The setting of the latter was always going to be (stage managed to be?) unusual/unique – I cannot recall any other bands performing in front of the BBC Television Centre in White City – and that’s part of the charm, and indeed brand, of Coldplay – however that was most likely the main problem when it came to kicking off the event, as the sound engineering, specifically the mixing, wasn’t up to scratch and belied the point of broadcasting in HD. Not that live mixing is easy – as my brother keeps telling me – but one would have thought the BBC, if anyone should, would be able to get it right. The other problem appeared to be that the band looked shattered.After a few songs Chris’ voice warmed up, which combined with a couple of care
fully disguised gestures to the sound desk meant the sound engineer(s) got the levels sorted out and although Jonny Buckland (lead guitarist) looked distinctively bored throughout, the band excelled in usual fashion – becoming a habit – and the crowd select revelled in their wonder. Even Alan Yentob (Creative Director for the BBC) managed to put in a smiling appearance, although neither Ricky Gervais nor Jay-Z could let their carefully controlled demeanour show much more than the odd head nod, which is a pity because on the whole it was an engaging gig.Chris was as interactive and amenable to his audience as ever, and one simply warms to him, especially when he expels little crowd pleasers such as “A helicopter’s filming my friends with me... I turned and said... Don’t film the bald spot on top of my head” in place of the usual lyrics to Trouble from their Parachutes album as the director changes camera to show a helicopter filming the event from on high. Chris later comments on his own body gesticulations as “I can’t dance, but I’m enthusiastic”.
And enthusiasm exudes from the whole band (with the notable exception is Buckland), deep passion about playing their music, such that it is easy to become envious of that passion. In all honesty, the band, specifically Chris isn’t a great looker (which he freely admits, "as you can see, we are more of a band with faces for radio") nor the world’s best voice, and he self proclaims he cannot dance, but who cares when a front man can deliver such great lyrics and music to accompany them with such energy?
I wasn’t sure whether to take Chris’ comments about how Coldplay fly around in helicopters all the time now (“that’s how it is these days for Coldplay; it’s helicopters and crazy stuff like that”) as that’s just the way it is for a hugely successful band or whether it was the first sign a smugness that might have descended upon the nice people of Coldplay – I think I prefer to believe the former, after all, it must be difficult be that politically-correct and generally decent (even apologising for a bum note) in a world that isn’t!
It was otherwise a well directed intimate affair and a memorable occasion that I will retain my Shy HD box (I cannot export it in HD format, only SD – shame on you Sky) and it wasn’t available on the (excellent) BBC’s iPlayer at the original time of post - but is now, here...
It just a shame the sound, whilst encoded in perfect digital stereo, falls short of what it should have been.
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