Coldplay at Darien Lake

Coldplay is almost too good to be true. In just 5 years they've climbed to the top of the rock world with overwhelming success. Three killer albums in that time span have music critics already drawing comparisons with Coldplay to super bands like U2.

But Coldplay's success can only be attributed to their raw talent and dedicated approach. As evidence to their musical brilliance, thousands of fans saw Coldplay this past Thursday at Darien Lake.

Coldplay first came into the music scene in 2000 with their premiere album "Parachutes," a lush blend of soothing British vocals and drowsy guitars. Their first single "Yellow," initially a b-side that Martin had considered disposing of completely, introduced the quartet to the world and launched them into an overnight success. "Trouble," the second single to be released, furthered their fame and demonstrated Martin's talents on the piano.

By their second album "A Rush of Blood to the Head," Coldplay was a world-renowned sensation. No one could turn on the television or radio without hearing "Clocks" or "The Scientist." And, unlike most bands that collapse under the pressure of success, Coldplay continued to put on energetic and passionate performances across the globe.

"X&Y," their latest release from August, has its strong points. While getting further and further away from the mellow sound that made them so successful in the first place, they continue to produce crowd-pleasing and radio-friendly songs that search the limits of love and the meaning of our existence.

Rilo Kiley opened the act with sweet and soft melodies that were aptly suited to warm up the Coldplay craving crowd. Lead singer Jenny Lewis, clad in miniskirt and knee high socks, fingered the guitar and keyboard while belting out tunes that intermixed mellow with hard rock. Robed either as hippie or beatnik, band members of Rilo Kiley pumped out rock that was easy on the ears, while not being afraid to venture into the occasional but short-lived guitar solo.

There was nothing mellow about Coldplay's entrance on stage. They were welcomed with an insanely thunderous roar shaking the facility's foundation. Great bursts of air and sound flowed through the audience with the beat of each song. When lead singer Chris Martin wasn't skipping across the stage belting out tunes, he would jump on the piano simultaneously thrusting his pelvis with the tempo of the music.

Familiar songs like "Speed of Sound," "The Scientist," and "God Put a Smile Upon Your Face," were scattered throughout the set. The third song was "Yellow" and its familiarity with the crowd was evident as the sea of gleeful onlookers sang along under yellow lights with giant yellow bouncing balloons, which were dropped over the heads of the audience. Darien Lake's sound quality in unison with Coldplay's musical precision, combined to make an aural outcome close to perfection.

Slower melodies like "Green Eyes" softly penetrated listeners' eardrums making sweet love to their ears and mind, while harder tunes had a borderline head-banging quality like the explosive ending to the normally tame "Clocks."

The light show and Martin's energy onstage added a visual element to the performance. During the song "Politik," the light show and flashes across the giant digital TV screens could have been enough to cause an epileptic seizure.

Throughout the show, Martin shared anecdotes with the audience. When singling out the crowd situated on the lawn, he told them about their fortunate positioning.

"It turns out from a magazine in Europe that we're the ugliest band. So back there is the best place to see and hear us," Martin joked.

Like many performers who compliment the hometown of the venue to butter-up their fans, Martin had some positive things to say about Darien Lake.

"Has anyone been on the rollercoasters here? Normally we play next to factories and burning rubber, not rides," Martin said.

Coldplay's musical quality live far exceeds anything listened to on the stereo. The band creates an atmosphere of sound that encases the listener in layers of musical genius. Though there are only four band members on stage, it seems as if a symphony of performers were hired to meet your musical needs.

Coldplay's encore consisted of 4 songs including "In My Place" in which Martin ran through the crowd, climbed halfway up a beam and sang the remainder of the song. The band's final song was "Fix You" a crowd favorite from their latest album, which received deafening approval from the sea of satisfied fans.

Coldplay left the stage with earsplitting praise from thousands of contented listeners, and with the confidence of being in the forefront of the rock n' roll industry, with seemingly nothing in their way to stop them from becoming rock legends.