Coldplay Tour Put a Smile Upon My Face

God Put a Smile on My face…. Coldplay Shines at Alpine Valley, Wisconsin

August 13- Elkhorn, WI. The night air was warm with a cool breeze keeping things pleasantly comfortable. As daylight slipped away, the lights faded and the crowd went silent. Suddenly, the stage exploded with light and sound as the band opened with a powerful performance of Square One. Against the backdrop of a huge electronic screen displaying a digital countdown, Chris Martin, Coldplay front man, catapulted across the stage. From the opening moment of the concert, Martin and his bandmates never let the energy level drop.

The band continued with an energetic line up very similar to recent shows at NY's Beacon Theater and Cincinnati's Riverbend Amphitheater just a few days ago. Throughout the concert, the band dressed in monochromatic black, stood back and allowed Martin to do his thing. Part leaping, part twirling, the charismatic lead singer never stopped moving for more than a few moments.

Introducing the band, Martin thanked fans profusely for "allowing them to be here tonight." Leading into the next song, he referred to as the "song that brought us to American the first time" . The audience surged as the opening strains of the haunting hit  "Yellow" poured over the lawn. With the audience focused on the music, it appeared as if dozens of yellow balloons came out of the starlit night.  They bounced through the crowd, spewing confetti as they popped. Martin refused to end the song until they were all opened, leading to some prolonged vocals and lots of laughs as fans struggled to burst the more stubborn balloons.

The crowd of about 35,000 responded exhuberantly, giving back every bit of energy created by the band. While some bands weave in an assortment of tunes which might not be as recognizable or popular, each song the bad played raised a louder cheer from the audience. The band took the crowd on a winding a journey through the music subtly building the tempo to a shattering climax with their most well known song, "Clocks" near the end of the long set.