Coldplay warms up for receptive audience

Kirk Baird

Monday, May 2, 2005 | 8:09 a.m.

Frontman Chris Martin has received most of the attention since, with a marriage to Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow and the birth of the couple's daughter, Apple Blythe Alison Martin.

The lead singer/pianist and (occasional) rhythm guitarist of the group has obviously grown accustomed to his role as the focal point of Coldplay.

During the band's sold-out concert Friday at the The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel, the magnetic Martin was joyfully twirling, jumping and spinning his arms -- midsong -- while the rest of the quartet (Jon Buckland, lead guitar; Guy Berryman, bass; Will Champion, drums) contented themselves to the shadows of the stage, anonymously churning out some of the smartest, moodiest and emotive tunes around.

It was an effective strategy, one that showcased the workmanlike approach of the band: Every member has a role and uniformly adheres to it.

With a headlining gig at the 2005 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival only a day away, not to mention an upcoming tour, Coldplay seemed to use the Las Vegas show as a warm-up.

Of the 15 songs in the 80-minute set, including encore, more than half were off the upcoming album, "X&Y," scheduled for a June 7 release.

The audience, however, was warmly receptive of the band, as well as its new material, which shouldn't come as a surprise. The first single, "Speed of Sound," off the new album is the first British song to debut in the U.S. Top 10 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles Chart since the Beatles with "Free As a Bird" in 1995.

The band opened with the show with the atmospheric "Square One." The song is typical of most of Coldplay's catalog, with lush guitar landscapes and haunting melodies you want to stretch out far longer than they ever do.

The next song, "Politik," from the band's sophomore album, "A Rush of Blood to the Head," sent a surge of familiarity through the crowd, with its crashing piano-led charge.

After another anonymous new song, an up-tempo, guitar-driven number (none of the new material was introduced to the audience), Coldplay jumped to its biggest hit, "Yellow." Working the song into the setlist so early seemed to suggest not only confidence in the group's new material, but also that the band is far from a one-hit wonder.

From there the foursome nimbly worked through a melancholy set of wistful, bittersweet pop.

In its early years, Coldplay often drew comparisons to other British acts, such as Radiohead. The band has since established itself as its own genre, with its own imitators.

The group even took a brief detour from its pop-song sensibilities for a country-folk piece, complete with Berryman on harmonica, only to return to another hit, "Clocks," followed by another new song, "What If."

For the encore, the band led with crowd-favorite "In My Place," including a chorus singalong, before winding down with "Speed of Sound" and another new song.

At first a ballad, the unidentified song seemed an odd choice in which to close a show. Then the guitar, drums and bass kicked in, bringing the crowd to its feet as they rode an energetic wave to the end.

Once the song trailed off, Martin thanked the crowd, and the band took a group bow to a standing ovation before heading offstage.

Which is only appropriate.

It may have been Martin's moment, but it was clearly Coldplay's show.