Coldplay in Dublin review: The greatest live show on earth? Croke Park thinks so

Coldplay rocked Croke Park in Dublin with a superb gig. Here's our review

Chris Martin in performance at the first of four Coldplay concerts in Croke Park, Dublin, on Thursday night. Picture: Gareth Chaney

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Coldplay, Croke Park, Dublin ★★★★★

An explosion of light on our wrists, a blast of confetti, and a synchronised jump from the pit. Welcome to Coldplay’s 'Music of the Spheres' world tour, dubbed the greatest live show on earth.

“This boy is electric,” Chris Martin sings as he dances across the B-stage on opener ‘Higher Power’, “I’m buzzing night after night”.

And for the rest of the night, it seems that he is.

Dressed in his trademark tie-dye T-shirt and technicolor recycled HOKA trainers, like an over enthused summer camp leader he directs us to go low low, jump jump, wave our arms, and prove that “Irish people are the best singers in the world".

Photo: Gareth Chaney

It’s been seven years since the English band last performed in Ireland, and that two-night stopover for the A Head Full of Dreams tour was subsequently voted the most popular live event in Ireland in the past 20 years by Ticketmaster fans.

It is no surprise a frenzy broke out when tickets went on sale for this quartet of shows last year.

Friends from Rochfortbridge Westmeath, Mullingar, and London — Lorraine Healy, Gillian Maloney, Niamh Maloney, Gail Brunton, and Caroline Mitchell — making their way to Thursday's Coldplay concert in Croke Park, Dublin. Pictures: Gareth Chaney

Some lucky 320,000 managed to score tickets. For the however-many thousands that weren’t as lucky, I can only apologise that this review will do little to nurse the heartache.

Once ‘Higher Power,’ hits its final notes, we are into a run of chart-toppers that has the crowd singing along to every word with almost as much gusto as any of Taylor Swift’s devotees in the Aviva in June. 

From ‘Adventure of a Lifetime’ to ‘The Scientist’ and ‘Viva La Vida’, there isn’t a single low point here.

When Martin finally takes a chance to catch his breath, he says hello — as gaeilge of course.

“Céad míle fáilte agat,” he grins, sweat dripping from every pour. “Conas atá tú a chairde?

“I don’t really know how to handle a crowd this wonderful,” he confesses. “It’s overwhelming.” 

At one point he tells the crowd he went to Grafton Street two nights ago and it was empty apart from one busker. He thought it would be cool to come back the following night again and film a music video...

Tonight, Little Simz, Burna Boy, Elyanna and TINI, the artists that performed with them when they sang to crowds on Dublin's Grafton St on Wednesday, join them again, this time on Croker's stage for a performance of 'We Pray', the bands latest single.

Throughout the gig, the concert screens frequently flick away from the stage to the audience where we watch people of all ages sing, dance or wave posters in the air.

Yvonne Scannell (who is celebrating her 50th birthday) and Irene Fox Harnett, both from Abbeyfeale Co Limerick, and who are both on their way to Perth, stopped over in Dublin on Thursday night for the Coldplay concert in Croke Park. Picture: Gareth Chaney

At one point. Martin pauses to read some of the signs, including one that says “Let’s sing for my daddy in the sky”.

“Okay, let’s do that," Martin says, “come up here.” 

Moments later, a trio from Italy are sat next to Martin on the piano as we all singalong to 'Everglow' for Vincenzo — and for Sinead O’Connor, Shane MacGowan and Dolores O'Riordan, to whom Martin also dedicates the touching ballad.

Later again, the stadium is a sea of 'Yellow', as the Devon man asks us to look for the person furthest away from us in the stadium and sing to them. From the nosebleeds, I can see a lot of people turning around aimlessly singing in all directions.

It’s moments like these, a bit cheesy, a bit silly, that make a Coldplay gig what it is (there are alien masks and duets with puppets to come later in the night). But if you can leave your cynicism at the door, this is joy in its purest form.

Martin and his band mates guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman and drummer Will Champion, have truly created something magical in this show, it’s hard to leave the stadium without feeling a bit lighter.

The show has been heralded as the greatest live music show on earth. Is it?

Croke Park, at least, says yes.