Earlier this week I joined the sea of humanity on the lawn of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center for a concert by Coldplay.The foursome put on an memorable show, complete with dazzling lighting, multiple stages (including one out on the lawn!), a Michael Jackson cover and countless giant yellow balloons.
As engaging as the headliner was, it was one of the opening acts that left the biggest impression on me.
Elbow are an established British band that has yet to make a splash on this side of the pond. They've been around since 1990 and have released several albums and EPs including their latest - The Seldom Seen Kid- which I've been listening to nearly non-stop since Monday.
The band opened their set with the album's lead-off track - "Starlings" - which is about as mellow of a song as I've ever heard, that is until the guitar players picked up trumpets, unleashed one long blast of brass and then went right back to their axes as if the exchange had never happened.
The rest of their set followed suit - mostly mellow pop music along the lines of Pink Floyd and Radiohead - with enough melodic and harmonic twists to keep it interesting. Front-man Guy Garvey engaged the crowd with his witty between-song banter and self-depreciating and at time comical lyrics.
