Coldplay and Powderfinger

Winding up a day of serious contemplation in the surroundings of the monumental Getty Center in the hills overlooking the LA basin, we found ourselves in a particularly serene state of mind to witness the newest British import to cross the Atlantic. They are in high hopes of becoming the Next Big Thing, along the lines of Travis and those Oxford limeys, Radiohead, before them. With their hit single "Yellow" popping up all over LA's KROQ and its simple and captivating video getting play on MTV2, Coldplay had easily sold out its entire U.S. tour. For this Los Angeles show it looked like most of the tickets went to label heads and industry types, as evidenced by the high percentage of Beautiful People posturing throughout the crowd. Cell phones and black leather were the preferred accessories, as well as breast augmentation, collagen lip implants, cleft chins, and platinum anything. The Beigist elite had come to see and be seen, but the bands had definitely come to play.
Aussie newcomers Powderfinger brought their sensitive rock out first for our sonic perusal. Whether it was nerves or that they were just a calm bunch, it seemed as though the band kept their energy subdued. Their frontman, Bernard fanning approached the mic as if it were an instrument to be feared and preferred to keep his between-song banter to a minimum. Their song "My Happiness," was bright, a sunny spot in their set and popped warmly off the crowd and the retro decor of the Mayan's faux temple façades.
For the day before Valentine's Day, Coldplay was the perfect warm up to an amorous, one could even say romantic evening. Although I personally shy away from that adjective, romance was most definitely lending an air to the show. Vocalist Chris Martin, in his lead-off song, "Shiver," set the mood immediately with its cool serenading chorus and haunting bridge, the lyrics to which build into a repeat of the line: "...and I'll always be waiting, and I'll always be waiting for you" Almost romance novel-esque.
The set included most of the tracks off their latest album, Parachutes, as well as a couple of their previous works. "Yellow" of course, was the crowd favorite, probably the only song most of the people had heard before. They closed their second and final encore with a James Bond tune, "You Only Live Twice," at the end of which Martin sang a few lines of Burt Bacharach's "What the World Needs Now Is Love Sweet Love" while playing on the keyboard. Indeed, I do think the world could use a little of that. Let's just hope some of you got some last week on V-Day. You can bet Coldplay did.

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