As far as I’m concerned, any time a band hits the stage within five minutes of a
Stone Roses song playing, this time “Waterfall,” that’s pretty much a
harbinger of pleasant things to come. And, indeed, I was correct. UK media
darlings and all around nice guys Coldplay electrified the frigid San
Francisco air last night (there was snow down to 300 FEET in some Bay Area
locations!) with their sold out show at the Fillmore, “the nicest place we’ve ever
played in, I think,” according to lead singer Chris Martin. From the
plaintive opening strains of “Spies,” it was quite evident we were in for an
excellent night out.
Technical glitches hit the band early, as they tried to follow the opener with
“Trouble,” but after piano jockey Martin played a few notes on the
electric keyboard, he remarked that “it sounds like Pink Floyd.” The
band then kicked into “a love song” as Martin put it, and “Shiver” was
soon upon us, causing many of the patrons to start jumping around, just about
their only chance of the night. The keyboard disaster was remedied during the
song, and “Trouble” finally was produced, with Martin saying “this is a song
worth waiting for” to the shrieks and delight of the crowd. The crowd stayed
noisy and boisterous throughout the rest of the set, with the band playing
virtually all of their excellent debut Parachutes, as well as mixing in two
new songs, which will remain nameless (primarily due to the fact that I couldn’t
hear what the hell he said). The lead singer kept the crowd happy with frequent
banter, including taking a bouquet of flowers from a girl in the front row named
Megan, but insisting that she give them to lead guitarist Jonny
Buckland, as “Jonny never gets flowers.” Martin
proceeded to dedicate two songs to young Megan, stating that “this is probably
the first time in history a chick has had two songs dedicated to her at the same
show.” Ahh, Coldplay. They’ve discovered the way to our hearts and
the key to breaking America: they’ve already picked up our slang.
