With a cracking first show under their belts and a gorgeous sun in the sky, the vibe in soundcheck today is wonderfully upbeat.
Chris arrives first and gets up there to give the piano a workout on his own. He’s soon joined by the others and the mood is jovial as they dart between eras. Coldplay’s early-days patron saint Debs Wild is here and she gets a playing of Everything’s Not Lost.
Chris remarks as he looks into the empty stadium, “There’s about as many people here as there was when you saw us the first time – it’s just a bigger Cuba Cafe…”
One of the Kaleidoscope EP tracks gets an airing before the traditional end-of-soundcheck tune (and show opener) A Head Full Of Dreams gets a run.
Guy decides, not unreasonably, that his work is done after the first chorus and spots the scooter Chris has acquired for whizzing around these huge venues. He puts down his bass, picks up the scooter and disappears towards the ramp grinning.
Chris seizes his opportunity for bass-glory and jams out with Will and Jonny. Perhaps it’s the feeling of California sunshine in Lyon today, but I swear I spotted a pretty fine Flea impersonation.
The good mood carries over into the show. It’s a gorgeous evening, the crowd are in fine voice and the entire production has clicked into ‘well oiled machine’ mode straight after the break.
An all round glorious day.
R42.
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