Levi Stadium hosts British band, Sept. 3

British alternative rock band Coldplay released their seventh album, “A Head Full of Dreams,” on December 4, 2015. They have been touring all over the world and I was thrilled with their performance.

I had the opportunity to attend their concert at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on Sept. 3. Levi’s Stadium, is also the new home of the San Francisco 49ers. The 68,000 seat stadium opened in 2014 and also hosted the 2016 Super Bowl.

Coldplay started the year performing the halftime show at that game and after six months of touring, they stopped back at Santa Clara for their last west coast show.

Entering the stadium I felt like a little fish in a big pond. People were everywhere, to the left, right, up and down. Trying to move through the crowd was nearly impossible. However, even with large attendance, the stadium still looked new and modern.

Before this event, I was very excited. Coldplay has done six tours, so I thought they should be incredible. The song choices were absolutely phenomenal. The lead vocalist, Chris Martin, was energetic and sounded clear.

The band played 23 songs in total, including seven of the 11 songs from their new album. Fans were happy to hear hits from their past albums. Some of the old songs I enjoyed were “Viva la Vida,” “Paradise,” “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall” and my personal favorite, “A Sky Full of Stars”.

One particular thing that made the concert special was the lighting. All fans attending the concert received a wristband called a Xyloband when entering the stadium. Xylobands have multi-colored lights inside, that can be turned on and off remotely. For example, when the band played the song “Yellow” the Xylobands turned the color yellow. The whole stadium looked full of twinkling golden stars.

After being a fan for many years, Gretchen Monke enjoyed the latest concert.

“I’ve been a fan for about 6 or 7 years,” Monke said. “I really like how they appeal to a variety of people old and young. The main vocalist sounds really good and they put on a great show.”

The only unappealing thing was the pricing. The fans in attendance paid a lot of expenses to see the show. Parking, for instance, cost you $60 before you even got out of your car. Food and drinks were fairly expensive too, as a 20 ounce soda cost $6.

As a whole, I think Coldplay put on a fantastic show. All the lights, fireworks and confetti electrified the crowd. To hear the songs live was the best part. This was the most amazing concert I have ever attended. 

If you have a different on Coldplay, please leave a comment.

For another review article, read: ‘This is Not a Test’ offers high tempo, positive music.

This writer can be reached via email: John Monke.