Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Coldplay Put a Smile Upon My Face

IMAG2262.jpg by gkhamilton
IMAG2262.jpg, a photo by gkhamilton on Flickr.
This Coldplay wristband was my glowing contribution to the nebula of fog and colors at their Portland Rose Garden concert. And it was all Yellow.


Blame my short attention span, but the Amsterdam finale to my ongoing Spring Break in the Low Countries travelogue will have to wait a few more days. With these past few days of sunny weather in the Northwest, I just can't bring myself to stay inside to upload vacation pictures. Besides, I wouldn't trade anything for the look on baby Lena's face on Sunday as she saw the Pacific Ocean during the descent of that coastal hiking trail.


Coldplay didn't exactly rock the Portland Rose Garden last night, but Chris Martin and co. sure know how to throw themselves into an energetic frenzy of anthemic pop/rock. After my past two attempts to see a Coldplay show fell through, the long awaited opportunity to see one of my favorite bands did not disappoint.

CameraZOOM-20120424210728136_orig_1_edited-1.jpgSoaring melodies, gleeful dancing, and spectacular show production were the order of the night. The randomly flashing glow bracelets that were handed out before showtime illuminated the arena with a multicolored sea of lights.



IMAG2270.jpg
Above: Coldplay encores out of a random stadium entrance within the crowd for an acoustic version of "Us Against the World."

All of that hyperkinetic energy occasionally ebbed away to make room for the intimacy of "The Scientist” (one of the greatest ballads ever) and Chris' beautiful piano outro of "Amsterdam" (no, not a plug for my next BlogSpot post). Most of the show, however, was pure, bouncy pop bliss.

Or maybe I should say, Paradise.



Our night didn't end there, of course. A late night/ early morning stop at Kells downtown for live Irish folk tunes and Jameson's BBQ sauce smothered wings winded down the evening.

No comments: