Show Date : July 10th, 2009
The owners of this venue recently were interviewed in the local paper. Explaining why the history of this venue is one of bleeding cash.
1)Acts need to be guaranteed over 100% of the ticket gross
2)See #1. In order for the venue to make a profit, the show needs to sell out
3)Access and egress to the venue is messy. They are asking for tax dollars to help.
If no one can see why the live music industry is broken on the arena level from #1 and #2 alone, I don’t see why going to #3 is necessary. But. Here is the other thing. This venue blows. It sucks. It is the equivalent of getting geeked up to go eat at TGI Fridays or some other brass and fern chain eatery. It gets the job done, you may enjoy yourself, but you don’t leave thinking your life is going to be missing something if you don’t return in the near future. The video screens are small, the side sections extend too far, and the lawn is a million miles away. The stage is too damn deep. The covered reserved seating is so enclosed you feel like you might as well be in a basketball gym, and the overall aesthetic is about as inspired as a 1995 strip mall. Also, the beer line was out of Fat Tire. Criminal. But fix traffic access and all will be solved! Forget about aiding a memorable concert experience. Alright. That is all.
Coldplay.
At the Grammy’s Chris Martin said (I’m paraphrasing) they aren’t exactly rock. More like limestone.
Hmmm.
Your left is guitar. Your right is bass and Martin’s keys. I’d suggest going to the right if you have a choice. There is a satellite stage about row 20 or so as an added bonus. After taking the stage to “Life In Technicolor” in their Viva La Vida military costumes while winging about some torches, they launch into their set with “Violet Hill”. The show is high energy. And I must say…a little heavier than I thought it would be given the self-described limestone character of the band. Coldplay released their first major record Parachutes in 2000. Making them one of the last big acts to break before downloading gutted the profitability of the recorded music industry. Making them a transmission from a lost planet, if you will. You can kind of see that old schoolish approach in the live show. Confetti, well produced live video with a shitload of jump cuts, lasers, lights, balloons, 3D video balloons, and satellite stages. There is plenty going on.
Let’s get Yellow!
Highlights. The show isn’t lacking hits from the catalog: “Death And All His Friends”, “Yellow”, “Talk”, “Lost!”, “Fix You” to name a few. On the first satellite stage about 7 songs in they played a techno-distorted version of “Talk” which made the ears perk up. Distorted guitar wailing the hook. Toward the end of the show they played an acoustic three song set on another satellite stage on the lawn. Very classy move. “Death Will Never Conquer” was sung by the drummer Will Champion. And Chris Martin provided vocals for a cover of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” (side note: I think almost all summer shows are going to have an obligatory MJ cover).
Here’s the thing that bothers me about this show. The backup vocals sound augmented. And the guitar distortion would change without Johnny Buckland banging a pedal. Which always makes me wonder about what else is getting fixed in the mix. I also shake my fists at the clouds if the weather isn’t to my liking. No one around me cared about this type of shit. They were having a great time. I didn’t need a vocal most of the time, my compatriots around me were holding that down very well, thank you. I should lighten up. It is a show after all.
On the major positive side, Chris Martin is a hell of a pianist. If you are into keys, or dig Coldplay’s recorded stuff…zero chance you leave unsatisfied. Professional show and professional musicians. And they give a free disc of Left Right Left Right. Nice tip of the cap to the fans. If this show gets people into going to more live shows and exploring other stuff…I am on board.
I’m out. Have a weird impulse to go get a tower of onion rings.
