It's not that far for us to go to Calgary for a concert, and Coldplay makes the trip worthwhile. We saw them on their last tour in 2009 (though I can't prove it), and it was one of the best concerts I have ever been to, both musically and as a show. This year's did not disappoint, either.
When you arrived they gave you a wristband. KC and I ended up with 3 of them. Turns out they are part of the show, from a company in the UK. The show started, and the bands lit up in various shades of blue, red, green, white, and yellow depending on your wristband. Or at least most of them did; only one of our three worked.
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| All the little lights in the audience are the wristbands |
A very cool effect, because the light/sound guy could turn them on and off at will on you. Only downside of these single-use thingies was I took one apart at home: 3 lithium watch batteries inside.
At the last concert, they showered the place in clouds of paper butterflies. This time, it was different shapes, but the confetti cannons were out in full force.
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| Confetti, anyone? |
Yet through it all, they played.
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| Johnny and Chris |
...and sang.
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| Chris offering the mike |
Then came the big bouncy balls. It started off benignly enough, with just the band...
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| Johnny, Will and Chris |
...then huge beach balls were introduced from the far end of the arena.
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| The balls make it to the stage |
And they played through balls dropping on them.
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| Johnny's got balls |
They did the same thing last time with the song "Yellow" using giant yellow balls. Last time, though, the balls flew through the audience the whole evening. This time, the balls mostly disappeared by the end of the next song. No one wanted to play, I guess..
Just like last time, they came out in the middle and did semi-acoustic sets on a centre stage riser in the middle of the place. Nice for the fans farther back, I think.
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| Three of the four |
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| Chris on piano |
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| The whole band (Guy is always in the background) |
They had things that inflated pop up in the audience.
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| Not sure what this is supposed to be. There was a butterfly, and a beer can, too. |
One of my favourite Coldplay tunes is Viva La Vida, which as a live track, is wicked, with drummer Will Champion whacking on a tympani (how often do you see that in a rock concert?) and a huge bell.
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| Will, kettle, tympani & bell... |
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| ...and Chris |
The visuals were great. There was a fluorescent backdrop that glowed, and huge discs hanging in the air with images of stuff superimposed with band members...
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| Johnny, I think |
...there were times when the stage was red...
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| Redness |
...there was a well aimed laser show.
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| Not in anyone's eyes |
Last concert, they suddenly popped up in the back of the arena. This time, they did the same thing, playing an acoustic number from a back balcony as part of the encore.
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| Changed, and not yet sweaty |
And then came the rest of the encore.
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| Johnny on the big screen |
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| Chris on the big screen |
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| The Band |
The concert was opened by The Pierces, a sister act that will one day play a B Stage at the Calgary Folk Fest...
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| A Pierce. Almost worth the price of admission. |
...and a Devo-wanna be band called Metronomy, who's two main claims to fame were (a) really cool lights on their chests that flashed just like the wristbands would (only for a lot less money), and (b) a killer drummer.
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| Note the lights on their chests |
If Coldplay comes to your town, get your butt in gear and go. Killer show. Killer tunes. Worth every cent.
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