Chris Martin & Jonny Buckland, St John-at-Hackney - review - Music - Arts

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For one night only, the Coldplay machine was replaced by an intimate, chaotic, endearingly ramshackle affair featuring just Martin and guitarist Jonny Buckland, underneath a Hackney church's stained glass windows and even more stained ceiling.

Unquestionably, the under-rehearsed pair missed the engine room provided by their missing drummer and bassist. As if desperate for a beat, Martin initially welcomed the audience member who had brought her tambourine but both men were distracted by the rattling, and Martin halted Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall to beg her to desist.

Still, Martin remained cheery, dismissing Coldplay as "the shit Radiohead"; musing on how successful arguably the world's most popular band would be "if we had great bodies" and stopping Paradise mid-song to orchestrate the crowd's backing vocals. Buckland's adventurous guitar work was often lost but The Scientist was given a broody makeover; Martin's stentorian piano added a new layer of fascination to Violet Hill and Fix You's combination of comfort and uplift made the flintiest hearts crumble. Even at half-strength, Coldplay still move mountains.

Little Noise Sessions - Coldplay
St John-at-Hackney
Lower Clapton Road
E5 0PD