Coldplay – Still Playing To Win

Coldplay has been on its Music of the Spheres tour for over a year now, though you would not know as the band arrived at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester for a concert that was full of vibrancy, vitality, and joie de vivre, along with plenty of spontaneity.

"This is our 84th concert on the tour; the others have been rehearsals for tonight," joked frontman Chris Martin to the 60,000 fans present. Although the band might be well known for their environmental credentials (the concert was powered by 100% renewable energy), what might not come to mind beyond their fan base is that they are a brilliant live act.

Over a two-hour show, fireworks, lasers, and confetti cannons, along with an alien puppet, could not take away the energy of their performance. Higher Power was a statement of intent. Paradise sounded magical as the wristbands given out at the start of the evening glowed in the early night sky as the fans waved their arms in the air in unison.

What’s Love Got To Do With It was an unexpected tribute to the late Tina Turner; as the fans sang along, you could almost feel her presence in the emotionally charged atmosphere.

As the band performed James’ Sit Down, Martin stood in admirably for the night’s local mystery guest, who was absent due to catching COVID. We might never know who that was going to be, though there were plenty of names to guess at.

Giant inflatable planets above the audience greeted the arrival of My Universe.

Tonight, I thought Coldplay had been in another galaxy.

Try to catch one of the remaining shows; you will not regret it.