British rock band, Coldplay, began their “Music of the Spheres” World Tour in March 2022, and is set to end in September 2024. The band performed at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena Sep. 30 and Oct. 1, with their tickets selling out both of the nights.
Singer/pianist Chris Martin, bassist Guy Berryman, guitarist Johnny Buckland and drummer Will Champion delivered a spectacular and interactive performance. Not only was the band able to make the crowd have an amazing time, they ensured the concert was environmentally friendly. Before their performance, videos advertising ways to keep the planet clean played on the stage.
The band members made voice-overs while neon video graphics played to describe the environmental initiatives the band makes to reduce their carbon footprint. In a video detailing the use of recyclable wristbands, biodegradable confetti, kinetic dance floors, and how fans rode bikes during the entire performance to channel energy to batteries that would power important parts of the show. As concerts often take up much energy that isn’t healthy for the environment, Coldplay’s extreme efforts to make theirs eco-friendly was refreshing.
“I’ve really never seen that in a concert. Especially since they were so in depth about eco-friendly. Like with the bracelets, recycling them, just everything about the concert they said was eco-friendly so I thought that was really cool. Especially since other concerts don’t really have that eco-friendly aspect to it, so it was really unique to that point,” said concert attendee Maya Reyes.
Opening R&B artist Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson, also known as H.E.R., shocked the audience with her passion for Rock ‘N Roll. H.E.R. opened with a chill vibe and sang one of her most famous songs “Best Part”. Hearing this live was a beautiful moment, as the love song exudes poetry. The performance of the song “The Journey” especially moved my mother and I. H.E.R. ‘s illuminating aura and powerful voice made us and other fans around shed tears.
H.E.R. took advantage of having such a big platform, and spoke motivational words to the crowd.
“I just want to say that I love you, you deserve to be here, and just be in this m
oment. Just be in this moment,” said H.E.R. while expressing how much it meant for her to be opening for Coldplay that night in the Rose Bowl venue.
While having limited time, H.E.R. quickly shifted the vibe in the venue to fast and exciting with performing Rock ‘N Roll. The artist’s performance of the classics “Are You Gonna Go My Way” by Lenny Kravitz, “I Love Rock ‘N Roll” by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, and “We Will Rock You” by Queen impressed everyone. I noticed fans around me having shocked facial expressions, however singing along and going with the flow. H.E.R. displayed her talent of being able to play numerous instruments, while still putting on an excellent performance and singing all at once.
Coldplay’s performance began with extreme energy and sparked the crowd’s interaction with the concert. Voices singing from the crowd were almost louder than Martin singing. While he took a quick break from singing, Martin went around the main stage to interact with fans.
Martin responded to fan’s posters and signs, “If you have a sign, or a thing on your phone now is the time to hold it up and I’ll come and read some of them. I won’t be able to read all of them, but thank you for making the signs, or the t-shirts, and the flags and everything you’ve made to make this feel more like a birthday party than anything else,” he said.
Martin appreciated all of the fans who brought their country’s flags, and said as many countries as he could from the flags he could see. Once Martin would say the country, fans from all over the stadium who were from there would cheer. Martin also did two fan’s gender reveal for them, revealing the couple having a boy.
Making fans feel appreciated was something Martin continuously did throughout their concert. He allowed two young sisters from the general admission area to come on stage with him. The sisters held up a poster requesting the song “Let Somebody Go”. As Martin sang the song on stage with the two of them, Selena Gomez walked on stage surprising everyone in the audience. Fans gasped and started screaming, as Gomez was not expected to be present at the concert.
Martin treating the audience like actual people instead of just his fans completely chan
ged my perspective on celebrities. He treated everyone as if they were on his level, and ensured their importance to him. Wealth and fame was indifferent to him, and he treated everyone like they mattered.
As Coldplay walked out towards the end of the concert, they surprised fans by switching to a different and smaller stage that made it more intimate for fans in general admission seats. The group had inspirational words playing from Louis Armstrong from the song “What A Wonderful World” as they were switching stages. The band delivered a very peaceful message during the concert, and spoke on how much peace and love in the world meant to them.
As a fan, being able to connect to the band beyond just liking their music felt euphoric. The inclusiveness was very impactful, and I believe with their platform the message, “If you want love be love. If you want peace be peace” that the band displayed on the stage at the end of their performance was the perfect way to close their show.
Yvette Vanderburg • Oct 17, 2023 at 7:31 pm
Beautifully written, Violet