Coldplay, Abu Dhabi

Viva Coldplay!
Coldplay had not originally planned the Abu Dhabi concert, & Singapore was to have been the last gig of this leg of their 2009 tour to date. However, thousands of fans were grateful to get the chamce to see one of the biggest bands on the planet today play at the Emirates Palace hotel.... Travelling down from Dubai, we were greeted with sheet rain & lightening as we inched our way along the Corniche to the parking area. Thankfully the rain stopped before we got out of the car, but there was more to come.... The band started with Life in Technicolour - the opening track to Viva - & to raptuous applause from the crowd. The lights show was fantastic, eclipsed only by the incredible sound system which was exceptionally crisp and clear. However, three songs in it started to rain... and rain... and rain! Despite the downpour the crowd remained enthusiastic, & after fifteen minutes or so Chris Martin's pleas to the elements obviously worked, as it stopped! Further hits from Parachutes, A Rush of Blood to the Head, and X&Y followed - each played flawlessly. The atmosphere was brilliant & most people around me were tansfixed by Buckland's full guitar sound & Martin's haunting vocals. It would have been hard to pick a favourite song, but Lost would take some beating. The spine tingling sound of the organ itself was enough to give me goosebumps.... Coldplay are of course used to playing in front of audiences up to six or seven times larger than we were, but perhaps the "smaller" numbers helped create a more friendly & intimate atmosphere, which is why Martin warmed to us. Indeed playing the Monkees original hit "I'm a Believer" in the middle of the crowd bore testament to the fact.... After the final song of the encore (The Scientist), Coldplay left the stage to the "whoa's" from Viva La Vida, which the crowd sang all the way back to the car park! What a band, what a performance, what a great night!