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Coldplay returning to the Gorge
The Associated Press
Coldplay, fronted by Chris Martin, is scheduled to play at the Gorge Amphitheatre on Saturday.
Coldplay, is quite simply, one of the more popular bands in the world. Their album sales are currently topping 50 million; their lead singer Chris Martin attracts fame as the husband of Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow; and they’ve won 43 awards to date.
But when they played at the Sasquatch Festival in 2003 at the Gorge Amphitheatre, they were relatively unknown, in the words of amphitheater director Javier O’Brien “an up-and-coming band.”
Now, as Coldplay is scheduled to return to the Gorge six years later, they are perhaps one of the biggest bands to ever play there.
Their worldwide popularity is phenomenal, and something that O’Brien knows will translate July 11, when they take the stage at the Gorge once again.
“Not only do we catch bands on the way up like we do at Sasquatch, but a band like Coldplay, because they’re an international group, helps strengthen and reinforce the notion that the Gorge is becoming more of an international venue,” O’Brien said.
“We’re very excited to have them here, not only because they have recently won awards, but because their tour has been doing real well. This date here is probably one of their largest on their tour. It’s a sellout for us, and they’re excited to come here, so everybody’s happy.”
Coldplay is a British alternative rock band formed in 1998. The group consists of Martin (lead vocals, keyboards, guitar), Jonny Buckland (lead guitar), Guy Berryman (bass guitar) and Will Champion (drums, backing vocals, other instruments).
Coldplay achieved worldwide fame with the release of their single “Yellow,” followed by their debut album, Parachutes, in 2000.
Its follow-up, A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002), won multiple awards and was critically acclaimed. Their next release, X&Y (2005), received a slightly less enthusiastic yet still generally positive reception.
The band’s fourth studio album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008), was released again to largely favorable reviews, earning several Grammy nominations and wins.
On June 16, 2008, the band started its Viva la Vida tour, which has proven to be a massive commercial and critical success with stops in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
“It’s been a great show,” O’Brien said. “The audience is going to get a great show. From the lighting to the special effects to the stage effects, all that stuff is fantastic. Plus, they’ve been giving out free CDs at their concert since last year.”
That album is titled LeftRightLeftRightLeft, a nine-song collection of live performances from the tour. It’s also available for free download on the band’s Web site.
“A lot of people who work at our record company just love music, so they’re happy to be able to help us give something back,” Martin said in a May interview with coldplay.com. “We’ve all got to make a living, but we’ve been really lucky as a band, so we can afford to manufacture an album and give it away.
“Although it’s live, it’s supposed to be a real album, part of our canon; as well as being a gift move, it is also a musical move. It’s meant to say that this is what we sound like at the moment.
“We tried to make it things that you might not hear if you didn’t go to a concert, but things that we really love playing. And also songs we think the audiences sing really well.”
During the interview, Martin said the band is thriving despite the demands of being on the road for more than a year.
“It’s certainly rewarding to be back out again,” he said. “Our audience is just incredible at the moment. (Even after 100 live shows, we still love doing it) because now it’s really getting good."
