Vulnerability and warmth, the Coldplay performance in Mumbai on November 19 was about front man Chris Martin’s emotive, romantic, heartfelt lyrics, his complete warmth and goodness of heart that shone right through as the band performed for over two hours. Martin joked that India had been waiting 16 years to see Coldplay live … so, a sea of youthful humanity didn’t mind the 11 to 12 hours they had to wait in the scorching Mumbai sun for the rock band of the world, British band Coldplay to headline the Global Citizen India Festival at the MMRDA Grounds.
Sheer crackling energy, and the songsters came in at about 8.45 pm and stayed until about 11.15 pm to create their kind of “magic.” From the psychedelic set, it seemed that the Coldplay space ship had finally landed on desi shores, complete with the most vibrant, vivid and colourful renditions as rocker Chris Martin with Indian flag brandished high spoke a few words in his ‘propah’ accented Brit Hindi, and the show went on to a pulsating and throbbing start.
Coldplay’s tunes rang out loud as around 70,000 to 80,000 people crooned along, holding their phones as a sea of thousands of beacons illuminated the grounds… and Chris Martin catapulted onto the stage, twisted, turned, circled, collapsed, lay down, singing soul stirringly – those oft-hummed riffs that makes Coldplay, rock’s all-time great. The rocker himself left everyone awed with his warmth and sheer oomph, as the band sang Paradise, Hurts Like Heaven, Yellow, Viva La Vida, Fix You, Clocks, Every Teardrop is a Waterfall, Up and Up, A Sky Full of Stars, Scientist... to a mesmerised audience who was left catching their breath, and emotions.
But if they felt a rush of warmth
Chris Martin joined AR Rehman to sing Maa Tujhe Salaam (Vande Mataram), the patriotic chant peaked like a comet through the grounds, as youngsters not really known for their patriotism, sang out loud, believing. at the band’s rock anthems and romantic blues, when Chris Martin joined AR Rehman to sing Maa Tujhe Salaam (Vande Mataram), the patriotic chant peaked like a comet through the grounds, as youngsters not really known for their patriotism, sang out loud, believing. Yes, it united all, and an earlier “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” brought a smile on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s face too! Martin then went onto Bollywood tunes with Channa Mereya to everyone’s absolute delight… and completely enveloped the 80,000-odd light surfers with his warmth. The miles-long glow was a sight to behold.
The stage lit up in myriad colours and hues, with streaking lights, fireworks and Chris Martin, in swift changes from rhythm guitar to piano to keyboards, and another guitar, as he broke his first, Jonny Buckland on lead guitar, backing vocals, piano, keyboards, drums, Guy Berryman bass, backing vocals, piano, keyboards and Will Champion on drums, percussion, backing vocals, piano, keyboards, guitar — they came to give their all, and they did. What endeared the fans, who in true Global Citizen spirit, had converged from all parts of the country… was the sheer presence of Coldplay and Martin, his sincere introduction of his band members that went beyond just mere mentions, explaining their “hotshot” personalities and his coaxing, urging and egging the crowd to jump, raise their hands, phones and even crouch and jump up again — the mood was jubilant, the energy powerful.
The crowd had patiently waited as performances, events and interactions that started at 10.30 am went on till after 8 pm — hey, they had waited this long, and no one was going to come in the way of Coldplay, right? Prime Minister Modi, who’s message was aired (he was unable to attend the event) even joked saying, “I stand between you and Coldplay,” and then went on to add tongue-in-cheek, that it’s a good thing he (the PM) was not asked to sing, as everyone would demand money back — in 100s, of course — hinting at the demonetisation. The Prime Minister revealed that he himself has idols — Bob Dylan, AR Rehman… and Chris Martin, proceeding to quote the famous Dylan song, “The Times They Are A-changin,” to the complete delight of the music-loving audience! Sachin Tendulkar evoked chants of Sachin, as he joined the cause and asked Maharashtra to wash their hands before eating and after using the toilet…
Bengaluru got together
People gathered from across the country to watch Coldplay. Among them was Sushil Gudage, a businessman from Bengaluru, who felt it was, “Awesome. Chris Martin’s stage presence and energy was as good as Freddie Mercury if not better. A complete rock star. While, I haven’t experienced Freddie Mercury live but Chris Martin and Coldplay last night is the closest to what it would have been with Queen, I suppose.”
And there were many Garden City music souls who braved high airfares, crazy traffic, and multitudes of people to see Coldplay, among them was Sachin Kaliath, a marketing guy, who took a flight via Hyderabad, “We were told that since PM Modi was coming, gates will close by 4 pm. We still went, in the hope of getting in. Nothing can beat their magnificent performance. It was by far the best I have seen.”
And there were others like Nishi, who had landed the previous day, bared the sun and umpteen performances to see Coldplay, she added, “Wow. This has to be the best, like the Roger Waters show in Bengaluru years ago… Chris Martin was amazing. Not just that, we felt he wanted to go on and on. And we would have stood there all night. The warmth of his soul comes through in his songs, demeanour and words.”
The fans were seen sprawled, dehydrated from a day in the sun, and free water was given, which was quite an unruly sight… most had come to see Coldplay… and the sight of Chris Martin, lying looking at Mumbai’s sky full of stars onstage… singing with all his might, made us “believe in Magic again.”
A global agenda
There were a slew of Bollywood celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan, Ranveer Singh, Vidya Balan, Katrina Kaif, Frieda Pinto, etc, young India, corporates and politicians who came forward to pledge their support to the Global Citizen agenda of sanitation, toilets for all, cleanliness, gender equality, removing poverty, answering the world’s biggest challenges — Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Milind Deora, Poonam Mahajan, Aditya Thackeray, CEO of Global Citizen Hugh Evans India Festival and many more.
Demi Lovato’s awesome songs left everyone a bit satiated as they waited, The Vamps who brought in a sense of mischief into the set were great and Jay Z crooning to Indian mixes, it was about strides for a better world, and a coming together of the talents that shine.
Sadly, the ‘Swacch” part after the show was anything but, with the sea of humanity leaving a sea of garbage in their wake.
