Coldplay and Fiona Apple Twisted Logic Tour – Anaheim Pond – Anaheim, Ca - 02.06.06
Posted by Frank Estrada on 02.07.2006
Cupid comes to Southern California early: Chris Martin and the Boys try move up to arena rockers as Fiona Apple Returns to the stage.
It's February, love is in the air, and what do you know, Coldplay comes to town. Touring for X&Y, they are bringing their Twisted Logic to Southern California with Fiona Apple in tow. Coldplay are an interesting band. They have a hit on their hand with the song Yellow, which first gets them noticed here in America. Then when we buy their breakthrough album Parachutes, we find out they have even better songs and their secret weapon: Chris Martin's piano. A Rush of Blood To The Head follows two years later and to my surprise, no sophomore slump here. It actually might be better than Parachutes, but Chris Martin's piano, still the star here on songs like Clocks and The Scientist. Cleary these guys are the real deal. Now X&Y. Personally, I thought this album was weak, there was too much guitar here and not enough piano, which was the lynchpin of their best songs prior to X&Y. They have never disappointed me live yet, but on this tour they test the arena waters. They have been able to sell out clubs and amphitheatres, with this tour; they are going to make the next step to become arena rockers.
First off the stage looks plain with a long screen behind them. The music on the loud speaker is the Beatles and the arena lights dim. The screen lights up and silhouette of the band appear. The lead singer stays behind while the band plays the intro to the first song. The timer on the screen hits zero. The screen, as well as the lights on the stage flashes a blinding red and the concert starts. Wait! Hold Up! Is U2 here tonight? Looks like Chris and the Boys took a lot of notes from the boys from Ireland. But if you are going to steal, steal from the best. Right?
The night was full of music that spanned all 3 albums. What was interesting to me, not all of their singles were played, so it wasn't a night of their greatest hits. I love when bands do that. I have found that songs that aren't released as singles are better than what we hear on the radio. So I was pleased to hear Politik, God Put A Smile Upon Your Face and Don't Panic. It was also good to hear them cover Johnny Cash's Ring Of Fire. It was great to hear some of their better songs; Yellow, The Scientist, Trouble, and Clocks. Over all, the girls love them and the men think that their songs are put together well enough to sing-a-long too. Coldplay puts together a good show. U2-lite if you ask me. It's a good time. My only complaint, Coldplay is the only band I can just sit down and listen to the whole concert sitting. There is no real part of the show that makes you want to jump up and dance. Great date show though.
Fiona Apple. Now this is an opener. Actually she is a headliner in her own right, but she has that crazy stigma on her. Seeing her live, she doesn't help disprove the crazy tag either. I am here to tell you she is not crazy. She is an artist. She is an artist in a way that Alicia Keys or any American Idol cannot comprehend. You can teach someone to sing. Singing lesions are available to anyone who wants to pay for it. You can also teach songwriting. Putting it all together is a different task altogether. Sprinkling her performance with emotion, now this can not be taught. It's something you have to feel. Sheet music gives you all the direction you need: notes, tempo and volume. Fiona has what it takes to and the other dimension to her music. You might hear this in her music and you might see it in her videos. Live, there is no doubt that she is tapping into something that you really don't see many people tap into. When she's on the piano, she is pounding away. When she is standing in front of the stage behind the mic stand, she can't hide. She has all this energy. She stomps her feet, grabs her dress, and slaps her leg. She is pouring her heart out to the crowd and at the same time she doesn't want to be there. She feels every note she sings and remembers every word she wrote. It's almost as if she is reliving the memories past and by telling us this, it's killing her on the inside. I'm to lazy to look up when she last had a proper tour; it was probably with the Lilith crowd. The band she has backing her up, really kept these songs interesting. On thing I hate about concerts are some bands play note for note. It sounds too polished. You can play a cd and get the same effect. Here Fiona and her band kept it loose. Playing with tempo and keeping the endings long and interesting. I recently saw Fiona live for the first time a few months ago and she did 3 acoustic songs. So this is really the first time I got to see what she is about. I don't think the crowd understood what they just saw. A performance was lost, a performance in the vein of Janice Joplin or Joe Cocker, even her contemporary Alanis Morissette. They missed it because the O.C. crowd was too cool for the return of Fiona Apple. She gave us a taste of her new album also treating us to Criminal, Shadowboxer and Fast As You Can, to name a few.
The 411: For your money, you can’t go wrong with a Coldplay concert. Their music appeals to a wide spectrum of people. Some of their best songs are catchy and you might find yourself singing along. You have to see them at least once, because I think that’s all you really need since they are just getting to learn how to be an arena rock band. Their set changes from night to night aren’t too drastic. Fiona Apple on the other hand is not for everyone. If you are close minded you are going to miss everything that makes her special. She is head and shoulders above any female artist right now. She is a must see to believe.
