TORONTO - Brit-pop matchups don't get much better than last night's Coldplay/Richard Ashcroft double bill at the Air Canada Centre.
It's hard to beat Coldplay's Chris Martin and ex-Verve singer Richard Ashcroft when it comes to riveting frontmen.
Coldplay, who are on the second leg of their North American tour, have visited Toronto twice previously in support of their third album, X&Y, launching the entire tour last August at the ACC and playing a special club show at Kool Haus back in May.
Coldplay obviously love Canada, and the feeling appears to be mutual. Last night's show and tonight's second concert sold out immediately with 17,000 tickets for each performance snapped up quickly, and were/are being filmed for an upcoming DVD.
"We've come to Toronto to make our film cause we believe it's the best audience in the world," proclaimed Martin, while pounding his piano keys during the second song, Politik.
Coldplay are also returning to the country to perform at the Junos on Apr. 2 in Halifax.
All this road time has obviously paid off for the group -- rounded out by guitarist Jonny Buckland, drummer Will Champion and bassist Guy Berryman -- who were already in great shape last year and have become an even slicker, more well-oiled machine, with bigger bells and whistles.
As they did previously in Toronto, the group launched last night's 95-minute show with the arena-friendly Square One in front of a large curved video screen with coloured lights coming out of every conceivable corner of the ACC.
The spectacle continued with Politik, which was heavy on strobe lighting, and Yellow , which saw large yellow balloons fall from the ceiling and sprinkle gold confetti when Martin gleefully burst one of them.
Crowd singalongs were also impressive during Yellow, Speed Of Sound, God Put A Smile Upon Your Face, The Scientist, In My Place and Fix You, as were Martin's yoga-friendly moves that saw him crawling along the front of the stage like a large cat or bending all the way backwards while kneeling on the ground.
Buckland also got into the spirit of performing, taking over on lead vocals for a verse of Don't Panic, lying down beside Martin on the ground to continue playing as White Shadows drew to a close and draping himself in a Canadian flag after the band had taken their final vows.
But given the elaborate production -- a ring of coloured light panels lit up the perimeter of the ACC's upper levels during the show standout Clocks -- it was a simple shirt change on stage by the well-toned Martin that really got his female fans going.
"This is disgusting, just a minute," said Martin, before running to the side of the stage, and claiming later he was "a sweaty bastard."
The group then settled into a semi-circle at the front of the stage for semi-acoustic versions of 'Til Kingdom Come, which they wrote for Johnny Cash, and a cover of The Man In Black's Ring Of Fire.
Coming in a close second, in terms of a crowd-pleasing moment, was when Martin raced to the back of the floor to mingle with the audience during In My Place.
Ashcroft, meanwhile, has hooked up with Coldplay -- who are on the road until July -- for about a dozen shows in North America to promote his third solo record, Keys To The World.
Normally a charismatic performer with a strong, soulful voice, Ashcroft was a bit shaky-sounding off the start and is obviously getting his touring legs back having not performed in these parts in over five years.
Or maybe he was still rattled after an extensive security check he underwent recently at the Cleveland airport with his family.
"I almost kissed the tarmac," said Ashcroft of arriving in Toronto this week.
Taking the stage with his four-piece band, the long and lanky singer wasted no time getting comfortable, throwing off his hat, peeling off his socks and sneakers, and unbuttoning his jean jacket.
And as Ashcroft's 55-minute set progressed, he clearly got more relaxed and in better voice. Highlights included his new tunes Break The Night With Colour and Words Just Get In The Way and such Verve anthems as The Drugs Don't Work, Sonnet, Lucky Man and, naturally, Bittersweet Symphony. That last song, which famously sampled an orchestral version of The Rolling Stones' The Last Time, had the crowd on its feet and singing along as Ashcroft climbed up beside the drum kit to shake a tambourine.
