Coldplay’s Chris Martin rouses the crowd − and slams Rogers Stadium at first Toronto show | Canada Voices

Conspicuously adorable and eager to please, Chris Martin brought the house down on Monday at the first of four Coldplay concerts at the new Rogers Stadium north of Toronto. But the crowd-rousing melodist did not stop there: He put the house down, too.

“Thanks for coming, I hope that you have fun,” he said early on, half-singing while plunking happy chords at the keyboard. “I can promise you Toronto, the greatest show we’ve ever done.” Then he began to commiserate with the 50,000 punters in front of him, thanking them for travelling to “this weird stadium in the middle of nowhere.” He continued, no longer talk-singing: “So, thank you for that. Thank you for coming through the traffic and the travel and the trains and the waiting and the lines and all the nonsense …”

It was a reference to the new Live Nation Canada outdoor venue and complaints after the inaugural concert by Korean pop band Stray Kids on June 29. Lines of people exiting the stadium were long and the swaying bleachers unnerved the acrophobia inclined.

Leading up to the visit by the Brit-pop superstars, Live Nation spokespeople said they were making adjustments to improve crowd control.

Later in the concert, Martin again ragged on Rogers Stadium, joking that the temporary seasonal facility was “55 miles” from Toronto and accessible only by skateboard. (In fact, the venue at Downsview Park is less than 18 kilometres from Toronto and can be easily reached by public transit.)

But here’s the deal: Rogers Stadium was literally built by Live Nation to lure Coldplay’s blockbuster Music of the Spheres tour to the city. The venue at the former Downsview Airport has a larger capacity than the downtown Rogers Centre, was designed specifically for music and doesn’t have the availability issues of the home of the Toronto Blue Jays.

The venue isn’t perfect, but then, neither is Coldplay. The band’s first concert in Toronto in eight years was delayed 10 minutes because of a lighting issue. Lovable dork that he is, Martin came on stage to personally apologize for the barely noticeable hold-up. Can you imagine Madonna doing that?

When Martin popped out, he told the audience his appearance wasn’t part of the show. Minutes later, lights fixed, Martin and his bandmates walked out through the crowd. That certainly was part of the show − arguably the biggest rock group in the world is a band of the people.

It is also a band of one. Martin is the show pony; the other band members, merely unremarkable accompanists.

As a poor man’s Radiohead, the Martin-led Coldplay is not interested in upgrading musical tastes. Melodies were earnest, soaring singalongs were common, hits such as Clocks and The Scientist were pretty and pleasing.

Fireworks and Martin’s falsetto flared and disappeared into the night. For Yellow, the band’s breakthrough 2000 hit, light-emitting bracelets with radio frequency handed out to attendees upon arrival glowed that colour. Paradise must have felt euphoric to the committed Coldplay fan.

Lyrically and otherwise, Martin offered the music of reassurance. Consider the piano-ballad encouragement of All My Love, from the band’s latest album, Moon Music, released last year.

We’ve been through low

Been through sunshine, been through snow

All the colours of the weather

We’ve been through high

Every corner of the sky

And still we’re holding on together

Coldplay, led by the Svengali of soft rock, fosters community. As a big screen showed images of individual fans, Martin composed and sang tailor-made tunes for each of them on the fly. He even invited two girls on stage − named Summer and Maya − for their song request of Trouble.

From Coldplay to Billie Eilish, concerts are moving toward sustainability

The record-breaking Music of the Spheres tour, which began in 2022 and ends with a 10-night stand at London’s Wembley Stadium at the end of the summer, is designed to be as sustainable and low-carbon as possible. Fans jumping on “kinetic floors” and pedalling energy-storing stationary bikes generated power some of the power for Tuesday’s show.

By the time Coldplay ever gets back to Toronto after this visit, Rogers Stadium might be gone. It was built on land already scheduled for development. At that point − five years from now is the estimate − presumably the scaffolding and seats can be used elsewhere.

A recyclable stadium? Sounds like an idea Martin can get behind.

Coldplay plays Toronto’s Rogers Stadium again on July 8, 11 and 12.