Coldplay at the speed of sound in Hong Kong

A rush of blood to the head...

I must admit, it’s been a long time since I rock and rolled.

Maybe rock music is on its last gasp unless there is a new musical genius lurking around the corner. Well, it has been a couple of months since I last watched "the greatest gig in the sky" (featuring Oasis) in Bangkok, Thailand. There was an itch that wouldn’t go away – I was dying to watch a concert. Whoever, wherever and whenever.

A spider web and I’m caught in the middle...

For months, I have been checking out official sites of bands who are touring Asia. By a stroke of good luck, Coldplay was heading for Singapore and Hong Kong for the "Twisted Logic" tour. It was definitely a choice between the two countries but in the end, my boyfriend Igan was able to get me a golden ticket for the Hong Kong gig. (Special thanks to EMI Music Philippines.) Now, that’s just the sweetest thing ever. Oh, what a thing to do. Living in perfect symmetry.

Where do we go, nobody knows...

So here goes. My friend Jade Maravillas and I had been planning the trip for months. It took us two hours to get to Clark from Manila on a stormy day. Then, an hour and a half to Macau via Tiger Airways. We spent the night in a cramped hostel with Europeans and a common bathroom. We decided to leave for Hong Kong early morning by ferry just in time to get ready before the press conference. Well, that was my gonzo adventure.

Press-Con Cons

Swim out on a sea of faces...

The Hong Kong summer heat soaked into my skin and bones. Rushing to The Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hotel for the press con felt like a high-speed car chase. Before it started, I saw Pinoy band Hale and a few familiar faces. The media were told not to ask personal questions because they all wanted to know if Gwenyth Palthrow was around.

We live in a beautiful world...

After the long and winding wait, the guys from Coldplay finally showed up. Dressed in all-black outfits with white Adidas, Chuck Taylors and Fred Perry sneakers, the bandmembers were not the typical rock ‘n’ roll stars – they were very shy and softspoken. Oh, I never realized Guy Berryman was a great Scot! Thank God, there were bouncers to save me from pushy photographers.

We never learn, do we...?

Dig this: Coldplay was greeted by a dragon dance that lasted too long. I have never seen the band so mesmerized, which was a great laugh. Journalists were allowed to ask the band just one question each. It’s a pity that someone asked what team they supported for the World Cup. Like, hello? Duh! England, of course. Probably the funniest question was about Zinédine Zidane’s head-butting incident and whether it was a good example to the youth. Honestly, it should have been all about the music.

But there I was in my little bubble...

When it was my turn to ask a question, I wasn’t nervous but really excited.

PHILIPPINE STAR: Hi! I just have one question for the band. You sang with Richard Ashcroft at Live 8 and Noel Gallagher at a Trade Fair benefit. Which other artists would you like to perform with and record a song with?

Guy Berryman: That’s a good question. Well, we do not have a rock-star complex and can work with anyone. It all depends on our producers.

Chris Martin: With Richard and Noel, we performed with them for festivals or charity events and it was really fun. But to work with them in the studio, that hasn’t happened yet.

Everybody is out to get you...

All the fuss was centered on Chris Martin. Maybe because of his marriage to Gwyneth Paltrow, which definitely earned him a higher notch on the celebrity scale. The other bandmembers don’t mind that he gets all the attention. According to Chris: "I am like Ronald McDonald – I am known everywhere but I don’t even do the cooking."

Tell me your own politik...

Dig this, too: Coldplay supports Oxfam’s fair trade campaign, which lobbies against trade policies that hurt developing countries, such as the influx of goods from developed countries. If you noticed Chris Martin’s left hand, you would have seen the Trade Fair logo. He explained: "We don’t want to be preachy, we just say those words (fair trade), and make sure people look it up themselves. When one or two people take pictures of us, we feel like we could start advertising something we care about."

Where do we go to draw the line...

Since I am such a big fan of Q magazine, I always get to read the latest music gossip. I really enjoy Liam Gallagher’s honesty. A couple of issues ago, I read that Liam called Chris Martin a "plant pot" at the Q awards. Hilarious! Since then, this tidal rift with Liam has become so popular that a journalist asked Chris Martin what response he had for Gallagher. Martin replied, "We aren’t really into that whole fighting between bands. It is a waste of time. It’s only music. If people don’t like our band, it’s fine. We accept that and value their opinions. We would rather fight Dick Cheney."

I am going back to the start...

I realized that Coldplay is one of the biggest bands of the last 20 years. Passionate, really. I remember the time when I first heard Yellow and it was like a breath of fresh air in the music world. Perhaps it’s the band’s signature heart-rending melodies that influenced a new clutch of bands like Keane and Snow Patrol. I just couldn’t wait to see them live.

Stop The Clocks

Running in circles...

After hours of shopping, Jade and I were supposed to meet her best friend, Smiles, in the subway. But rush-hour traffic was horrible. Panic on the streets of Hong Kong! We were about to take the Airport Express to the Asia World Arena but – drat – there was a long line to the elevator. So we were literally running like wild horses. My lungs haven’t had that kind of exercise in a while. Thankfully, we made it there by 8 p.m.

The lights go out and I can’t be saved...

An hour later, the concert finally started. The arena was packed and pitch-black and all you could see was the screen with a digital timer. Some people felt bad that the stage wasn’t elevated. But usually at concerts, it doesn’t matter if you are seated near or far from the stage; you are there to feel the groove, and share the love for the band. Just listen to the music live and loud.

If you could see it, then you’d understand...

The first song was Square One and Chris Martin was projecting his shadow on the screen. The band wore their signature black outfits and white sneakers. Hey, they changed outfits from the press con earlier on. I expected the crowd to be wild and exude a festival vibe. But they were just so-so. At least when Yellow was played, the crowd went ballistic. I loved the beach ball-size balloons with gold confetti inside that came from the back. People were pushing them to the front and Chris Martin burst one with his guitar.

But I’m screaming underneath...

When Coldplay played The Scientist, I had goose bumps and almost cried. It was an acoustic set with piano and the lights projected a purple haze. Right there and then, I just felt the song inside of me. My favorite part was when Chris Martin turned the arena into a huge karaoke sing-a-long. Super magical! When the yellow lights of the arena were turned on, Chris said, "Holy s***, there are a lot of you."

You just want somebody listening to what you say...

During ‘Til Kingdom Come, the bandmembers stayed in front with spotlights on them. They also sang Johnny Cash’s Ring Of Fire, and Chris made the crowd laugh.

The singer told the crowd that when they were at Deep Water Bay (a local public beach), they saw a sign in one of the restrooms of a restaurant that picture-taking and video-recording weren’t allowed. Chris enthused, "I am proud to have broken that rule." Next song was Trouble, which was very solemn.

Is confidence in high speed...?

I haven’t seen many new bands that give high-quality performances the way rock legends are supposed to do. You just have to give it to Chris Martin. While the other Coldplay members just stood there doing their thing, Chris showed the most stage presence, moving like a really good frontman. In Clocks, lights turned purple with red lasers shooting out. And, of course, Chris was dancing like a wild stallion while playing the piano.

Yeah, I saw sparks...

For the encore, they sang Swallowed in the Sea and the screen projected words from their lyric sheet. During In My Place, the frontman ran to the back of the crowd. It would have been a sucky concert if they didn’t sing Fix You. It was the very last song and, for me, it was the best song of the concert.

Chris spun the light bulb (which he wasn’t allowed to do in Singapore) and then went back to his piano as all four members were projected on the screen singing the chorus. Oh, what a perfect way to end the concert.

Coming back as we are...

I didn’t travel in style to see Coldplay. But hey, I was lucky enough to go to the press con and watch them live. You can call that twisted logic.

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Check out Colplay’s "X&Y" special Asian tour edition, which includes a bonus DVD with six bonus songs (Things I Don’t Understand, Proof, The World Turned Upside Down, Pour Me, Sleeping Sun and Gravity) and promotional videos of all the singles: Speed Of Sound, Fix You, Talk and The Hardest Part.

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Special thanks to Jesmon Chua and Tricia Pablo of EMI Music Philippines. E-mail love-hate whatever things to becca_rodriguez@yahoo.com.