From SPIN Magazine....

Coldplay Go Epic in Lolla Debut

Chris Martin / Photo by Dave Mead for Lollapalooza

Catharsis can come in many forms, but there are certain times where it’s best felt in the middle of an enormous crowd. Coldplay closed out the first day of Lollapalooza as only Coldplay can: equal parts epic and endearing, with tens of thousands of fans singing in unison. Oddly enough, it was the London quartet’s first time at the fest.
“It took us 20 years to get to Lollapalooza,” said Chris Martin. (Of course, the band only formed in 1996.) “You guys are making four men’s dreams come true.”

One could chalk the sentiment up to English manners, but that’s the thing about the star singer-songwriter — in his hands, sentiment never feels like a put-on. When SPIN arrived, the band was in the midst of their 2000 breakthrough “Yellow” (whilst bathed in amber stage light, no less). Without missing a beat, they rolled into 2002’s ubiquitous “In My Place,” seemingly just cranking out the midtempo megahits, but Martin handily disarmed cynics with a few simple words:
“Let’s sing it together, come on.”
It’s no secret that Coldplay’s lyrics aim straight for that main vein where universal heartache meets everyman yearning, but experienced in the middle of a sea positively frothing with those same emotions, that broad-stroke general interest bigness becomes strikingly personal. Who can’t graft the following couplet, from “Scientist,” onto some bit of sadness in their own life?
“Nobody said it was easy / No one ever said it would be this hard.”
The band pulled another trick too — one far more impressive. In between the inescapable familiars (including a spiky, percussive remake of “God Put a Smile Upon Your Face”) and a handful of new ones from their pending fifth album, Coldplay frequently dipped back to their debut Parachutes. The best moments were “Shiver” and “Everything’s Not Lost,” and on each, they managed to sound like a much smaller act — four guys not yet famous, but aiming for those stars (the yellow ones, of course).
— Chris Martins

Photos by Dave Mead for Lollapalooza