DALLAS
Of Chris Martin’s achievements on Friday night included performing a country song he wrote for this Coldplay show in Dallas, and convincing a crowd of more than 60,000 to turn off their phones.
That is the talent, and the power, of Chris Martin.
On Friday evening one of the world’s more enduring groups kicked off the second leg of their world “Music of the Spheres” tour at the Cotton Bowl.
Martin and Coldplay delivered the show their audience wanted, in a difficult venue.
Coldplay is one of the few acts that can sell 60,000 tickets to a show, and in doing so a lot of people miss out on the intimate feeling of a concert in a place as large as the Cotton Bowl.
Martin, his three bandmates, and the producers did everything possible to deliver a performance that even those in the cheap seats felt like they were a part of the show.
Everyone who attended the pleasant evening felt like they got their money’s worth. Coldplay even threw in a fireworks display.
The two hour show was delayed, deliberately by the band, to accommodate fans as the traffic in and around the Cotton Bowl was only slightly awful.
The band walked out on to the stage to the theme song from the movie “E.T.” and then opened their night with “Higher Power,” their hit from their latest album.
“I can’t tell you how happy we are to be here in Dallas, Texas,” Martin told the crowd, who celebrated any mention of all things Texas. “Feels like Christmas day. Sorry about the traffic and all of the (bleep) you had to go through to get here.”
In the 23-song set, Martin showed all of the skills that make him one of the top pop performers of his generation.
He showed off his pipes with his range that goes from the crowd appealing, “Yellow.” He played the piano in “The Scientist.” He played the guitar during “Charlie Brown,” among other hits.
He ran all over the various platforms that were setup from one side of the Cotton Bowl to the next.
The most notable songs of the evening included his setup for one of the group’s biggest hits.
After singing the first few lyrics, he stopped and conferred with his band before telling the audience, “People from Texas we’re going to ask a big favor: For one song you put away your phones. We beg of you for four minutes, after that you can film everything. We don’t get to come to Dallas often. You’re already a top 10 audience.”
For four minutes what looked like the entire audience followed his request, and actually put away their phones. For four minutes everyone just listened to Coldplay perform, “A Sky Full of Stars.”
It was the rare experience of experiencing anything these days without documenting all of it.
Two songs later, Coldplay went country. Martin, or a random song writer, appeared to write a song for this one night.
“It’s an original song and it’s gonna be played once only,” he said. “Like an NFT. This is called, ‘Dallas Everyday.’”
The short track featured a slide guitar, and Martin stretching his chops into country. It wasn’t George Strait, and it wasn’t half bad.
“I’m in the lone star state and I’m feeling (bleeping) great playing where the Cowboys play and the Mavericks, too,” Martin sang in his best twang.
After a version of “Fix You” that relied heavily on audience participation, they wrapped up the night with two more songs; Martin left the every member of the audience feeling that they had seen why Coldplay can sell out the Cotton Bowl.
COLDPLAY SETLIST MAY 6, 2022 COTTON BOWL
1. Higher Power
2. Adventure of a Lifetime
3. Paradise
4. Charlie Brown
5. The Scientist
6. Viva la Vida
7. Hymn for the Weekend
8. Let Somebody Go
9. In My Place
10. Yellow
11. Human Heart
12. People of the Pride
13. Clocks
14. Infinity Sign
15. Something Just Like This
16. Midnight
17. My Universe
18. A Sky Full of Stars
19. Sparks
20. Dallas Everyday
21. Fix You
22. Humankind
23. Biutyful
