... and that was evident at last night's gig: Coldplay, a band that I saw five to six years ago, when they were on the cusp of international stardom with 'Parachutes', rocked my part of the world on their far-reaching X&Y tour - show number 144 and counting.
And what a show! Lights, lasers, a gigantic video screen, 'live' film footage of the band and the crowd juxtaposed amid glowing stage lights, and giant yellow balloons filled with glittering gold confetti, and even the venue, which has a notoriety for being a sound vacuum but behaved much better last night, all conspired to make it a memorable evening.
Not to mention that Chris Martin has evolved into a consumate showman - he who once hid behind his electric piano for the whole duration of his shows: dancing, flexing his wrists, waving to the crowds on both ends of the stage runways, jumping in the crowd much later, and even doing 'calls and responses' throughout the night. Has he been watching too many U2 video re-runs?
It was a very professional, emotional evening, with the crowd evidently at one with all of their songs, singing along to hits like 'Yellow', 'In my place', etc.
The band played for a full 2 hours, and came back for an encore of 4 songs, capping the night with 'Fix You' - another perennial crowd favourite, and every chorus was met with resounding voices, unwavering, lyrically accurate - band and crowd sung as one.
Coldplay as a rightful successor to U2? Why not? They can only get bigger.
One of the best gigs I've attended this year, and certainly one to talk about for years to come. Bliss!
