LIVE REVIEW: COLDPLAY with special guests Amy Shark, Thelma Plum and Adrian Dzvuke

Reports are coming in today of a strange outer planetary phenomena experienced by around 70,000 earthlings recently, in the world’s most remote capital city, Perth, Western Australia. It is alleged they were abducted near the small town of East Perth, fitted with strange, futuristic looking wristbands and then funnelled into a giant circular spaceship, internally immersed in a spectrum of pulsating colour and light, before being taken on an interstellar voyage through distant galaxies to Planet Coldplay. We spoke to one of the abductees, Rob, a writer from Guildford, after he was teleported back to Meltham train station, late Saturday night, about his ‘out of this world’ experience. This is what he had to say, “Oh man, the whole thing was surreal!! I’m still processing it all, in fact it kinda feels like a strange dream and I’m already having multiple flashbacks.”

After we were beamed aboard the dome-like spacecraft, haunting, almost whale-like sounds were ever-present, accompanied by vision on giant screens of a bygone naturally organic world, where harmony and peace once prevailed. Positive messages about future environmental sustainability were frequently displayed. Then, intermittently, we were all encourage, perhaps even gently persuaded to self charge the spaceship’s battery power using energy bikes and circular kinetic dance party rings, in a subtle ploy to educate us more about eco friendly generation, and perhaps prepare us all for the spectacular intergalactic journey of music, colour, love and hope that may lay ahead.

As we slowly trickle charged the ship’s batteries, the screens lit up giant visuals with the name, Adrian Dzyuke, and a handsome young man in a classy orange suit appeared on a towering stage, in front of the masses, alongside his band of quality musicians. He had sass, groove, rhythm and a likeable energy that radiated through the enthusiastic crowd gathered below.

“Hi, I’m Adrian Dzyuke”, he said, “and I won this Perth competition to play for you guys!!” A roar of appreciation rang out as the stylish, Dzyuke, clearly enjoying the moment, danced, swayed and sang his way through an energetic half hour set of up-tempo, Afrobeat / R&B style originals. ‘Fiyah’, a song co-written with Julia Stone, ‘Enjoy’, and a beautifully melancholic version of his song ‘Better’, where he encouraged some chorus-like audience participation, were definite highlights.

Next, amidst the spectrum of vivid colour all around us, came further marine like sonic frequencies, which slowly built in level until it felt like enough power had been generated to start slowly propelling our mini orbital station out into the asteroid belt. We hovered a while with Brisbane born singer/songwriter Thelma Plum and her band as they joined the Space Stage, cruising through her unique brand of pop/folk songs. Adorned in black and plum coloured, dreamcatcher style outfit, Thelma glided into ‘The Brown Snake’ from her ‘Meanjin’ EP, followed by ‘Not Angry Anymore’. The melodic pop undertones of ‘Backseat of My Mind’ was next, with some nice harmonies from bass player Monnie, but overall the band looked a little bored… maybe it’s not cool to enjoy yourselves while getting the chance to support one of the world’s biggest bands, but hey, regardless, us abductees need you guys to keep these energy levels up and help power this ship forward. After a slightly out of tune guitar version of Powderfinger’s ‘These Days’, Thelma and crew lifted nicely towards the end of their set. Her heavy vibrato filled vocal shredded through ‘Clumsy Love’ and the upbeat ‘Better In Blak’ was delivered beautifully to round off the set to warm applause. It appeared the ship was firmly back on track.

Looking up and out of the dome, there was a sky full of stars twinkling on a ribbon of black. Was it just night time or had we unknowingly been propelled successfully by Starship Optus Orion into the asteroid belt?

Before we could gather our thoughts, we were hit head on in a cataclysmic collision of light and sound. It could only have been one of two things, either Asteroid Amy or Shooting Star Shark!!!! As I slowly regained my senses, I felt the serious pounding of rock drums and thought I heard Amy Shark sing to me ‘Can I Shower at Yours?’ This was insane… what was happening? Surely it had to be a dream? Through squinted eyes, a massive, jagged neon sign came into focus. It read ‘Amy Shark’! It WAS her!! Wow! Looking fit, pumped and ready to absolutely rock the foundations of the capsule, Amy and her super talented band, delivered the epic ‘Everybody Rise’… and OMG did the crowd obey! An insanely tight and grooving rhythm section laid the foundation, while keys and guitar, plucked and chopped on top as Shark delivered the perfect vocal take.

Mobile phone lights lit up to ‘Love Songs Ain’t for Us’, as Amy strummed ‘Ed Sheeran’ like on her acoustic guitar, (well he did help her write it I guess), before picking up the pace again with the perfect pop song, ‘Sway My Way’. Amy Shark comes across as a likeable and honest girl, who is extremely grateful for the opportunities she’s been given in the music industry. She related with the audience early, sharing a fun story about her dream to support her most favourite band in the world, by personally contacting the band members! Haha…what a great idea… And it worked!! As Amy powered thru a few more of her melodic rock songs, the band really created big energy. I reckon the drummer alone would have delivered the 1.21 Gigawatts into the ship’s battery, to send us all into the future and onto Planet Coldplay. In fact I swear I saw Marty McFly and Doc flash by overhead in a DeLorean while Amy sang the emotionally charged ‘Mess Her Up’ visibly holding back a tear or two.

Strutting quickly around the stage in stunning silver, lights reflecting from her outfit like passing comets, Shark pushed through a few more anthemic songs, fully engaging the audience on her way. Crowd favourite ‘I Adore You’, was met with a massive choirlike response, then joining the band for another quick strum on her acoustic, she delivered the upbeat ‘Can’t Get You Outta my Head’. With a final “Give it to me Perth”, Shark wrapped up the perfect set, strolling elegantly down the gangway whilst engaging the punters in a powerful final rendition of ‘I Said Hi’! An epic job, well done!!

As the oceanic like frequencies grew in volume, the vibe inside the ship was building beautifully, when suddenly the gigantic PA system pulsed ‘Light through the veins’, while the spacecraft’s giant thrusters propelled us forward at breakneck speed to the accompaniment of the ‘Flying Theme from ET’. As the music faded, we gently landed on the surface of Planet Coldplay.

Welcome to Music Of The Spheres!! Act I – Planets
Massive screens projected ‘live’ coverage of the planets leaders, navigating their way through underground tunnels to greet us. And then, in an apocalyptic rupture of colour and sound, they appeared before us! 70,000 wristbands exploded into life in a synchronised sea of purple and red as the band burst into ‘Higher Power’, the melodically infused and rhythmically charged single taken from their latest album. In tie dye style, coloured clothing and sneakers, Chris Martin sang and danced on a small circular stage out front, while the band powered the song relentlessly behind him on the main stage! The effect was visually, sonically and emotionally mind-blowing! Many were visibly moved!

From here it was straight into the upbeat, almost Irish folk sounding, riff based, ‘Adventure of a Lifetime’. Large coloured balloons floated aimlessly above the audience, while the dancelike groove set the mood. We have lift off! The most immediate realisation at a Coldplay concert, is that… it’s not a concert!! It’s way way more than four band members playing their instruments and singing. It’s an overwhelming sensory experience! The 4 great friends draw us all into their world. We sing, we dance, we laugh, we cry, we look, we listen, but most of all…. we feel. The anthemic ‘Paradise’ is next, Johnny Buckland’s big reverberated guitar sound rings out over Will Champion’s pounding drums and the crowd sing along… “Para Para Paradise, woah oh oh oh oh…”

A flickering orange glow slowly turns green as Chris Martin sits solo at his piano, gently caressing the keys into a familiar chord progression that the crowd know well. While balloons continue to drift, a pensive sadness floats alongside, and The Scientist, mourning the loss of his one truelove, evokes a chorus of sympathetic recognition among the multitudes gathered. A canvas of stars sways in gentle rhythm, illuminated by thousands, accompanying the sad and melancholic melody.

Act II – Moons
A change of pace and location quickly eventuates. As the band appear on stage B, the sound of bells and strings emanate, above the vibrating skins of timpani drums, and an arousing, renaissance like rendition of ‘Viva La Vida’ ensues! Centrally controlled wristbands drown the place in a blanket of red, white and blue. Martin bounds and hops around the circle, waving his free arm in the air as he sings to the crowd, initiating a frenzied response. Again, the Coldplay extravaganza is evoking way more than just sound and light here. This is theatre, and the goosebumps randomly growing on hundreds of arms are proof of the feels.

As Chris Martin struts back up the gangway to the mainstage, the rest of the band continue into the feelgood ‘Hymn for The Weekend’ on stage B, Johnny at the piano. Massive flames are propelled from fire cannons on the main stage into the air, in complete sync with the music, as Martin skips along nearby.

The house lights go up and Chris asks to see the personal signs made by fans, and brought into the ship’s arena. After reading out over a dozen signs, he asks a young girl to join him on stage. Her name is Jasmine and her sign reads ‘I have beaten cancer to be here’. In a touching display of kindness and humanity, Martin invites her to sit with him at the piano, while he sings her favourite song, ‘Everglow’. More tears, goosebumps, feels. A beautiful moment.

From here we’re straight back into syncopated wristband art, a scene of rainbow coloured hundreds and thousands being sprinkled from above over every inch, while Charlie Brown plays. The layer of electronic rainbow confetti dissipated into a single colour resembling a giant canola field. Hmm…. I wonder which song could possibly be next! ‘Yellow’…maybe?? The crowd noise generated from this one song alone, was enough to power our spaceship into the next scene… Stars! And so off we blazed!

Act III – Stars
It’s funny how something that is technically quite superb, and inquisitively intriguing, can also potentially be less captivating for some. Music plays an integral part of any visual extravaganza, but unless there is an organic human element to it, at times it can create a disconnect. At this point in the show Coldplay move into a different sphere, and it took a few songs for the music to flow harmoniously again with the visuals. ‘Human Heart’ started with huge red love hearts being created around the upper echelons by way of wristband, but when the solitary, muppet like figure of Angel Moon appeared alone on Stage B, and was projected on the screens, it felt strange. ‘People of the Pride’ felt a little angry, and even ‘Clocks’ slightly lost it’s way in silhouetted green projections, pulsating in time with our green leds.

It wasn’t until ‘Something Just Like This’, the EDM banger Coldplay released with The Chainsmokers, that the band and audience truly kicked right back into gear. By now, the alien theme was humorous and entertaining, and the music, even though, more computer oriented, fitted, and it felt like people wanted to join in and dance again. The band members wore giant alien masks and the computer graphic images complimented the idea nicely.
My Universe, hit the spot and the whole place was reaching fever pitch again. The sea of colour was incredible, stimulated occasionally by huge central blinders, and an almost night club dance vibe ensued. As the band fired into ‘Sky Full Of Stars’, people lost their mind….. but a few bars into the song, it stopped abruptly and Chris apologised, saying they’d have to stop the show. Thinking this was an unfortunate technical issue, the crowd didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, until in a clever twist, Chris Martin asked a huge favour of the people. He politely asked everyone if they’d please switch off their phones, while they attempted to replay the song. This was pure genius!! Reluctantly, the vast majority complied and after a short while the band delivered an absolutely spectacular rendition, igniting fireworks from the roof of the spaceship!!! In this one simple act, Coldplay proved without doubt, that human interaction, devoid of electronic distraction is still paramount when it comes to feels!!! We actually watched the fireworks explode, we actually felt the vibration of the music, and as the band disappeared from view, the moment of reflection was truly wonderful… but it didn’t quite end there.

Act IV – Home
As the golden colour of sunrise appeared over the main stage, a reminder of a wonderful world, came by way of the spoken word of Louis Armstrong, whilst at the back of the spacecraft, the band appeared for the last time on a small C stage. On acoustic guitar Chris played the mellow, almost dissonant chord intro to ‘Sparks’, from Coldplay’s first album ‘Parachutes’. A beautifully poignant rendition led perfectly into the last scene for the journey home. And then came a humorously improvised moment. With an air of light-hearted banter, Chris said that he loved Western Australia so much that he’d written a song for us all. With a subtle dig at the macho Aussie larrikin, and reference to our AFL teams, two retired cricket playing legends, and successful local band, he advised us that he’d have been a “total failure, if he hadn’t visited Western Australia”. We laughed along in sincere appreciation.

Transporting themselves back to the mainstage almost quicker than they could have been beamed up, Chris, Johnny, Guy and Will, treated us to one last sensory overload. While massive planets floated overhead, we were guided by 70,000 candle lights and the strains of a piped church organ to the end of our interstellar journey. 120 decibels of voices sang in choirlike harmony, as the electric guitar led into drum filled power, easily powering us home and ‘Fixing Us’ as more fireworks exploded into space. One more visit to our animated muppet friends for ‘Biutyful’ and it was all over.

At around 11.30pm, I felt a nudge on my arm. I woke to see a Transperth ticket inspector asking for my train ticket. At this point I realised that Meltham Station is truly light years away from Eutopia. Oh well, I guess everyone’s an alien somewhere…