Coldplay: Live 2003

Coldplay's A Rush of Blood to the Head is probably my favorite album ever, and this concert film for it is 100% perfect in my opinion. It's shot AMAZINGLY, the atmosphere is incredible, and you can almost feel how hard they're playing. They're pouring out all their emotion and energy (and sweat) into these songs. It sounds amazing, also. Few things in this world beat early Coldplay.

I discovered Coldplay around the time they were making it big in North America with the hit song, "Yellow", and it wasn't long before I got to hear their first album, "Parachutes". At that point, I liked the band somewhat, but became a BIG fan after their second album, "A Rush of Blood to the Head" came out in 2002. That was when I really started to want to see them in concert (a relative of mine said he went to see them in Toronto in 2002 and was blown away), and nearly got the chance when they came to Toronto again in June 2003, but it sold out too fast (though I did get to hear the entire show broadcast live on the radio). To this day, I still haven't attended a Coldplay concert, but have seen a lot of live footage of the band, and while "Live 2003" isn't the best concert footage of them I've ever seen, it's still good.

This concert film shows Coldplay late in the tour of their second album, performing in front of an enthusiastic crowd at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney, Australia in July of 2003. They start off by playing "Politik", the opening track on "A Rush of Blood to the Head". The video then shows them playing the majority of other songs featured on their then-current album, along with a bunch of songs from "Parachutes", as well as "See You Soon", from "The Blue Room EP" (one of the group's pre-"Parachutes" EP's), and "One I Love" and "Moses", two previously unreleased songs.

I have nothing critical to say about the band's performance in this concert film. The band sounds very tight, and front man Chris Martin's voice sounds superb, as usual, proving that unlike some singers, his live vocals don't disappoint. The sound mix may not be flawless, but it's nothing I can get too worked up about. However, the visuals in "Coldplay: Live 2003" are certainly not the best I've ever seen in a concert film. The video editing is rather weak, changing the angles too quickly, the camera work seemed a bit shaky to me at times, at least early in the film, and I've noticed lights shining through the lens a couple times during "Everything's Not Lost". In other words, the video isn't as easy on the eyes as it could have been. I also tend to prefer concert footage from outdoor venues. Fortunately, however, if you ask me, this concert film should be entertaining for most Coldplay fans, as long as you can get over the flaws.

July 25, 2012 Update: Over a decade after discovering this widely abhorred band called Coldplay, I finally saw them in concert for the first time just a couple nights ago, and can say that they certainly know how to put on a show! After attending a Coldplay concert after all these years, my opinion on this concert film hasn't changed. "Coldplay: Live 2003" does a decent enough job displaying what the band is like onstage, but not quite as good a job as it could have done.

well, first of all, everybody needs to know that back in my country (God bless HUNGARY), Coldplay is not well known, but I like them a lot, so that's why I just had to buy this DVD, and it's GREAT! Me and my girlfriend (the beaty Remigia) are great fans of them, that's why do we find these guys and their songs so great. Sometimes we listen to their songs together but now that we have their new live DVD it's good to watch them rock, because we didn't have had the chance to watch them live. Politik and Clocks do rock,like no other, but The Scientist is harmonic and pleasant. Among all songs (we think) that Yellow is the best. That is it! Their new ones are also huge and I just can't wait for the new album! So hurry up boys!

This is the time when I fell in love with Coldplay; I don't think they've gotten any higher since. The Live 2003 concert captures their youth, energy and enthusiasm perfectly, with all the songs that are my favorites. Coldplay is a truly talented band that can could perform live just as well as they can in their studio albums. I don't watch a ton of video concerts; the only one that compares that comes to mine is Queen in Montreal.

I wish they had a blu-ray of this performance, but maybe the DVD better captures the early 2000s aesthetic. I love the frequent, fast cuts. It keeps the energy flowing until the end.

To me, Coldplay peaked with A Rush of Blood to the Head. My interest in them was not regained until Ghost Stories and has increased since. I am grateful for this experiential slice of history in Live 2003.