I had a little dose of cerebral British rock tonight, as Chris Martin along with his band Coldplay, played a lean and tight set to a very enthusiastic Hong Kong crowd. Frankly, we did not have the best of seats, as I was still unfamiliar with the venue when I bought the tickets, but anyhow, I did love the songs that Mr. Gwyneth Paltrow chose to perform for their band's Twisted Logic world tour.
It was just the right mix of the old hits, with some of my favorite songs in A Rush of Blood to the Head, as well as all the latest hits from their latest CD X & Y. I did not share the same enthusiasm with the rest of tonight's crowd for Trouble, Yellow or In My Place, which were all well applauded. Instead, I regaled at the band's live version of some of their seminal songs in A Rush of Blood to the Head, like Clocks, Politik and God Put A Smile on My Face. However, I did surprise myself as I can actually sing along to most of the songs they played that night, and only then did I realize that I usually played their CDs when I work, and those lyrics may have subliminally entered my brain, thus turning their live performance tonight, into something memorable for me.
One thing I learned though tonight, is that Mr. Paltrow, sings an octave higher than I do, when I sing along to their songs. Example, when he did, Speed of Sound, wherein I knew the lyrics very well, I could not sing out loud with him in the chorus. But I did have a lot of fun, since like Bon Jovi, Coldplay has many "sing-along with me - type of songs", like Yellow, In My Place, and of course, their live anthem, Fix You. I discovered to my dismay, that I could not reach the notes for "Life will guide you home, and ignite your bones, and I will try to fix you". However, I did not want to sing an octave lower, and just like Apple Martin's Dad, I strained my neck veins to reach the notes so as to make my voice be heard, along with thousands of wannabee singers tonight!
If you're a fan of the band, best to catch them if they travel near your place, for they are very good to hear live. The accompanying light show to some of their songs, served to heighten the drama, especially in the curious ways that their songs are arranged. I believe Chris Martin learned from the "David Foster" School of Arranging Music - wherein he starts a song very sparingly, and slowly builds it up to reach a loud crescendo towards the middle and end of the song. To illustrate, listen to Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You - which Foster produced and then listen to a Coldplay CD, and most often than not, almost half of the songs there are arranged the "David Foster" way. Oh well, that's just my observation and of course, musicians and composers always feed on each other's vibe and influence, so it is not surprising.
As a sidetrack, if you are a budding producer today, best to listen to Nelly Furtado's new CD Loose and learn from Timbaland. This album will surely win a Grammy next year as it brings hip hop music to another level. Our local guys like Andrew E or Gary Valenciano, should listen as to how these guys have helped shape and evolve the sound of today's hip hop. Laos na ang "yo yo man" type of sound. That is so early 90's. Listen to Nelly Furtado as she chews on Maneater or Promiscuous and I just want to drool at the incredible level of creativity this guy possesses. To the uninitiated, Timbaland created the sound of Destiny's Child, Aaliyah and Missy Elliott, and you will understand the genius of this guy..
Coldplay, is of course, a Grammy favorite, and deservedly so. They are not the most charismatic of performers, and sometimes, Chris Martin's voice fails him in a live set, but in my opinion, along with Thom Yorke of Radiohead and Jack White (another genius of a producer - White Stripes, Emmylou Harris), they are the future of rock, and they will continue to help the sound of rock evolve through exciting phases.
We trudged home very tired, as we stood on our seats the whole one and a half hours. My voice was a bit hoarse from all the singing and shouting, but it was well worth it. From our seats, we could barely see Chris' flailing arms since the stage was not very high, and there was no big video screen (boo-hoo!), anyhow, the choice of songs, the strong live back-up and the dazzling light show, more than compensated for the shortcomings.
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