Coldplay – Live in Bern, Switzerland; September 2nd 2009
By Amrit Thind
Monday 19th October 2009
Monday 19th October 2009
Setlist:
1) Life In Technicolor
2) Violet Hill
3) Clocks Play
4) In My Place
5) Yellow
6) Glass of Water
7) Cemeteries of London
8) 42
9) Strawberry Swing
10) Fix You
11) God Put A Smile Upon Your Face
12) Talk
13) The Hardest Part
14) Postcards From Far Away
15) Viva La Vida
16) Lost!
17) Green Eyes
18) Death Will Never Conquer
19) Billie Jean
20) Viva La Vida (Remix)
21) Politik
22) Lovers In Japan
23) Death And All His Friends
Encore:
24) The Scientist
25) Life In Technicolor ii
26) The Escapist
It was only a couple of years ago when Chris Martin and his merry men rolled up to a small venue in Berlin, Germany and gave an acoustic concert to a crowd of 30 people on one of their first tours after the release of “A Rush of Blood to the Head.” Yes, Coldplay was already big at the time – the point being however, that these gentlemen know how to entertain both an intimate audience – as they proved in Berlin – and a raging mass of 40,000 bodies – as they proved in the “Stade de Suisse”, Bern.
Many may think that Switzerland, being minute, neutral and cheesy, cannot possibly be host to a great concert. Believe me when I tell you, great is merely a fraction of the non-existent adjective which should be used to describe the enormity of this concert; and Switzerland had it’s fair share of influence on it too.
Needless to say, I am a Coldplay fan. “A Rush of Blood to the Head,” the first album I heard, was ingenious; “Parachutes,” which I caught up on shortly after, was touching; sadly, “X & Y” was a terrible letdown – a half-hearted attempt of redefining their musical style with only few decent tracks; and doubtlessly, “Viva la Vida or Death and all his Friends” was a musical titan, incorporating influences from classical music – strings, the most obvious addition – and African and Asian sounds. Coldplay gave us a taste of a bit of everything at their concert.
Once the supporting acts had had their say, twilight hit the Stade de Suisse stadium – it had been a rainy day, and the vague glimmering rays of sunlight were fading before our eyes; the Stade de Suisse is more like a football stadium – seating areas are covered, but the main standing area in the centre is exposed. Seven o’clock arrived, and Coldplay with it.
Chris Martin had us all at “Grüetzi, hoi zämme” (Hello, hi everybody). Opening with “Life in Technicolor,” people burst into applause as the four musicians jumped around to the rhythm, followed immediately by “Violet Hill” when the lead singer strummed along on his multicoloured guitar. Those who knew the lyrics sang, those who did not cheered. Songs to follow were classics like “Clocks” and “Yellow” – at which point hundreds of yellow balloons and paper butterflies were released into the air, stimulating the spectators to bop along, frantically trying to catch one of the two, as Martin boldly announced that, judging by the lyrics, “Yellow” was “the scientifically most inaccurate song in the world.” But Coldplay did not only deliver on the classics; touching on songs such as “Glass of Water” and “The Hardest Part” in which Chris Martin and William Champion serenaded to the crowd, backed only by a piano.
Not only was the music a spectacle; the four gigantic screens on to which the concert was projected shone with visual effects; black and white sequences, flashy camera angles, cuts set to fit the beat of the drums, and at one point even an uncanny effect displaying the band as comic figures.
Clearly the highlight arrived when the heavens opened and rain poured down; instead of resigning and calling it a night, Coldplay embraced the weather and silently, after hammering “Viva la Vida” and “Lost!” into the skies, marched off the main stage, in to the centre of the audience, the middle of the rain, where a small acoustic set was to follow; “Green Eyes,” Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” and “Death Will Never Conquer,” sung by William Champion himself.
It was a tremendous concert, and once the musicians had finished with their encore – “The Scientist,” “Life In Technicolor II,” and “The Escapist” people were horse and sad to be leaving. As said, Switzerland had it’s fair share of influence – not only given by the great stadium and visuals, but also by the weather, which made the experience all the more epic.
1) Life In Technicolor
2) Violet Hill
3) Clocks Play
4) In My Place
5) Yellow
6) Glass of Water
7) Cemeteries of London
8) 42
9) Strawberry Swing
10) Fix You
11) God Put A Smile Upon Your Face
12) Talk
13) The Hardest Part
14) Postcards From Far Away
15) Viva La Vida
16) Lost!
17) Green Eyes
18) Death Will Never Conquer
19) Billie Jean
20) Viva La Vida (Remix)
21) Politik
22) Lovers In Japan
23) Death And All His Friends
Encore:
24) The Scientist
25) Life In Technicolor ii
26) The Escapist
It was only a couple of years ago when Chris Martin and his merry men rolled up to a small venue in Berlin, Germany and gave an acoustic concert to a crowd of 30 people on one of their first tours after the release of “A Rush of Blood to the Head.” Yes, Coldplay was already big at the time – the point being however, that these gentlemen know how to entertain both an intimate audience – as they proved in Berlin – and a raging mass of 40,000 bodies – as they proved in the “Stade de Suisse”, Bern.
Many may think that Switzerland, being minute, neutral and cheesy, cannot possibly be host to a great concert. Believe me when I tell you, great is merely a fraction of the non-existent adjective which should be used to describe the enormity of this concert; and Switzerland had it’s fair share of influence on it too.
Needless to say, I am a Coldplay fan. “A Rush of Blood to the Head,” the first album I heard, was ingenious; “Parachutes,” which I caught up on shortly after, was touching; sadly, “X & Y” was a terrible letdown – a half-hearted attempt of redefining their musical style with only few decent tracks; and doubtlessly, “Viva la Vida or Death and all his Friends” was a musical titan, incorporating influences from classical music – strings, the most obvious addition – and African and Asian sounds. Coldplay gave us a taste of a bit of everything at their concert.
Once the supporting acts had had their say, twilight hit the Stade de Suisse stadium – it had been a rainy day, and the vague glimmering rays of sunlight were fading before our eyes; the Stade de Suisse is more like a football stadium – seating areas are covered, but the main standing area in the centre is exposed. Seven o’clock arrived, and Coldplay with it.
Chris Martin had us all at “Grüetzi, hoi zämme” (Hello, hi everybody). Opening with “Life in Technicolor,” people burst into applause as the four musicians jumped around to the rhythm, followed immediately by “Violet Hill” when the lead singer strummed along on his multicoloured guitar. Those who knew the lyrics sang, those who did not cheered. Songs to follow were classics like “Clocks” and “Yellow” – at which point hundreds of yellow balloons and paper butterflies were released into the air, stimulating the spectators to bop along, frantically trying to catch one of the two, as Martin boldly announced that, judging by the lyrics, “Yellow” was “the scientifically most inaccurate song in the world.” But Coldplay did not only deliver on the classics; touching on songs such as “Glass of Water” and “The Hardest Part” in which Chris Martin and William Champion serenaded to the crowd, backed only by a piano.
Not only was the music a spectacle; the four gigantic screens on to which the concert was projected shone with visual effects; black and white sequences, flashy camera angles, cuts set to fit the beat of the drums, and at one point even an uncanny effect displaying the band as comic figures.
Clearly the highlight arrived when the heavens opened and rain poured down; instead of resigning and calling it a night, Coldplay embraced the weather and silently, after hammering “Viva la Vida” and “Lost!” into the skies, marched off the main stage, in to the centre of the audience, the middle of the rain, where a small acoustic set was to follow; “Green Eyes,” Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” and “Death Will Never Conquer,” sung by William Champion himself.
It was a tremendous concert, and once the musicians had finished with their encore – “The Scientist,” “Life In Technicolor II,” and “The Escapist” people were horse and sad to be leaving. As said, Switzerland had it’s fair share of influence – not only given by the great stadium and visuals, but also by the weather, which made the experience all the more epic.