DALLAS -- Still coasting on the bold energy of last year's Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, Coldplay returned to the Metroplex Tuesday night, less than 12 months after it last visited.
Aside from the obvious changes (venue, season, some of the set list) and a surprisingly ragged first half, there wasn't a drastic difference between Coldplay at the end of 2008 and Coldplay in the middle of 2009.
Swapping out a few tracks (Speed of Sound and Chinese Sleep Chant disappeared, while Trouble and a sharp cover of the late Michael Jackson's Billie Jean materialized) at Superpages.com Center helped renew the band's spirits, which flagged mightily early on. Coldplay prides itself on delivering a high-intensity, multimedia blitzkrieg; the pieces were in place but the British quartet didn't truly lock into its rhythmic and melodic groove until Fix You.
Once the swelling anthem from X&Y subsided, the band never really looked back, even scampering out to two different stages -- one near the middle of the pavilion and one out on the lawn -- which thrilled the sold-out crowd (although, to be fair, they screamed loudly for just about everything that happened).
It was on those stages, away from the lasers, projection screen globes and sprawling backdrops, where Coldplay appeared most on point, in tune with one another and freed from high-tech distraction.
Yet on the whole, the 2008 tour stop felt tighter and less labored than 2009; the band has flogged its new record mercilessly for well over a year now and has to be growing tired of the grind. Not content to rest on its laurels, Coldplay also had a free nine-track live album, LeftRightLeftRightLeft, to give away as the audience filed out.
Frontman Chris Martin, who, at times, struggled to nail some of the more complex vocals and even mangled some falsetto moments, alluded to the band leaving everyone "alone for the next couple years," which would suggest they'll be heading back into the studio before terribly long.
However, a break might just be in order before turning out another record. Coldplay has weathered a decade in the ever-fickle music industry and managed to remain one of the most popular rock acts in the world. If that doesn't call for an extended vacation, what does?
The openers were a study in trendy curiosity: Kitty Daisy & Lewis, a rockabilly/Dixieland jazz-tinged trio (augmented with additional performers) hailing from London conjured a speakeasy vibe that was as unconventional as it was refreshingly weird. Bonus points to the outfit for trotting out a left-field rendition of Canned Heat's Going Up the Country.
Amadou & Mariam, a Malian duo that spiked its self-described "Afro-blues" grooves with funky washes of piano and shards of electric guitar, was a bracing delight. The crowd didn't quite know what to make of the pair, who utilized a pair of drummers and some enthusiastic back-up singers/dancers, but by the conclusion of Amadou & Mariam's eclectic, freewheeling set, the skeptical were waving their hands in the air like freshly converted fans.
COLDPLAY SET LIST
1. Life in Technicolor
2. Violet Hill
3. Clocks
4. In My Place
5. Yellow
6. Glass of Water
7. Cemeteries of London
8. 42
9. Fix You
10. Strawberry Swing
11. God Put a Smile Upon Your Face (techno remix; side stage)
12. Talk (techno remix; side stage)
13. Trouble (Chris Martin solo; side stage)
14. Postcards from Far Away (Chris Martin solo; side stage)
15. Viva la Vida
16. Lost!
17. Green Eyes (acoustic; lawn stage)
18. Texas Freestyle/Death Will Never Conquer (acoustic; lawn stage)
19. Billie Jean (acoustic; lawn stage)
20. Viva la Vida (techno 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
