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Music

Brain waves amplified

Cerebral acts Coldplay and Fiona Apple both engage and freak out Sunday at the Ford Amphitheatre.

By SEAN DALY
Published March 6, 2006

	[Times photo: Daniel Wallace]
	Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin performs at the Ford Amphitheatre. Early in the set, he slipped off the stage. He was hurt, but not that hurt. "We would have had to cancel again and that would have been a disaster," he laughed, obviously in pain, but a gamer nonetheless.

TAMPA - For reasons both artistic and fruit-related, Fiona Apple and Coldplay made for a fitting double bill at Ford Amphitheatre on Sunday.

After all, she is a piano-playing waif with a predilection for both pop brilliance and pretension, while pencil-thin playboy Chris Martin is a cerebral melody master who named his daughter Apple.

Both acts, each celebrated and teased for their headcase natures, are also touring behind idea-rich third albums - her Extraordinary Machine ; their X&Y - that delight as much as confound. Same goes for their live shows: It was all quite lovely - the 20,000 fans sure sounded like they loved it - but it was sometimes too easy to get lost in the brain waves, as well.

Oh, and one more correlation: Both Fiona and Chris totally freaked out onstage - Martin to the point of accidentally falling off the stage at one point. But more on that in a bit.

After a six-year span of reclusivity stuffed fat with record-label brouhahas and personal angst, saucer-eyed wisp Apple has returned with a subtly chilling sound that is all parts little-girl-lost and tortured cabaret singer. To be honest, the Tampa "shed" is an awfully large venue for someone who relies on in-your-face intimacy - a few tunes were meandering and blah - but don't tell her that.

When Apple, dressed in a floor-length turquoise dress and backed by a four-piece band, aimed her sneaky vitriol at loser men - as on sly opener Get Him Back (in which she contemplates how to "kill what I cannot catch") - she was wickedly entertaining. Same goes for the songs in which she's seducing men, as on breakout hit Criminal, in which she lets them know she's been a "bad, bad girl."

She was even lovable at times, especially when she giddily announced, "My grandmother is here tonight and this entire show is going to be for her!" Then again, that was before she unleashed a banshee wail and attacked her microphone as if the sucker owed her money.

You get the feeling Brit-pop kings Coldplay can generate lush, larger-than-life soundscapes in their sleep. The quartet has been consistently gorgeous since 2000 debut Parachutes and especially on 2002 followup A Rush of Blood to the Head .

But after two albums that dedicated great chunks to the soul-shredding intricacies of heartbreak, 2005 album X&Y was bloated with what's-it-all-about head-tripping, big themes that tired listeners more than titillated them. The fact that Martin married actor Gwyneth Paltrow and had a daughter leading up to X&Y is not to be underestimated.

That said, Coldplay is a lot more enjoyable and engaging live than on album. Martin is a Gumby-bendable frontman, all spastic energy and playing to the crowd. Before his set even started, he threw flowers into the audience and apologized for canceling a Tampa date last September.

Taking the stage to grandiose 2001- esqu e orchestration, Martin & Co. exploded with energy, with the frontman sprinting everywhere, crooning new tune Square One . They even proved at times to be entirely capable of becoming "the next U2," especially on 2002's God Put a Smile Upon Your Face , with guitarist Jon Buckland making like the Edge with searing guitar licks.

Despite his happy home life - Paltrow is now carrying Baby No. 2, a.k.a. Produce to Be Named Later - Martin can still play the part of the lonely heart as well as anyone. For Yellow, the band's first big hit, giant glitter-filled yellow balloons dropped from the rafters, as the entire audience engaged in a swoony sing-along. The crowd was also in good form on The Scientist , a brutally pretty ballad and Martin's finest moment.

Sure, there were a few bathroom breaks in the bloated middle of the set - including X&Y's title song and Don't Panic - but Coldplay didn't stray long from a crowd-pleasing vibe. At one point, the entire band gathered at the front of the stage and played Johnny Cash tribute 'Til Kingdom Come and then the Man in Black's own Ring of Fire .

And then, of course, there was Martin's painful misstep early in the set, slipping off the stage. He was hurt, but not that hurt. "We would have had to cancel again and that would have been a disaster," he laughed, obviously in pain, but a gamer nonetheless.

-- Sean Daly can be reached at sdaly@sptimes.com or 727 893-8467. His blog can be found at www.sptimes.com/blogs/popmusic

[Last modified March 6, 2006, 00:58:14]