tracklisting:
Politik
God Put A Smile Upon My Face
A Rush of Blood To The Head
Daylight
Trouble
One I Love
Don't Panic
Shiver
See You Soon
Everything's Not Lost
Moses
Yellow
The Scientist
Clocks
In My Place
Amsterdam
Life Is For Living
AUDIO CD:
Politik
God Put A Smile Upon My Face
A Rush Of Blood To The Head
One I Love
See You Soon
Shiver
Everything's Not Lost
Moses
Yellow
Clocks
In My Place
Amsterdam


Unconventional concert film -- and entertaining.   January 25, 2004
Timothy Read (Los Angeles, CA)
16 out of 17 found this review helpful

The first thing you should know about Live 2003 is that it is not a conventional concert film. You don't have many wide shots or long shots where you can figure out exactly what a guitarist or drummer is doing. If you like how most concerts are filmed, this is probably not the disc for you.
Live 2003 is edited more like a feature-length music video. So many shots are just fleeting glimpses of hands, of instruments, of heads bobbing. Lights cut through the frame at odd angles and are broken up by heads, hands, and instruments. Several shots have effects put on them (frame shake, etc.) -- or at least look like it.
But if you take it more as an artistic complement to the music, it's great. If all you want is a "you are there" experience, you will not like this. But for me, the unconventionality of the approach really worked. It was entertaining and more visually interesting than the usual shots of four guys on stage with the occasional sweeping shot thrown in for variety.
The sound is OK -- not awful, not the best I've heard either. The performance is pretty solid. But the visuals really make this disc interesting.
Also fun is the road diary showing footage from all over, with a decent stretch in LA showing the Hollywood Bowl concert and the bassist poring through 45s at Amoeba.
The visual approach won't work for everyone, but I really like it. And if you like Coldplay's previous albums, you'll like this one -- there's no real surprises in terms of sound or performance.


Wow!   November 4, 2003
Lisa (Toronto Canada)
11 out of 12 found this review helpful

This DVD is next best to having attended the 2003 concert in person. The concert shown was played in Sydney, Australia, including 2 sets of encores (the playlist was identical to what I saw during a concert in North America on the same tour). I felt like I was experiencing the concert all over again.

During the concert, there are lots of close ups, meaning you'll even see the beads of sweat on the bandmembers' faces. There are several seemingly 'private moments' caught on tape, when the members of the band look particularly thoughtful or serene during songs. The audio is 100% authentic to the point that a few minor musical/sound glitches remain. (You want to feel like you were really at the concert, right?!)

Visually, I found the film really well done, artistic even. Some parts of the concert are shown in black & white, others in color. There are some scenes that are shown in a kind of hybrid, with most of the shot appearing in black and white and highlights brought out in colour. It's quite stunning to the eye.

Another feature of the DVD that I really enjoyed was the tour diary which is a behind the scenes look at the band's travels. This gave me a chance to see a side of Coldplay I didn't know at all. The bandmembers seem to still be really close friends in spite of their rapid rise to fame. Some of the candid moments caught in the tour diary include a super-fast impromptu version of Trouble (it's funny!), the guys doing radio interviews, rescuing a kitten from the ceiling of their backstage dressing room (!) and much more. I had a smile plastered on my face for the entire tour diary. I enjoyed it at least as much as the concert portion of the DVD itself.

All together, the DVD (which includes a live concert CD) is a wise investment for any Coldplay fan. You'll be enjoying this one for years to come.


A Pleasant Surprise ....   November 5, 2003
14 out of 16 found this review helpful

I'll be the first to admit, I'm nothing more than a casual fan of Coldplay. But I am in the process of building a collection of Concert DVD's, so when this came out I figured, "Why Not ?"

Let me tell you, this package ROCKS ! From the first track of the DVD I was hooked. Chris Martin's presence onstage is impressive to behold, and the passion with which he & his bandmates rip thru their material is stunning. The crowd is amazing as well, and the feeling of excitement is heightened by the quick cuts between cameras. As I said, this is my first exposure to Coldplay outside of what's on the Radio, so the only material I really knew was "Politik","The Scientist", and "Clocks." All were represented well, especially the latter.

Add to this the fact that you get nearly the entire concert on a companion Audio CD, all for around $15 and you have a set that you cannot beat for the price. I'm thoroughly impressed & look forward to Coldplay's future releases. So if you're even the slightest bit curious about this band, pick up this DVD ASAP.


Wasn't a fan until I saw this DVD concert   March 6, 2005
Keith A. Jacoby (Rochester, NY USA)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

I didn't know any of Coldplay's music until I watched this DVD, which a friend recommended. I am very grateful to him for making me aware of this band that I thought was just another bunch of young guys churning out 21st century formulaic pop. How wrong I was!!!
You know, I appreciate people's criticisms of this DVD--it does jump around in the editing a lot, but in my opinion it underscores the pace of the music throughout the performance. And what a performance--what a frontman. Such charisma. Contrary to what many people have commented about Coldplay lacking talent--they may not be vertuosic on thier instruments, but they play within themselves. Other bands that do this: U2 and Pink Floyd. Enough said.
Certain songs made me well up--Trouble is achingly beautiful, and Moses is one of the best songs on the DVD. It's such a wonderful song, with great chord progressions and very Edge-like lead guitar work. Many of the songs are indeed formulaic brit-pop (I think of other "Manchester-sound" bands like Oasis and The Verve) but they are crafted so brilliantly as to make you forget that they have the verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus-end structure. They write such clever songs that stay with you long after you've heard them. They get under your skin and you're happy they bounce around your head instead of some other crap that makes you crazy. 5 stars easily.