Credit: Photo by Shelley Hiam

Coldplay

Zilker Park, Sept. 16

As snuggling couples, tolerant boyfriends, and Twilight moms gathered in anticipation of Friday night’s milkiest of headliners, the interstitial music, Jay-Z’s “99 Problems,” caused a mild flurry of double-checked schedules. Finally, a dramatic instrumental ushered in the pale Brits against a backdrop of neon, “Hurts Like Heaven” leading the charge of a career-spanning set list. Next up was “Yellow,” which inspired a snake pit of waving arms even though the song feels different now, so distanced from the earnest boys who wrote it a decade ago. The irony of playing against Kanye West was not lost on frontman Chris Martin, who dedicated “Everything’s Not Lost” to “everyone who wanted to see Kanye but saw Coldplay instead. And for everyone who wanted to see Coldplay but saw Kanye instead.” Wryness aside, Coldplay delivered a set that was extremely polished, if not lacking a tiny bit of heart.

This article appears in September 23 • 2011.

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