Live Review: Coldplay, Lianne La Havas, Jess Kent

It remains impressive that the UK four-piece Coldplay can return to their satisfied customers in Australia over and over again, all with the promise of an exhilarating live show full of '00s classics and current chart-rising pop tracks. The feeling is no different this time around as Coldplay roll into Brisbane to play their 70th show from their A Head Full Of Dreams Tour, bringing along fellow Brit Lianne La Havas and local pop up-and-comer Jess Kent.

From busking on the streets of Adelaide to performing at Suncorp Stadium supporting one the world's biggest rock bands, Jess Kent humbly showcases her catchy dance/house tracks. Only having releasing a highly rotated single and a short but sweet EP, Kent appears to have skipped a few steps between busking and balling, but holds her own all the same. Banging out her catchy-as-hell dance track, Get Down, Kent also throws in a little Rage Against The Machine, mashing the single with opening of Killing In The Name.

Next up is the highly anticipated, and ever-so-cool, Lianne La Havas. Walking out with her four band members, La Havas proceeds to make the stadium stage seem tiny with her Beyonce-like voice and exceptional guitar playing. She makes it look easy, balancing lead guitar and nailing every note, while playing through her back catalogue of lush soul/blues/pop hybrid tracks, including Midnight and Is Your Love Big Enough? before closing her set with Unstoppable. Throw in a cover of Aretha Franklin's I Say A Little Prayer and La Havas' set is one to remember.

It's a brief turnover and quickly enough the lights drop and a deep voice comes over the crowd; Charlie Chaplin's iconic humanist speech from The Great Dictator. On screen is a video of people from around the world passing the Coldplay "torch" so to speak, with each city welcoming the next to the show (tonight, citizens from Auckland welcome us). Before we know it, the theatrics quickly turn into setlist opener, A Head Full Of Dreams. Coldplay kick off the show with a bang, literally, setting off fireworks and confetti all within the first five minutes. Those classic Coldplay wristbands turn into a sea of yellow and just as we'd hoped, guitarist Mark "Jonny" Buckland eases into that unmistakable riff, giving us Yellow. They run through old classics like Shiver and Don't Panic, slow beauties like Magic and Always In My Head, and huge stadium bangers like Charlie Brown, Paradise and Fix You. The Scientist is a clear highlight - as timelessly emotional as ever, if the crying punters surrounding us are any indicator. The boys even manage to fit in a David Bowie cover with Heroes, dedicating the song to Prince, Bowie and any other talented souls lost recently.

With fireworks, fire balls, three separate stages, just over two hours of constant hits and an unimaginably sweaty Chris Martin - who runs a marathon sprinting up and down that catwalk - punters, as per usual at a Coldplay show, get what they pay for. The four-piece end their exhausting set with Up&Up and Martin thanks the crowd for putting up with the shit they get for liking Coldplay.