Coldplay are undoubtedly one of the biggest stadium bands in the world right now, if not the biggest. They’re currently performing their Music of the Spheres World Tour, promoting their album of the same name from 2021 and their latest one, Moon Music, released this year. They are halfway through four soldout concerts at Melbourne’s Docklands Stadium*.
Playing the four shows over five nights to 60,000 at a time, the band will then head to Sydney and Auckland before travelling to Abu Dhabi and beyond. The tour began in Costa Rica in March 2022 and will conclude with 10 shows at London’s Wembley Stadium in August next year.
There will be 222 shows in all with a total attendance of 9.6 million and US$1.059 billon box office, reportedly.
The question is what makes them so huge? And such a successful stadium band? Frontman Chris Martin is without question a fine musician, adept at both rhythm and acoustic guitar, and piano and harmonica, as well as the band’s lead vocalist. But as a band leader he doesn’t have the swagger of a Mick Jagger, the cheek of a Robbie Williams, the sex appeal of a Jim Morrison, the charisma of a David Bowie or those once (or twice) in a generation vocal skills of a Freddie Mercury.
And he doesn’t even write the world’s greatest songs. Don’t get me wrong, they’re rock solid and perfect stadium fare, but “Sometimes I just can’t take it and it isn’t all right, I’m not gonna make it, And I think my shoe’s untied” (‘Higher Power’) or “And you’ve got all my love, Whether it rains or pours, I’m all yours” (‘All My Love’), possibly aren’t going to be winning any major lyrical awards anytime soon.
But on Halloween, Martin made it abundantly clear why the crowds love him and why they will keep coming back for more. And it’s a simple thing called heart. Those lyrics may be prosaic, but he sings them with genuine emotion, no matter how many times he’s sung them before. And more than that, Martin possesses the enviable skill of performing in front of 60,000 people and still managing to give the crowd an intimate experience. This isn’t just through the banter and the apparently genuine loose approach. With a show this big, with this many pyrotechnics (fireworks in the finale) and whizzbangery (each attendee is given a light-up bracelet that flashes different colours in an admirably orchestrated routine), the band still leave room for improvisation.
In the 31 October show Martin did his usual scan of the signs held up near the stage, picked out a recently bereaved woman from the crowd, brought her onstage and dedicated ‘Everglow’ to her father, playing the piano and inserting the departed’s name into the lyric. It was remarkably touching and a testament to his skills – apparently the previous night’s pick were a couple he could have fun with and couldn’t pronounce the name of. A very different vibe.
Even more unexpected were the four minutes in which the proceedings paused to allow the filming of a video starring the original Karate Kid, Ralph Macchio – flown over from the States and pulled out from the crowd to sing a song himself. Again, to the cynical it could have felt staged, but again, it was genuinely a one-off according to those who attended the previous evening’s concert, which included no such interlude.
Martin started the show joking that the band had reformed – referring to bass guitarist Guy Berryman’s indisposition the previous night (which had seen the band’s co-producer and engineer Bill Rahko standing in). But with Berryman back to join Martin, Will Champion on piano and Jonny Buckland on keyboards, Coldplay were on top of their game and gave a rousing and extremely enjoyable set – spruiking inclusivity (rainbow flags et al), eco-awareness and the human touch. They’re the stadium band led by the epitome of the everyman and satisfaction is almost certainly guaranteed.
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* (currently Marvel, but seeing as this in the last 20 years its been Colonial, Telstra and Etihad, who knows who will have the naming rights next?)
Coldplay will be performing at Marvel Stadium tomorrow and Sunday (2 and 3 November) before heading to the Accor Stadium in Sydney for four shows. All shows are currently sold out.
