The road to Coldplay was a rough one. The baby-related conversations Hark and I had
as we walked through Landover led to us getting literally lost on the streets.
The moment we arrived at Fedex Field, however, everything
became clear. Chris Martin knew exactly
what he was doing and how to make people happy.
I wish the songs had a little more weight (and I knew more of them), but
I appreciated the show for what it was: a light, bright escape from the rest of
the world.
--- “Yellow.” Giant
yellow visuals we didn't really see as we were finding our seats. No worries -- no chance this will be the last
big visual of the night…
--- Rainbow Para-Para-“Paradise”: First time I’ve ever been
given a color-changing wristband!! The
remix halfway through was awesome. Once
or twice through the straight melody, Chris Martin ran down the ramp, drums
amped up, and the guitars went into an electronic tailspin. By the time the confetti came out, that
somehow felt right too. Confetti on the
fourth song?! You've got us -- it works.
--- “Always in the Head” and “Magic” slow things down. It's chill, bro.
--- The speech!!!!
Outstanding specificity: detailing the tolls, lines, lots, and Stubhub
battles everyone had to go through to get to show. Shoutouts to DC, Virginia, and “Mary”land. The last time they played at FedEx Field was
2001, the 100th of what felt like 100 bands at (the Hark-approved) HFStival. Now they're headlining. A second after I compare him to a lighter
Dave Grohl, he mentions that Dave was at that HFStival joke trashing him!! The fact that they invite the audience to
fill in the song with appropriate blanks (Syria, their neighbor, The White
House) sends it to the stratosphere.
Bravo.
---- “Clocks”: Hahahah, Hark's quoting himself: “There's
Hark singing again.” He's a whole different
person. He doesn’t just sing; he beams for five straight minutes!
--- Wooo at the “let's all stop everything and jump” prompt
for “Midnight” / “Charlie Brown.” Tear
at the lackluster vocal.
--- “Hymn For The Weekend” has a catchier hook (“jumping so
high so high so high”), so the stagecraft means something. The fire, fireworks, and his leap mean more
because you can make out words.
--- “Fix You”!!!
Majestic build, strong story -- for me, best of the night.
--- A second, even bigger Hark explosion for “Viva La Vida”! (Hark later explained his reaction was simply
a tribute to Meagan O'Neill.)
--- “Adventure of a Lifetime” features literal multi-colored
balls, but a bland vocal, so no real bounce.
(Love that so many kids get to take the ball home though.)
--- “Don't Panic”: Garden State nostalgia!!
--- “Green Eyes”: excellent acoustic song I'd never heard
before. Hahahahah at the shameless, misguided, endearing substitution of
“Redskins” at the end.
--- Wish I knew “Something Just Like This” (featuring The
Chainsmokers) better. Catchy and
uplifting even for the first time!
--- Wooo at “A Sky Full of Stars.” Oh, more accurately, wheee. Hahaha at the
18th confetti.
--- Hahaha at more Redskin shamelessness: props involving
love of America and the Redskins. I like
how he circles back to HFStival and asks us to be kind to each other as we
leave. “He sounds like That Ellen Woman.” Agreed, Hark, agreed.
Grade: B+ / A-
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