The communal power of song was strong as Coldplay took to the Pyramid Stage on Saturday night for their fifth outing as Glastonbury headliners. There were rumbles of discontent when the band were announced as one of this year’s three main acts – not Coldplay again – but, say what you like about Chris Martin and co, they understood the brief. Coldplay barrelled straight out of the gate with “Yellow”, the first step in an effort to build the crowd up and keep them in the stratosphere for two thrilling – and beautifully cheesy – hours.
Dressed like a second team astronaut on a NASA mission to befriend life elsewhere in the galaxy, Martin strummed an acoustic guitar as the crowd took over vocals. The light-up wristbands the band famously love to use as part of every show had become like gold-dust around the festival site as they were handed out throughout the day – supposedly made of compostable casing in keeping with the band’s green credentials. They proved a spectacular addition, kicking in -just as you were wondering where Coldplay could possibly take it after starting with such a hit – during “Higher Power”, in tandem with fireworks popping and confetti cannons raining down across the crowd.
A Pyramid Stage set could be just another day at the office for Coldplay but Martin’s ecstatic energy emanated across the field as he conducted the crowd in singalong after singalong. Coldplay are cheesy – it’s true. They love to preach love, kindness and si.
