They were a man down, but it didn’t stop Coldplay from treating Melbourne to the feel-good spectacular that’s made them the masters of putting on a stadium show.
On the first night of their Australian tour, and the first of four shows in just five days at Marvel Stadium, 60,000 fans lapped up the English pop-rock band’s euphoric spectacle in a sea of flashing wristbands, giant balloons, fireworks and confetti. (If you suffer from being colourblind, the explosion of colour that accompanies a Coldplay show is enough to potentially cure you.)
Opening night wasn’t without drama – bass player Guy Berryman had suddenly fallen ill and couldn’t take to the stage, with frontman and ringleader Chris Martin breaking the news to fans just prior to a Welcome to Country, a little bit later than their scheduled start time of 8.45pm.
“I’m sorry for you guys down here who are waiting to see Guy. He’s not going to be able to play today. We’ll have a slightly different show and we’ll do our best to make it amazing, and I know that it will be amazing because we’re in Melbourne with all of you beautiful people,” Martin told the crowd.
Still, not even missing a bandmate could stop the juggernaut that is the ‘Music of The Spheres Tour’ from carrying on, and one of the band’s audio engineers, Bill, whacked a giant alien mask on his head and stepped in for bass duties. Martin asked fans to forgive them if there were some mistakes through the night, but Berryman’s replacement did his job just fine and didn’t miss any noticeable notes.
Before that, though, it was worth getting in early to see Emmanuel Kelly, who, much like his good mate Martin, preached some feel-good vibes during his brief set. He dedicated his song “Right From the Start” to mum Moira Kelly, who rescued him from an Iraqi war zone, and asked the crowd to turn to the person they were with and say how grateful they were for them.
Kelly also covered John Lennon’s “Imagine”, bringing up a friend with him on stage to duet with him, urging us to “imagine there’s a future where there’s zero barriers between you and your greatest potentials, and imagine a future where ability is only measured by our ability to love.”
So, what is the latest incarnation of one of the biggest live shows in the world like? If you were at Coldplay’s exclusive shows in Perth last year, it’s mostly the same show, but with a couple of new bits towards the end.
These are the first shows Coldplay have done since last month’s release of new album Moon Music, the sequel to 2021’s Music of the Spheres. Second single “We Pray” got a guernsey with a special guest from a cameo competition winner and a choir, and support act Ayra Starr naturally jumped back on stage to do her part in “Good Feelings”.
Credit: Kiel Egging
The album’s lead single, “feelslikeimfallinginlove”, closed the show, albeit not feeling like the most fitting end-of-night moment, but there were plenty of fireworks at the end to put the full stop on proceedings. Fans also got to see a couple of extra hearts in their eyes for the final few songs if they put on the special ‘Moon Goggles’ being given out at the gates.
If you like meditation, there was plenty of spacey atmospheric music to bliss out to between sets. And if you don’t, well, there are ample opportunities to chat to the people next to you or hit the bar. Speaking of new friends, Martin wholly encouraged us to make them with the people furthest away from us in an extended singalong of their breakout track “Yellow”, which remains as beloved and stadium-ready today as it did 24 years ago.
All the big moments and greatest singalongs were played: “Paradise”, “Viva La Vida”, “The Scientist”, and “Fix You” were all magnets for a stadium-sized choir. There were plenty of chances to rave and groove as well with “Adventure of a Lifetime” and “Charlie Brown”. Further hammering home the communal theme, Martin asked fans to put our phones away, live in the moment, and wave their hands all together for “A Sky Full of Stars”.
Martin described the night as “the weirdest show we’ve ever done”, and the impact of playing without Berryman and not being a full lineup for the first time in their 25-year history was noticeable on the frontman.
But like the professionals they are, he and guitarist Johnny Buckland and drummer Will Champion simply carried on and still made everything and everyone feel special. This shone brightest on the C-stage towards the end of the night, with Champion taking over bass and the trio combining for the rare cut from debut Parachutes, “Sparks”, which they dedicated to the late, great Shane Warne and his family.
Opening night can sometimes be the toughest for a band before they get into a rhythm, and Coldplay got served the biggest of curveballs this time round, but they still delivered a magical performance.
They have three dates left in Melbourne before heading to Sydney and Auckland – one imagines they can get Berryman back off the canvas, get their well-oiled machine back running smoothly, and create more magic well within that timeframe.
Ticket information for Coldplay’s Australia and New Zealand tour can be found here.
