allrite rites<p>I’m in Sydney’s Olympic stadium along with 80,000 screaming fans in a sea of stars and they are all yellow.</p><p>British pop band Coldplay are amongst the biggest music acts of all time, with sales of over 100 million albums and sold out concerts across the world. Yet when Coldplay is mention amongst my friends on social media it is solely with disdain.</p><p>I researched this further and it appears that most of the comments revolve around the lack of variety and development in their styles and their commercial sound. A fast food form of music.</p><p>I can’t say that I disagree. </p><p>My chosen genre of music is film scores. When I want something rich and complex, music where I can find a new dimension with each listen, I go to my favourite composer, the great John Williams. But want something quick, catchy and instantly digestible? That would be early Hans Zimmer and his Media Ventures sound. It’s fine dining versus McDonalds and there’s room for both.</p><p>My guilty secret is that I quite enjoy many of Coldplay’s hits. I have never, ever, claimed to be cool and, as I say, I like film music, not angsty edgy rock, not rap, heavy metal or folk. I don’t care about the lyrics, I just want music, something with a nice melody and chord progressions. What can I say, I’m a child of the eighties (as is my wife, the person who actually bought the tickets to this concert)!</p><p>Back in the days when aircraft had seat audio channels that weren’t on demand and you couldn’t use your personal electronic devices until cruise, I was taking off from Sydney towards Canberra. Coldplay’s <em>Clocks</em> played as we rose up through the clouds and the music just seemed to fit perfectly. Flying music. There’s a connection there that will be revealed later.</p><p>This whole stadium mega-concert thing is very new to me. Any regular reader of this blog will know that I go to many orchestral concerts each year (like <a href="https://allrite.blog/2024/11/02/hollywood-in-concert-2024/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">last Saturday</a>). Years ago we saw Savage Garden at the now demolished Entertainment Centre in Darling Harbour, a much smaller venue than a stadium. Two weekends ago it was free tickets to the K-pop band <a href="https://allrite.blog/2024/10/27/stray-kids/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Stray Kids at Allianz Stadium</a>, half the capacity of Accor Stadium, as the 2000 Olympics Stadium Australia is now known.</p><p>We catch the bus to the Olympic precinct from our local area, which turns out to be really easy and efficient, without the detour that the train would entail. Three hours before the main event and the crowds are already building, with long queues at some entrances. There are food trucks everywhere selling the usual stuff, pizzas, gozleme, brisket burgers and twisty potatoes. The others brought food from elsewhere, I’m not so hungry after yesterday’s Japanese buffet.</p><p>It turns out that B paid for the <em>Supersolis Experience</em>, which entitles us to a tote bag with the slogan “Everyone is an alien somewhere” printed on it, a supposedly environmentally friendly ribbon wrist band which proves impossible to remove thanks to the non-environmentally friendly piece of plastic in it, and a concert branded Miir metal travel cup and a free drink voucher. We also have a VIP entrance without a queue.</p><p>Prior to entry, B and Alex buy a pair of Coldplay t-shirts from the merchandise tent.</p><p>One in the stadium, we pickup our <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xyloband" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Xylobands</a></em>, rubber LED wristbands that change colour based upon centrally controlled radio signals, and our <em>Moon Goggles</em>, cardboard eyewear with diffraction film lenses. Then we head up the escalators to level 4, past the lounges.</p><p>There are bathrooms, bars and a food outlet with hamburgers, chips, rice paper rolls and poke bowls, which are not horribly expensive as things go these days. We are seated in the Cathy Freeman Stand, about midway up and along the stadium, with a view down to the stage and the crowds in the premium section. The seats are narrow and uncomfortable. I preferred Allianz Stadium’s, but really, it’s pretty good and there’s a roof over our heads.</p><p>This is the first time I’ve sat in the stadium area since the Paralympics in 2000. What a day that was! Since then, I’ve only been to the hospitality area for a work conference.</p><p>On the field are people jumping on a couple of dance floors to generate electricity, to “recharge the concert batteries”, part of the environmental theme of the concert.</p><p>The stage doesn’t seem as impressive as that for Stray Kids. The main displays are two circular screens to either side of the main stage.</p><p>There are three pre-concert acts, beginning with Shone, a Zimbabwean R&B rapper and DJ. His noisy entrance immediately prompts us to put in our earplugs. I leave them in for the rest of the night in an effort to protect my hearing.</p><p>Anyway, it’s definitely not my thing. I get sick of hearing the phrase “Can you say <em>xxxxx</em>? When I say say <em>yyyyy,</em> you say <em>zzzzzz</em>.” throughout the night.</p><p>Next up is Emmanuel Kelly, an Australian contestant on the <em>X Factor</em> who suffered congenital deformities due to chemical warfare in Iraq and was rescued from an orphanage. His songs are more middle of the road with lots of messages of positivity.</p><p>The acts conclude with Ayra Starr, a Nigerian singer who seems to like to have people say her name a lot. She performs with a lot of energy.</p><p>There is a pause for some stage reconfigurations, some pedalling of static bikes and jumping to recharge batteries. I relax and gaze up at the sky above the stadium, watch aircraft fly through the low clouds reflecting the last of the day’s light. It is a grand sky, one that beckons for journeys to distant places.</p><p>There is a very good welcome to country, followed by a presentation and movie about the sustainability initiatives in place for this concert. A generator powered by cooking oil, bicycles and trampolines to generate electricity. Renewable powered transport <em>where possible</em>, support for reforestation and rewilding initiatives, carbon capture and storage. The fact that our Xylobands are made of compostable plastic and will be collected for recycling.</p><p>I think the intention is admirable, but to be honest, most of the initiatives sound like greenwashing. The generator still produces carbon dioxide, CCS doesn’t work, the transport of such a huge production involves trucks, flights and shipping that are definitely not renewably powered, many reforestation projects are scams. These wrist bands are powered by disposable batteries. Most of the energy going into the electronics. How are these being reused? Recycling their materials uses energy.</p><p>As night falls the stadium completely fills. Then there is a hush as the logos of intersecting circles within a circle, of planets, appears on the screens. It is the music of the spheres and the crowd erupt as the band begin walk out towards the stage. <em>Flying</em>, from John Williams’ soundtrack to <em>E.T. The Extraterrestrial</em> plays. I told you there would be a connection!</p><p>When Coldplay launch into sing the crowd turn into a sea of lights, the space between two waves. The effect of the Xylobands is amazing, a stadium full of stars, sometimes all the same colour, other times pulsating with colours and patterns. If nothing else, it is these visuals that make the concert feel worthwhile.</p><p>Whilst I enjoy a few Coldplay hits, I am not an expert on their songs and there are many I don’t know the names of, which albums they belong to. So I’m not even going to try attempting a set list here, just pick out a few.</p><p>There’s <em>Yellow</em>, when the entire stadium is painted in the colour, the audience on their feet singing along. They are up again for <em>Paradise</em>. My favourite performance of the night is undoubtedly <em>Universe</em>, with the South Korean BTS stars projected like ghosts up on the screens. I’m not sure if the Korean sections were just pre-recorded, but the accompanying light show is fantastic.</p><p>At one point early in the night huge colourful balls are released into the crowd, filled with enough lightweight gas to bounce in the breeze without flying off. There is confetti and streamers, lasers, fire and fireworks. It is a wonderful spectacle.</p><p>The lead singer, Chris Martin, genuinely looks to be loving performing. There’s none of this ‘tude that so many singers appear to emote on stage. He reads audience signs and invites a blind man holding a sign “Drunk sticks for a blind man” up on stage to perform with him, involving him in later pieces. Towards the end of the concert he sings to a few lucky individuals in the crowds wearing interesting costumes, a kid with a home made light suit, a bearded man in a unicorn costume, and others, making up lyrics to thank them.</p><p>There’s a long causeway and platform towards the middle of the arena and another at the rear, so the action isn’t confined to one stage. Some of the songs are epic power ballads, others more intimate with Martin singing and playing a piano or guitar.</p><p>I feel like the sound, especially the vocals, is sometimes distorted. To be fair, I am wearing cheap foam earplugs, but having only heard Coldplay on radios and recordings, I am not used to the live sound through speakers which are vibrating my innards. It’s such a contrast to a classical orchestra, when an unamplified live performance allows you to pick out the minute details of instrumentation.</p><p>But the crowd are not here for audio fidelity. They’re hear for the spectacle and that is exactly what we get. It’s 80,000 joyous fans in one stadium singing along and waving their arms to their favourite music. They’re having fun and so are we.</p><p><a href="https://allrite.blog/2024/11/11/coldplay-music-of-the-spheres-in-sydney/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://allrite.blog/2024/11/11/coldplay-music-of-the-spheres-in-sydney/</a></p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://allrite.blog/tag/coldplay/" target="_blank">#Coldplay</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://allrite.blog/tag/concert/" target="_blank">#Concert</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://allrite.blog/tag/pop/" target="_blank">#Pop</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://allrite.blog/tag/stadium/" target="_blank">#Stadium</a></p>