Coldplay Kicks Off Summer Tour In Los Angeles

Tag : Floor Clocks
Coldplay opened its North American tour last night (July 14) at theForum in Los Angeles, treating the sold-out crowd to acareer-spanning, 20-song set list. The 90-minute show, completewith floating video globes, confetti and flashing laser beams, wentheavy on new material in various different incarnations on multiplestages throughout the venue, including a two-song jaunt up in thetop most colonnade of arena seats.

"I can tell it's gonna be a good one," singer Chris Martin told theaudience while catching his breath after "Violet Hill" -- the firstsingle from the band's new, chart-topping, "Viva La Vida or Deathand All His Friends."

Content to let layers of pre-recorded backing tracks fill out mostof the new songs, Martin was free to spend much of the eveninghopping, skipping and jumping around the stage like anover-caffeinated gymnast, while his bandmates -- guitarist JohnnyBuckland, bassist Guy Berryman, and drummer Will Champion -- tuckedinto their instruments behind him with satisfactory aplomb.

Barring a few to-be-expected missteps along the way, (missedinstrumental cues in "Death and All His Friends," botched parts in"Speed of Sound") the show moved like clockwork, as teams ofstagehands hustled to move pianos and makeshift drum kits back andforth onstage between songs.

Clever enough to try and keep the audience from getting too boredat any given time, the group successfully interjected a variety ofaudio and visual amusements throughout the evening. Peppering newmaterial with at least two songs from each of its previous threealbums, Coldplay offered older hits like "Clocks" and "In My Place"early in the set.