During one of the numbers, Chris Martin suddenly stopped the song midway. A rather confused River Plate Stadium fell silent. In Spanish, he asked the front-half of the stadium to turn and sing to the people at the back. And vice versa. What followed was a sublime moment of countless people basking in melody, uniting and cheering the loudest with a sense of unspoken bond igniting the arena. That’s what a Coldplay concert has always been about.
Over the last weekend, INOX screened four live streams of Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres concert, Live from Buenos Aires, in Kolkata at Quest Mall and South City Mall as a part of their worldwide broadcast. With a heartwarming message of love, care and ecological sustainability, Coldplay opened the evening with the number, Higher Power, from their Music of the Spheres album. In recognisable flair and colours lighting the iconic arena up, Coldplay made the audience croon along and feel the energy, down to every note. With new numbers setting the mood, Chris took to the piano, turned back time and washed the crowd with a torrent of sweet nostalgia, as he sang The Scientist from the legendary 2002 album, A Rush of Blood To The Head. The crowd erupted as they belted out their most iconic numbers with their signature play of colours, fluorescent saber sticks, the Pride flag embracing the mic and impish frolic on stage.
Coldplay in Buenos Aires, clicked by Tim Toda
Working the crowd with emotional bits and preludes, Chris got the loudest cheers when he mentioned the names of all the countries and dedicated the songs to people across the world, dreaming and bonding. Performing the track, Let Somebody Go, they were joined by H.E.R who flavoured the song with her rich voice, delicious guitar licks and a wild outro guitar solo. Also, in support of Iranian women protesting for their autonomy and choice, they invited the glorious Golshifteh Farahani on stage and delivered a heartfelt cover of Shervin Hajipour’s song Baraye. However, the highlight of the evening was when Chris invited BTS’ Jin onto the stage to perform the single The Astronaut, from the album. The song comes as a farewell bouquet before he leaves for his compulsory stint with the South Korean Army. In an emotional rendition, the arena swept away by his dulcet voice, was dotted with finger hearts as Chris embraced Jin.
The official poster of the global live broadcast of the concert
While it is twilight for the iconic British band who spearheaded a wave of the British Invasion more than two decades back, the concert showed how the band remains immortalised with a catalogue of albums that has made countless people feel, see and talk the language of melody. Music of the Spheres will stand to be one of the their final albums, before they end their creative pursuits as a band in 2025. To have the iconic River Plate Stadium singing Fix You in unison with the lights dimming down on the sea of people, each with their personal tenders with the band, is an experience one would take to the grave.
As the band bowed and walked out, and the lights went out, the screen lit up with the message, Believe in Love. As Coldplay as it can possibly get.
Pictures: Getty Images and Coldplay