Viva La Vida - Coldplay at the Inglewood Forum

Coldplay's first tour in three years had an aura that reflected a little of my newbie experience (it was my first Coldplay concert!). Filled with little joking side notes of "we only practiced this this afternoon" and to "go get a hot dog", there was that jitteriness of beginnings, but it was cloaked in the weight of experience and familiarity. I might not have known all the lyrics, but the sound of Coldplay resonates easily in my ears and in my head ("Those who are dead, are not dead, they're just living in my head..."?).

I'm not sure what enticed me most about my experience at the Coldplay concert on July 14th. Perhaps a little bit (and a lot) of the following: hearing the acoustic cover of my favorite song "Yellow" in the "cheap seats"(nowhere near me and my friends); hearing my other favorite song "Fix You" live; and seeing Chris Martin's crazy, dorky dance moves on the stage. The way that man runs from one side of the stage up to the other with an energy akin to a five-year-old after birthday cake must make his kids pretty happy.

The above is nothing to be said about the great set design and multimedia experience of the concert. At first you sit and wonder what exactly that ball hanging over the floor seats is for. The answer? Part colored lights and part screen! Then some time in the set, five more come out from nowhere. None of the above distract from Coldplay's music however. It was so good that my friend leaned over to ask, "When did those other colored lights show up?" And that's not to speak of the huge screen behind the band that shifts as they go through their play list and the stream of papered butterflies that reflect their closing number (yes, we did go to the floor to pick some up for souvenirs).

My friends and I originally held claim to tickets for Coldplay's original LA kick-off date on July 15th at the Forum in Inglewood, but the doors of fate decided to open for us to get better seats when an unexpected show opened up for the day before. But wherever we would have found ourselves seated on the 14th or the 15th, Coldplay is a band that presents an enjoyable, energetic show, expressing the title of their latest album well - Viva La Vida indeed.

-Charity Tran, Web Coordinator