Coldplay – 14 December 2005 – Earl’s Court 1, London

This summer, Coldplay went on a jolly jaunt around several stadia in the UK. Shortly afterwards, Chris Martin claimed that the band wasn’t yet ready to boast the moniker “a stadium band.” So, what better way to back away from this claim, than to play the 18,000-capacity enormodome that is Earl’s Court? Guys, this is a stadium with a roof. This might have been their year, but there’s still some pressure here.

Not that you’d notice, with the band clearly thrilled to be home. As a giant clock behind them counts down towards zero, Coldplay open up with ‘Square One’, the clock hitting zero exactly as the chorus blasts off. ‘Politik’, obviously, just explodes over the throng. A quick recognition that they’re back in their favourite city, and ‘Yellow’ is then sung back with such vigour that Chris Martin is positively drowned out. Throw in a sea of huge yellow (clever) balloons, and the band can do no wrong in these infrequent gig-going, “let’s-leave-early-to-miss-the-traffic,” thirty-something couples’ eyes.

‘Speed of Sound’ showcases Will Champion’s ‘Hounds of Love’-like drumming, while Martin gets in some Bez dancing to ‘White Shadows’. Things drop a gear for an acoustic set which includes the best bonus track of the year, ‘Til Kingdom Come’, and a cover of Johnny Cash’s ‘Ring of Fire’ (Why did his family veto the haemorrhoids advert?).

Normal full-on service is resumed, however, with a group wig-out on ‘Clocks’, while encore ‘In My Place’ drums up a choir-like wail from all and sundry. Set-closer ‘Fix You’, with that lightbulb, sums up perfectly what problem playing a place like this presents. Short on gimmicks (it is, after all, just a lightbulb), it’s always going to be a challenge for any band to fill this massive space. As they showed at Koko in June, bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better for Coldplay. Swallow your pride, but Brixton would have been perfect tonight.