The world-famous British band Coldplay came to San Diego this past week on their “Music of the Spheres” tour. The world tour started back in March of this year and will continue until September 2024. The band is traveling all over the world and only has five shows in the U.S.; one in Seattle, two in San Diego and two in Los Angeles. This tour marks the band’s eighth tour, with their previous one being “A Head Full of Dreams” back in 2016-17.
The concert opened with artists 070 Shake and H.E.R.
070 Shake has a bit of a more mellow hip-hop feel, best known for her features on Kanye West’s album “Ye,” specifically on the songs “Ghost Town” and “Violent Crimes,” the latter of which she sang at Snapdragon Stadium.
H.E.R. was the artist I was really impressed with, as she sang songs of multiple genres, shredded on guitar and even played the drums. She played a few covers including “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll,” “We Will Rock You,” “Make it Rain” and finished it off with a cover of Lenny Kravitz’s “Are You Gonna Go My Way,” which featured an intense guitar solo.
Coldplay is one of my favorite bands in the world, and I’ve had the pleasure of seeing them in person twice now. Of their albums, “Music of the Spheres” is actually one of my least favorite. It’s clear that Coldplay was trying to switch things up and be unique, but it didn’t really work for me. Don’t get me wrong, there were still some good songs on the album, such as “Higher Power” and “My Universe,” but from top to bottom, it isn’t as strong as their other albums. For that reason, I was a little worried some of their classics may be left off the setlist and replaced with songs from “Music of the Spheres.”
But I was wrong. They opened with “Higher Power,” and it took off from there. The whole concert was simply banger after banger. There were a few songs that I didn’t know as well, only because I don’t know this recent album as well as their others. However, Coldplay put on an absolute masterclass.
The pacing of their show was incredible, as they played multiple upbeat songs to get the crowd hyped up, but then they would slow it down again with a classic such as “The Scientist” or “Fix You.” They certainly know how to please a crowd because they performed nearly all of their biggest hits.
The atmosphere was awesome to be a part of. Chris Martin really knows how to put on a show. He ran around the huge stage, danced a bit and got into it, and his voice sounds just as good live as it does on recording. He brought such high energy for the whole show and was super interactive with the crowd. My favorite songs live were probably “Sky Full of Stars” and “The Scientist.” I also found it to be smart that they handed out light-up wristbands to everyone, which synced up with the music being played. It made for some sweet aesthetics while they were performing.
The only thing I didn’t love about the performance was the beginning of their third act. The band came out with helmets that made them look like members of the electronic duo Daft Punk. A few songs later, Chris Martin was singing with a female puppet, which was a bit strange. Besides that period of a few songs, the show was electric with a crowd that was singing as if their lives depended on it.
Overall, I would 100% go to another Coldplay concert. Unfortunately, the U.S. leg of the tour is over. However, Chris Martin said in an interview earlier this year that they will be touring long after they’ve finished producing music, so if you get the opportunity to see them live later down the road, I would highly recommend it. Even if you’re not the most avid fan of Coldplay, I would come for the atmosphere that they create along with the incredible musicianship.
