Fix You

That’s Coldplay frontman Chris Martin running back to the stage during “In My Place” at their concert Tuesday. Man, that guy is fit. After doing his usual jig for two hours with his Coldplay cohorts, he ran the entire length of Madision Square Garden (an entire basketball court), sang two more stanzas, and then ran back to the stage. We won seats in the fanclub lottery, so we had these awesome floor seats along the left aisle. He was no more than one foot away when he made his dash!

They weren’t too preachy this time around, but let the sound and the fury do the work for them. On first blush, it was the ultimate crowd-pleasing singalong audience participation event for the 15,000 person sellout crowd — “Yellow” brought the crowd’s falsetto in unison and bobbing up and down hitting yellow beach balloons popping with confetti. On the next level, Coldplay sought to be more U2 than U2, with trademark ringing electric guitar, pounding piano playing, and effective use of the behind-the-stage widescreen Jumbotron to replicate an iPod commercial. At the deepest, unconscious level, Coldplay almost seems to have spent the last ten years writing prescient songs for today’s events. The first theme of water (including “Clocks”, “Swallowed in the Sea” and “Politik”) touched upon the Gulf Coast disaster. The country cycle (“Til Kingdom Come”, “Ring of Fire”, “Green Eyes”) paid tribute to the late Johnny Cash, fatalism, and the folk influence. The songs of the third theme of response (“Yellow”, “In My Place”, “Fix You”) are our calls to action.

Tears stream down on your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down your face
And I–

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you.

On many levels, and that I could share it with P-, this concert impressed me greatly.