Coldplay Brings Colorful "Head Full Of Dreams" Tour To Gillette Stadium

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Coldplay performs at Gillette Stadium on July 30th, 2016 (Benjamin Esakof/Roman's Rap-Up).

Coldplay brought their "Head Full of Dreams" tour to Massachusetts's Gillette Stadium Saturday night. Much like their new album and peace & love morals represent, the show was full of color. The light up bracelets that Taylor Swift recently used for her 1989 tour appeared at the show, and the crowd lit up in technicolor on-beat to Coldplay's songs throughout the show. It was perfect for such a vibrant album; the band played oldies such as "Yellow" while the crowd lit up a soft yellow, and their new hit "Adventure of a Lifetime" brought a ripple of colors throughout the crowd. 

In addition to the bracelets, Coldplay brought other technological advances to the concert realm that brought energy and happiness to the crowd. Fireworks, confetti, and balloons also appeared during certain songs. Chris Martin also made sure to take moments between performances to give thanks to his bandmates as well as spread good vibes to the audience and the world. This happy, peaceful moral standing is something that is always comforting to see, as Coldplay's audience is large, so the positive use of their public platform is an honorable industry move. While Coldplay also made sure to play other new hits such as "Hymn for the Weekend," noted for featuring Beyoncé, they also appealed to the crowd with "Viva la Vida" and "Clocks." Their instrumental skills in coordination with Martin's erratic energy and vocal chords make Coldplay a band that continues to grow and isn't close to fading away. 

Coldplay is a band that uses new developments such as the bracelets to their advantage, but not so much that it overshadowed their strong sound or covered up a weak sound. There's a fear that concerts nowadays stray too far away from the basic vocals and instrumentals. However, Coldplay's "Head Full of Dreams" tour is a good example of how these developments can help make singing songs into full, interactive performances that only enhance an artist's sound instead of distract from it.

Alessia Cara is the Fresh Face for Female Pop Stardom

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Alessia Cara performs at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA on July 30th, 2016 (Benjamin Esakof/Roman's Rap-Up). 

Alessia Cara came out on the Gillette Stadium stage like stadium performances were second nature. The up-and-comer is not still up-and-coming; she has already arrived. Take note. The young female artist opened Coldplay’s "A Head Full of Dreams" Tour stop in Massachusetts Saturday night, and she left little room for disappointment. She is only twenty years old and a recent recipient of the industry’s hot spotlight, yet the singer held a sense of professional maturity that surprised me as one of thousands in the concert’s sold-out attendance. Cara adorned a casual, all-black ensemble and piled her dark hair on top of her head in a Sunday-morning-fashioned messy bun. Her face was bare – very little to any blush, liners, or shadows coated it. This alone is notable. So many celebrities and artists perform and present themselves as fashion divas with model beauty that are actually only the production of hours behind a makeup chair. Instead, Cara sang naked of girly standards and sequined tops. That approach only left one thing for her audience to judge: her raw talent.

Alessia Cara performs at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA on July 30th, 2016 (Benjamin Esakof/Roman's Rap-Up). 

Cara has one of those voices that make heads turn in a crowded room. Her debut album Know-It-All includes a deluxe edition that features thirteen tracks that simply demonstrate why she needs to be valued in the music industry. Her hollow, old-timey tone carries a mixture of Sara Bareilles and Norah Jones; however, her lyrics also have angst and emotion of a barely twentysomething trying to conquer the road of life, love, and happiness while breaking into stardom. Her performance included eight songs off the album beginning with “I’m Yours,” a sassy yet sentimental love song to a boy who breaks down Cara’s tough walls and wins her heart. That’s the important aspect of Cara’s career anchor though her deep vocal range is fit for a speakeasy: she carries punch in her lyrics that hurts upon impact even as a younger performer. 

Throughout the set, Cara stopped to introduce songs with that same self-empowerment message throughout translated into different areas of life. “Wild Things,” her performance after “I’m Yours,” embraced all the parts of yourself, while “Four Pink Walls” and “Outlaws” broke out of a comfort zone to embrace a scary, exciting future. However, “Four Pink Walls” is regarding Cara’s career in the spotlight and “Outlaws” is about the serious risks we take for love. All of her moral messages circle back to taking a plunge into the unknown with the confidence of knowing yourself and your worth. This is no more apparent than her closing and most popular song, “Here,” that played on the radio for months. It’s a personal story of Cara’s; how unimpressed she was at a party a few years back; how people tend to put on a front like they’re having a lot more fun than they actually are. She slams high school and college party life by dissecting the different scenarios from that night that are so standard in most party environments. It is important that this was her first breakout hit because it is so different from the other pop songs whose lyrics blend together in similar meaning. “Here” highlights who Cara is, and she sang it Saturday on par with its radio version. I cannot tell you how impressive it is to see this single woman onstage at a place as enormous at Gillette Stadium with a casual yet determined composure about her, a no-fucks-given style from head-to-toe, with only her pure music to present for critique. She’s refreshing; she’s real; she should not be taken lightly.

Check out photos from her knock-out performance below:

Coldplay Announces U.S. Stadium Tour

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(Live Nation)

On the heels of their big Super Bowl performance in February, Coldplay announced Thursday morning they'd be embarking on a 7-date U.S. stadium tour, with stops in Boston, New York, Chicago and more. This is the band's first tour since their "Mylo Xyloto Tour" in 2011/12.

Tickets go on sale on Ticketmaster on Friday, February 5th. See the full dates below: 

Saturday, July 16                    NEW YORK, NY MetLife Stadium

Saturday, July 23                    CHICAGO, IL Soldier Field

Saturday, July 30                    FOXBOROUGH, MA Gillette Stadium

Saturday, August 6                 PHILADELPHIA, PA Lincoln Financial Field

Saturday, August 20               LOS ANGELES, CA Rose Bowl

Saturday, August 27               DALLAS, TX AT&T Stadium

Saturday, September 3          SAN FRANCISCO, CA Levi's Stadium