4 August 2008: Banknorth Garden, Boston, MA, USA

From WikiColdplay

Setlist

Encore

Photos

Photos from this show can be found at Coldplaying.com in the Gallery thread for Boston. http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/1517

Fan Reviews

Fan Reviews can be found on the second Boston page. 4 August 2008: Banknorth Garden, Boston, MA, USA (Videos & Fan Reviews)

Media Reviews

Fire over ice: Coldplay bounces, belts out hits

Coldplay closed out the North American leg of its tour with an exclamation point last night.

Befitting their status as radio kings, thanks to the success of their fourth album "Viva La Vida," the quartet gave a big performance on a big stage with a big audience singing along to the big choruses. (Speed-dial friends U2 would've beamed with older brotherly pride).

Whether it was the presence of front man Chris Martin's famous wife, Gwyneth Paltrow, and mother-in-law, Blythe Danner, with special guests Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld at the TD Banknorth Garden or the hero's welcome the band received, the British hit makers signed off with a giddy, high-energy performance that seemed as much for their own enjoyment as for the hyped-up, sold-out crowd.

While the obsessively self-deprecating Martin joked about being a "soft rock" band, drummer Will Champion - the band's true MVP - gave the entire affair a welcome brawn from the very first downbeat of opener "Life in Technicolor."

Songs such as "Speed of Sound" and "In My Place" that sometimes come across as more placid and pleasant on record leapt off the stage thanks to the mighty efforts of Champion and his similarly uncorked band mates.

Martin flailed about with his lunatic wobbliness during such stompers as "Viva La Vida" - taut and soaring with timpani and bells - and rocked like a madman behind the piano teasing out the curlicue riffs of "Clocks." In all his gadding about he managed to keep ahold of that valuable falsetto for the night's biggest ballad sing-alongs including "Fix You" and the inanely simple but irresistible "Yellow." He took it lower for the slithering, Eastern-tinged rhythms of the hypnotic "Yes."

The band took to a smaller lighted stage halfway into the audience for an oddly insular, techno-fied interlude that felt like they were playing in their own tiny nightclub. Large orbs, some which obstructed views, descended, beaming out images to those farther away. More successful was a later two-song acoustic bit way up in the right-hand corner of the arena that included the Beatlesque sing-song gem "The Scientist" and Champion handling vocals on a sweet version of "Death Will Never Conquer."

Those aspiring to be the biggest band in all the land would be wise to heed the example of their oft-name-checked predecessors in one way: Play longer shows. Given that they have four albums of material to choose from, a 90-minute set, as energetic as it was, felt like not enough bang for the sizable soft rock buck.

Santogold put her heart into the groovy, electro-quirk rock of her critically lauded debut but wasn't quite the right fit for the large crowd that showed up early enough to hear the buzzy charms of tunes such as "L.E.S. Artistes" and "Creator." And if you're going to have a hipster-cred building opening act, provide her with a better sound system.

Victors in an online contest, judged ultimately by Coldplay, Boston rockers the Luxury took the stage with confidence for a short set that should draw a few more fans to their gigs around town.

Source: http://www.boston.com

Hot-and-Coldplay have few moments

It seems that Coldplay is still searching for their niche among the world’s major rock acts.

That might explain why the British quartet experimented with so many different styles and formats at the sold-out TD Banknorth Garden last night - some successfully, others not so much.

The night of massive sing-alongs and fist-pumping anthems began with the dark, brooding “Violet Hill” and the pounding chords of “Clocks,” during which lead singer Chris Martin almost fell off his piano stool with enthusiasm.

That set the tone for a night of Martin swaying, rocking, doing awkward versions of the running man, dripping with sweat, occasionally convulsing, dropping a few F-bombs, flubbing lyrics, and often convening with lead guitarist Jonny Buckland and bassist Guy Berryman for impromptu emo huddles.

During “Fix You,” Martin stumbled around as if from a love hangover, and towards the end of the transcendent “In My Place,” he ventured out to a side stage to fall to his knees and writhe.

Even after four albums and massive success, the husband of actress Gwyneth Paltrow (who was present along with her mother, Blythe Danner, and Jerry Seinfeld and Steven Spielberg) clearly isn’t too big for his retro-military britches, and it is this lack of pretentiousness and raw emotion that drives the Coldplay engine.

Occasionally, things got a bit dull, however. After the anthemic “Viva La Vida,” a mid-set lag took hold with “Yes,” which featured Martin in his lower register and fans the closest they’d be to motionless all night.

Fans wanted the band to stay loud, bright and center-stage, but they took to a small side stage for what you might call the U2 interlude, an electronic-inspired “Chinese Sleep Chant” and “God Put A Smile Upon Your Face.” Later, the band took to another side stage - this time in the rafters - for an underwhelming acoustic version of “The Scientist,” which didn’t capture the song’s considerable emotional power.

But the band was frequently brilliant throughout the night, and never moreso than on the piano-driven masterpiece “Politik” during the encore - which was followed shortly thereafter by a quirky shower of confetti butterflies.

About the only thing Coldplay has in common with opener Santogold is the nebulous designation of “alternative.” Born Santi White, the New York native blends too many styles - rock, punk, hip-hop and reggae among them - to be placed into a singular category, and with vocals that soared up to the rafters.

http://news.bostonherald.com/enterta...osition=recent

No Clever Title Needed, Coldplay Was Unbelievable

Yep, that title says it all. They were that good, and somehow made spending $120 to not sit all that close to the stage seem completely justified. From the laser show and confetti to the surprise mini-set they played at the top of section 10 and their terrific rendition of of “Death and All of His Friends” to end the show, there wasn’t a second of their 90 minute set that I wasn’t completely impressed by, to put it mildly.

Opening the show were two acts, a local band The Luxury, and hip-hop group Santogold. We missed most of the Luxury’s set, but did have the misfortune of sitting through Santogold’s half hour on stage, which wasn’t all that enjoyable. It was obvious that this nigh would belong entirely to Coldplay, undeniably one of the world’s biggest and most popular rock bands.

After a transparent black screen was lowered in front of the stage, the band walked out to a huge roar from the sold out Garden crowd and tore into an arena-worthy version of instrumental Viva La Vida album opener “Life in Technicolor.” From there, the screen lifted and it was on to “Violet Hill,” the song which, when I first heard it, made me step back and say “wow, this new Coldplay record is going to be amazing.” Throughout the entire show, Chris Martin jumped and shook his way around the stage, working up quite a sweat and making good use of the ramps which extended out from each side of the stage. After “Violet Hill,” a piano was wheeled out and the band played crowd-favorite “Clocks.”

The next two songs turned out to be, in my opinion, one of the huge highlights of the show, as the band played an enormous sing-along version of “In My Place,” which included Martin at one point walking to the edge of one of the ramps and simply admiring the thousands of people singing and swaying along in front of him. Then came “Viva La Vida,” which I think is pretty much one of the best songs ever. One of the great things about this show as the fact that every song seemed to leap off the stage and out of the huge speakers in a way they don’t on CD, and I was amazed at how arena-ready the band’s otherwise more mellow songs sounded in this setting.

Coldplay would then go on to play equally great renditions of “Yes,” “42,” “Fix You,” and “Strawberry Swing” before moving to a small stage set up at the end of the ramp at the right side of the stage. Here they would play acoustic-ish versions of “Chinese Sleep Chant” and “God Put A Smile On Your Face.” I would have rather seen a full electric version of the latter, but it was interesting to hear a different take on the song and it didn’t sound bad by any means.

The band would then return to the stage to play “Speed of Sound,” “Yellow,” and “Lost!” During this part of the set, a rather amazing visual display took place on a giant screen behind the band, at times showing images that related to the songs, and at other times showing live shots of the band. One camera angle I especially liked was the one mounted on the side of the keys on Martin’s piano. Also, live shots were somehow displayed on giant white balls hanging from the ceiling, another nice touch.

After “Lost!,” the band suddenly decided to run down one of the ramps and though the crowd assembled on the floor. They then ran up the aisle of the section where we were sitting, passing about ten feet away from us to the next section over, located toward the back of the first level of the arena. While this expectantly drove the crowd around us wild, the band went on to play an amazing version of “The Scientist” on a small platform about 30 feet from us. This was possibly one of the coolest things I’ve seen at a show (and it’s also pretty high up there on the list of coolest things I’ve seen, period). After Martin explained how useless attempting to play the harmonica was, the band played “Death Will Never Conquer,” with drummer Will Champion handling vocals and Martin on the useless harmonica.

While there wasn’t a great deal of between song banter from Martin, I was surprised by the fact that the things he did say were always amusing, and while many would consider them to be “rock gods” the band never seemed to take themselves too seriously, for Martin was often too busy making fun of himself or thanking so many people for coming out on a Monday night and missing Seinfeld reruns (Jerry Seinfeld, along with Tom Brady and Gwyneth Paltrow were apparently in attendance).

After their section 10 set, the band disappeared from view and readied for the encore while some type of political video played. I’m not really sure what it was about because I was still trying to catch my breath after all that excitement. The band then returned to stage and began the encore with “Politik” and then “Lovers In Japan.” This is where a huge amount of glowing confetti was dropped from the ceiling, always a welcome addition to any show. After this, the screen in at the back of the stage dropped to reveal a huge “Viva” backdrop, and the band broke into “Death and All of His Friends,” undeniably the perfect song to close both a record and a live show. Following the song, the band took their bows to a thunderous applause and left the stage, ending the North American leg of their “Viva La Vida” tour.

While Coldplay’s amazing performace made the night great, it was the crowd that made it so memorable. While I wasn’t around when the Celtics won the NBA championship in June, I’m guessing that the same level of euphoria was felt by the thousands of people streaming out of the Garden that night. A bunch of my friends were at the show, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen them so excited and so happy. The energy in the building before, during, and after the show was unbelievable, easily making this one of the most memorable concerts I’ve ever seen.

http://leafsacc.wordpress.com/2008/0...-unbelievable/

Coldplay wrapped up their North American tour with a high energy, star studded event at the Garden on Monday night, proving that the London based quartet are indeed contenders for the title of the ‘best band of the new millennium’.

Touring in support of their recently released fourth studio album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, Coldplay hit the stage with instrumental “Life in Technicolor” and quickly transitioned to “Violet Hill’. With the crowd clearly under their spell, front-man Chris Martin took to the piano for “Clocks”.

“In My Place” from their 2002 album A Rush of Blood to the Head, complete with guitarist Johnny Buckland’s trademark chords, worked the audience into frenzy, nearly drowning out Martin’s vocals on the final chorus. With everyone warmed up and the sell out crowd on their feet, the band performed brilliantly the title track “Viva la Vida”, followed by “Yes” and “42” both from the new album.

Next was the highlight of the show, “Fix You”, featuring Martin both at the piano and dancing around the stage like a man possessed. The ballad not only showcased Martin’s passionate voice, but both the breath and depth of the band’s musical talents. Every element of the song was perfectly executed and it was truly a performance that was impossible to top! Unfortunately, the song was in the middle of the set, and although they tried, they could not surpass that performance.

While the balance of the show was solid, parts of it seemed almost forced, including the ill placed “Chinese Sleep Chant”. Instead of retaining the energy level in the arena, this song actually seemed to have the opposite affect. In fact, most of the crowd was back in their seats by the time a techno version of “God Put a Smile Upon Your Face” finished.

But thankfully, they did not stay there for long, as the crowd was on their feet again for “Speed of Sound” from their 2004 album X&Y. Martin then addressed the crowd, saying “It’s about time we said hello to everybody”, and then in his characteristically self-deprecating way, said “We are not even Irish or American and you are still being nice to us, so thank you!”

Before taking to a side stage in the middle of section 215 (lucky fans!), the band performed “Yellow”, complete with cheesy yellow lasers, and their latest single “Lost!”. After making their way thought the crowds, the band treated fans to an acoustic version of “The Scientist” and then closed out the main set with drummer Will Champion on lead vocals for “Death Will Never Conquer”.

Back on stage for what would be a quick three song encore, the band performed “Politik”, “Lovers in Japan”, where confetti unnecessarily fell from the rafters and the “Death and All His Friends”, which was dedicated to New England Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady, Martin saying, “Thank you for the shirt and I hope it [the show] was worth it”. I am pretty sure that Tom would agree that it was worth it!

While it was not an outstanding show, it was a great performance by a band that appears to still be evolving and defining who they want to be when they grow up. During the ninety minute set there were moments of absolute brilliance and there were moments that seemed both forced and uninspired, creating a tension between what could propel them to the rank of mega-stars and what could ensure they never graduate beyond cult status. They clearly have the talent and the fan base to hold the title of ‘best band of the new millennium’, but only time will tell which path they choose.

Opening the show in support of Coldplay was the Santogold. The Philadelphia based singer blended a number of different sounds including techno, hip hop and rock sounds (think M.I.A.), but did little to hold the audience's interest, who were eager to see the main act. And, in an opportunity of a lifetime, winners of an online contest which was ultimately judged by Chris Martin himself, Boston based Luxury took the stage for a short yet solid set.

http://bostonmusicspotlight.com/article.php?id=1334