Coldplay Live 2012

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Coldplay Live 2012

January 9, 2013, 7:45 am

Coldplay's new release celebrates Mylo Xyloto tour and more.

If you're looking for new music to help carry some good party-vibes on into the New Year, check out Coldplay's new "Live 2012" release.

Granted, there's no new material here from the British alternative rock band KINK listeners know and love so well. Still, it's been almost ten years since "Coldplay Live 2003" was released, and it's great fun letting the musical excitement of the Mylo Xyloto tour whisk our imaginations off to faraway places like Madrid, Paris or Glastonbury.

Song lineup on the new CD sticks closely to their set lists on the tour, including their Portland appearance in April. Peak moments include live recordings of Coldplay megahits "Yellow," "Clocks," "Paradise" and "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall," and an electrifying performance of the lesser-known "Major-Minus." Fans of "Lovers in Japan" will be disappointed, though, because it's not included here.

More than making up for that, though, is the accompanying DVD that features an energetic rock band documentary interspersed between the 16 tracks. In it, band members discuss everything from the concert entourage and what they do to pass the time between shows, to the artistic details behind set design. Chris Martin talks about the fervor that builds just prior to each concert, the connection he feels with fans when making eye contact ("I probably get to look at, maybe, 1,000 people a night"), the first time they played the Hollywood Bowl, and band chemistry.

"We're not prodigiously talented musicians, we're not virtuosos," Martin says earnestly between tracks, adding, "but you've got a chemistry that no one else in the world has, so...you don't fight with it." Also covered is a look back at the evolution of those effervescent wrist-bands ("we can make everyone a part of the show"), a true tour triumph.

Included in the DVD is exciting concert film footage from Madrid, Montreal, England's Glastonbury stage, and Paris. For instance, one of the peak moments - if not the peak moment - of the Mylo Xyloto tour was the audience sing-a-long accompanying explosions of brightly colored confetti during the chorus of "In My Place." That's certainly captured here big-time at a taping made in Paris. The DVD also boasts an appearance by Rihanna, who joins the band onstage to sing "Princess of China" at the Paris show and looks happy doing so.

Not from the DVD, but close: In My Place, Toronto

Other highlights include Coldplay at the 2011 Glastonbury Festival (where they performed alongside other headliners U2 and Beyonce). Some concert site trivia from Wikipedia: "The (Glastonbury) festival takes place in southwest England at Worthy Farm between the small villages of Pilton and Pylle in Somerset, six miles east of Glastonbury, overlooked by the Glastonbury Tor in the 'Vale of Avalon.' The area has a number of legends and spiritual traditions...ley lines are considered to converge on the Tor."

Whether or not you believe some places on planet earth give off better energy than others, you'll love watching Glastonbury fans as they wave festive, colorful banners while singing with gusto to the chorus of the joyful "Viva La Vida." "There's no other festival like it anywhere in the world," adds Martin. Indeed.

Coldplay loves to please their fans, and true to form, the DVD contains two extra songs - "Don't Let it Break Your Heart" and "The Scientist" - not found on the CD their fans will appreciate. Audience members cry during "The Scientist" while Chris Martin announces "we have the best fans in the world." It's all good. ~ Cynthia Orlando

Coldplay Live 2012 Official Trailer