LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - When Coldplay stalled its show Saturday night to address tuning issues, frontman Chris Martin issued a semi-apology to the audience: "You don't care if it's in tune, do you? You just came to look at us."

The line drew laughter -- not just because it reflected a lighthearted vulnerability on Martin's part but also because the crowd had, in fact, strained all night to get a good look at England's superstar band, without much luck.

For decades, rock stars have held their hands above their eyes, blocking the spotlight so they could get a good view of the people in the seats. In a bit of role reversal, Coldplay beamed so much light in the opposite direction that the band possibly saw the fans on the hillside more often than those patrons viewed Coldplay.

At numerous junctures, various forms of backlighting silhouetted the musicians or even blinded the audience. A large light screen transmitted images behind them, but those images more often were abstractions than close-up camera shots. When it did display band members, the pictures usually were given some special effect -- a blue tint or a hazy treatment -- that made the players seem not quite real.

The intent is likely to place the emphasis on the message rather than the messenger, though that was not always accomplished. The band so often was relegated to the shadows that the listener strained to make a stronger visual connection, actually distracting from the aural content.

Granted, one doesn't have to see Coldplay to recognize its sound. Martin's lonely-guy-with-a-cold resonance ranks among the most distinctive voices in pop music, and drummer Will Champion, bass player Guy Berryman and guitarist Jon Buckland back nearly every melody with some form of a throbbing, pulsating arrangement.

They varied little from that core sound while spinning a variety of influences into the mix. Buckland employed a clanging U2 guitar sound in "Square One" and "White Shadows," channeled David Gilmour's space-age isolation in the six-string work on "A Rush of Blood to the Head" and leaned toward Big Country with the Scottish tone of "Talk."

The band used a piano-bar intro for "Everything's Not Lost," infused a classical approach to dynamics in "Politik" and took inspiration from the Beatles' "Let It Be" and "Hey Jude" in piano lines on "The Scientist" -- inspirations not evident in the recorded version. They also dedicated "Til Kingdom Come" to Johnny Cash and covered his classic "Ring of Fire." More>>>

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posted by ADMIN @ Tuesday, August 23, 2005