I was one of the first people to discover Coldplay. This obviously isn't true, but it feels this way. I was in England in the summer of 2000 and heard Coldplay's "Yellow" well before the song debuted in the United States. While I've followed the band over the last two decades and like many of their songs, I don't think I ever bought any of their music. Still, when I saw that they were coming to the Washington DC area, I was definitely interested in seeing the show.
Here are my thoughts about the Coldplay concert:
* Is it bad that I can't name any Coldplay band member other than Chris Martin? For a band so big internationally, it seems odd that (at least to me) no other members are recognizable. Maybe I'm completely off here and everyone knows, um, The Edge, Flea, Mike Dirnt, and (the late) Taylor Hawkins.
* It's not exactly shocking that a band as successful as Coldplay that have played together for over 20 years put on an amazing show. Chris Martin commands the stage, and Coldplay has a really deep catalog so even casual fans know most of the songs they performed. Add in really cool bracelet light things (technical term), giant balloons, and multiple stages and you have a fantastic concert. This is a sample:
* Coldplay's first number #1 song since 2008's "Viva la Vida" is the recent collaboration with BTS titled "My Universe." I think it's fair to say that BTS is currently the biggest musical group in the world. The day before the Coldplay concert, BTS visited the White House and met with President Joe Biden. This got me thinking that maybe BTS would stick around and join Coldplay on stage. While this didn't happen, Chris Martin ate dinner with BTS, and they all went bowling along with H.E.R.
* H.E.R. opened for Coldplay, and it's not exactly breaking news that she is extremely talented. She has an incredible voice, can really play the guitar, and even played drums at one point during the set. H.E.R. turns 25 later this month and already has a Grammy and Oscar. I think she's 1-2 huge songs away from being a superstar.
* Instead of BTS, H.E.R., or any other special guest performing with Coldplay during the show, we got a Muppet. Actually, we got a Masked Singer character on screen singing alongside Martin. I think bizarre is a good word to describe this.
* You might be curious about the post title. Twice during the show, including around the 8:30 mark of the video below, Martin referred to Maryland as Mary Land. This made me smile. After saying Mary Land, Coldplay performed a song about one of their first big performances which took place in Washington DC. It's a cool little song that the band has played exactly once on stage. Oh, the video and song are NSFW due to language.
* Although I don't think they were announced to be on the bill, the band Shaed performed before H.E.R. It's possible that you know their song "Trampoline" from a few years ago. I'm bringing up Shaed because even Chris Martin pronounced their name incorrectly (at the 6:45 mark of the video above). They need a manager to change the name from Shaed to Shade like Tom Hanks did for the Onedors.
* Finally, Coldplay pledged to make the tour sustainable and low-carbon and had people ride bikes to create power. Seems like some people paid a lot of money for floor seats only to ride a stationary bike in 85-90 degree temperatures. Anyway, good for Coldplay for supporting initiatives like reforestation, ocean clean-up, reducing emissions, and building a park for dinosaurs from the Jurassic period.
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