey ballad Up in Flames. Martin is famously – to paraphrase their recent single – para-para-paranoid. As he’s observed of late, his band are a “s--- Radiohead”, and not as good as Take That. But the figures speak volumes: Coldplay’s fifth album Mylo Xyloto went to Number One in 17 countries. In the US it sold almost half a million copies in one week. They’re playing sold-out football stadiums next summer. They’re a people’s – rather than a critics’ – rock band, and if anyone can alchemise wet evenings in ugly arenas such as the SECC into a feelgood singalong, it’s Coldplay.
But they’re not leaving anything to chance. The band bursts onstage with Hurts Like Heaven, their neon-graffiti stage backdrop as lively as the song. Then, cued by the springy chorus, the wristbands given to the audience as they entered start flashing red, green, white and blue. It’s a mobile, energetic disco light show featuring 10,000 giddy participants. Just in case there were any doubters, Coldplay have firmly corralled everyone onside. In quick succession they wheel out a beefed-up version of first hit Yellow, a thumpingly soulful In My Place, huge balloons and a confetti cannon spraying paper butterflies. They’ve only been onstage for 22 minutes. Keen as ever not to be viewed through life’s square window, Coldplay deploy big, circular screens and swirling fractal imagery. But all the bells, whistles, lasers and fancy origami play second fiddle to the songs. Eleven years since they released their first album, the four-piece have an enviable back catalogue of chunky anthems. The lyrics to the likes of Politik and The Scientist may not bear much scrutiny, but it doesn’t stop everyone lustily joining in, heads thrown back and arms thrown aloft. Martin, meanwhile, is the consummate ringmaster-cum-party host. When he isn’t asking how we’re doing, he’s endlessly boinging around the stage, belting up and down the walkway into the middle of the crowd, and flexing his gym-toned biceps in a cap-sleeved T-shirt (thankfully they’ve ditched the try-hard Les Mis clobber of the last album). After a nicely judged 90 minutes it’s all over bar the unprompted mass chanting of the refrain from Viva La Vida. Afterwards the sound reverberates round the frozen car park, 10,000 Glaswegian cockles duly warmed. You’d have to have an icy chip in your heart not to be similarly moved. [4]
Coldplayer comments
Strange. Not at tonight's gig but went to the last Coldplay gig at the SECC 3 years back (exactly 3 years this Friday) and they played for about 2 hours. Also I'm guessing they didn't do the little acoustic set from the audience which is a shame because that's one of the many things that made the Viva tour so great. Maybe they need time to develop the setlist and over time it will get to around two hours. After all I do believe this MX tour will be one primarily made for stadiums and not so much arenas. But still.... And very surprised they didn't bring in new songs. Again in comparison with the Viva tour they played effectively the whole album bar two songs which was just incredible for a band of their size. But no new songs for this one - very strange. Very nice to hear they brought back Daylight and What If though! Although swap What If with Square One, White Shadows or Swallowed In The Sea and you'd make more people happier I believe! [thanks howyousawtheworld]
90 Minutes? I payed over 70 quid for my ticket tomorrow night. I paid 200 quid for a ticket to Leeds festival this summer. Let's compare the two shall we? 3x 14 hour days of music compared to 90 minutes for just under half the price. Something seems off there. Although, I am still very excited and look forward to tomorrow xD [thanks JaHawk2009]
To all complaining about the short show: This was the way the early gigs were back on the VLV tour. By the time they were playing america and stadiums in the summer of 2009, then they had the shows that were 2 hours long with 25 songs in the set. [thanks dcmarlow]
There are certain criticisms that get leveled at the band every tour (short shows, unchanging setlist being the two most prominent.) and although I personally am not bothered by either of these things, it's clear a lot of people are. That said, it's pretty clear that that's what a Coldplay show is like, and since they've been playing that way for 10 years now, it's probably how their shows are going to stay. If either of these things ruin the concert for you (or make it not worth the money to you), you probably shouldn't go as you're just going to end up disappointed as well as out the money. I don't mean this as a criticism, just an observation. There are certain bands I won't see live, because I find things about their shows disappointing, maybe for some of you Coldplay is one of those bands. My only point was, that whatever shortcomings their shows may have, I doubt anyone who follows the band enough to actually post on here can't have heard these same criticisms since at least the Twisted Logic tour. Should the band play longer? Probably. Will they ever? Probably not. (almost 10 years of evidence to back me up on that) Armed with that knowledge, people have to decide if paying to go to the shows is worth it to them, but it should hardly be a surprise that this tour is like the other two before it. [thanks fakfak]
One thing I'll say for Coldplay: Whether you like or dislike the length of their sets, they always try to use the lighting to see/interact with their fans. (Most here probably know that a band on that kind of stage really can't see anyone in the venue). A lot of bands do this, but with the wristbands, the band can probably see little twinkles of lights, even if they can't see the people wearing them. Touch of class, boys! [thanks TracieMorgan]
Glad to see everyone is angry/disappointed about the short set (and the fact the band seemingly couldn't be arsed to come up with a new show). I understand the argument for keeping the set unchanged for production reasons, but why couldn't they have a new 1h 45m show which included 42, Strawberry Swing, Death and All His Friends, Us Against The World, Lovers In Japan, Amsterdam, Don't Let It Break Your Heart, Up With The Birds, A Message, High Speed, etc, etc.? I am f*ckin' sick of Yellow, Fix You, Clocks, The Scientist, In My Place - who cares about the "tourists" (casual fans as I call them). Surely the band should be worried about alienating their core audience as opposed to someone who only cares about Viva La Vida? When they left the stage at 1015 (barely an hour and 10 mins after they started), I was like "WHAT?" and thought there would be two encores. Then when I saw the arena staff get into position for everyone leaving (during Fix You), my heart sank. Why shouldn't we get to hear Christmas Lights? Christmas is three weeks away, or are they just going to play that for London. I would say I am jealous of those attending the UK stadium gigs next summer, but I honestly don't think things will be any different. I love the band and their music, but having seen them four times now, I don't think I need to see them for a long long time... [thanks RC34127]
