Coldplay LIVE

The British alt-rock foursome kicked off the first leg of their UK Mylo Xyloto tour in Coventry last night with a magnificent performance at the Ricoh Arena.

After support Acts Rita Ora and Robyn failed to captivate even a minority of the audience, the band’s entrance to the Back to the Future sound track set the tone for the epic performance of the night.

Fireworks literally erupted as they set foot on stage, and just a few minutes into _Hurts Like Heaven_, the stadium filled with smoke, light and lasers bouncing in all directions, shortly followed by giant blow-up beach balls hurtled into the crowd.

Already drenched in sweat by the end of the first song, one fan new to the Coldplay experience might wonder how front-man Chris Martin keeps up through the almost two hour performance. Yet, his passion and energy throughout the night never falter as he bounds up and down the runway and stage, which run the width of the stadium floor.

Following that, hundreds of pieces of pastel-coloured confetti erupted from all angles during _In My Place_, transforming the stadium from a hot, sweaty summers evening to a snowstorm of hearts and bows.

After drilling out _Major Minus, Life in Technicolour, The Scientist, Yellow_, and a fantastically rocked up version of _God Put a Smile On Your Face_, Martin proclaims that the best songs are yet to come, and that they’re just getting started.

Throughout the night, Coldplay reignited the magic that has been running through their music since their first album, _Parachutes_, with the help of controlled armbands – given to every member of the audience upon their arrival – which lit up an array of colours throughout the night.

The band slowed down for _Princess of China, Up in Flames and Warning Sign_, before jumping around the stage once more to perform _Viva La Vida, Charlie Brown and Paradise_ to finish up the main set.

As the 40,000 strong audience waited not so patiently for the encore, the stadium filled with the tones of the bridge of _Viva_, wristband lights still flickering, crowds still whistling.

Martin, shortly followed by the rest of the band, entertained fans at the back of the stadium in a regular trick used by Coldplay on tour. They cropped up on a mini-stage in the rear of the stadium floor for the start of the encore, and performed acoustic variations of two of their major hits, _Speed of Sound_ and _Clocks_.

The magical finale of _Fix You_ and _Every Teardrop is a Waterfall_ had fans singing along to every word, with the lyrics ‘lights will guide you home’ seemingly fitting to the wristbands, which glowed like lights on a Christmas tree from every member of the audience.

As another round of fireworks erupted into the night sky and the band took their bows and left the stage, the echoes of Viva were heard once more as the crowd scuttled for the exit. As usual, Coldplay pull of a spectacular performance, summed up in a single word as simply ‘magical’.’