It’s amazing what the right environment can do for a band. The allure of Coldplay’s brand of mass market indie pop has eluded me for the past two decades, but I have to admit that I was quite shaken by the emotional wallop of some their material, at Saturday night’s massive Croke Park spectacular.
Listening in this context, even a Coldplay outlier can see that there’s inherently decent songwriting involved in the crafting of material like ‘The Scientist’, ‘Fix You and ‘Yellow’ (played second song of the night, but with the feeling and intensity of a final encore). Whatever I might think – or have thought – about hearing them on the radio, there was something genuinely beguiling about these Coldplay favourites, experienced among a crowd of 80,000 people.
Despite some cheesy choreography, clearly exaggerated for the big screens – Martin writhing around on the stage floor, supposedly enveloped in some kind of animated vortex below is particularly odd – and the expected humanitarian speeches, Martin is a formidable showman, working the catwalk and the crowd like a man possessed, connecting with those high up in the Croker boondocks, and ensuring that they feel part of the intimacy he creates, as much as the die-hard enthusiasts down front.
The production is something to behold too, featuring some of the most visually stunning concert scenes this correspondent has ever witnessed. With the raining ticker tape, giant balloons, audience-interactive lighting displays, and elephant-costumed attendees, it feels for a brief moment that Croke Park is hosting the greatest ever Flaming Lips concert.
Alongside the elaborately decorated main stage, there are smaller stage set-ups for quieter intervals. For me, the concert loses momentum here. Two of their finest songs, ‘In My Place’ and ‘Don’t Panic’, are somewhat muted played in the downsized acoustic segment. And though I didn’t get my stadium-sized dose of fantastic X&Y single ‘Talk’, I did have the opportuity to revel in Coldplay’s greatest song, ‘Viva la Vida’, played with the pomp and grandeur that makes it a truly special track.
One of the most striking facets of the evening is the band’s interaction with one another. The giant screens reveal that there is something special in the chemistry, and the smiles shared, between the musicians. Despite the massive staging, the band remain in close proximity, constantly acknowledging each other with gestures that suggest delight and euphoria. These are feelings which are reciprocated by the audience, and at several points throughout the night, returned in kind by me.