Coldplay rocks sold-out shows at Allegiant Stadium

Coldplay laid waste to the place, but was kind enough to pick up the pieces for another go of it Saturday.

The band remains a stadium force, their is no debate. Few bands are so reliably epic at the quartet of front man Chris Martin, bassist Guy Berryman, guitarist Jonny Buckland and drummer Will Champion.

The band stormed through the first of two shows at Allegiant Stadium on Friday night, 50,000 in the house, on its way to 100,000 fans over two nights.

Coldplay’s demand has been coalesced worldwide. Ticket grosses for the band at the midpoint of this year top all tours internationally, according to Billboard, with 1.3 million tickets sold and $142 million in receipts through the end of May.

Coldplay seems to have more anthems than there are countries at this point. “The Music of The Spheres Tour” has been rumbling along for nearly three years. Before it launched, there was speculation Coldplay would play the venue also called Sphere, but that Martin preferred touring stadiums for an outdoor experience.

Allegiant is inside, of course, but the band lifted the roof on its 196th show of this tour. As it has on its previous stops, Coldplay unleashed 22 songs over a little more than two hours.

At once charming and domineering, Martin said during a deafening roar, “I never expected this sort of reception.”

Really? As if. This response is the rule, not the exception. Coldplay wins over its crowd and grows its legions through a message of peace and love, global responsibility and communal dancing and singing.

The production is actually powered by renewable energy. Fans pedaled stationary bikes to produce power during the show, which was generated to be used Saturday night. A percentage of ticket sales are directed to ocean sanitation, soil restoration reforestation.

The crowd was in a sustainable mood, recycling “The Wave” prior to the performance, a tradition that predates Coldplay’s launch by 15 years (alarmingly, “The Wave” also crashed into Kendrick Lamar’s show at Allegiant Stadium last weekend).

Sustainability was even enforced after the show, as fans were directed to drop their plastic LED wristbands into bins, to be used throughout the tour. These flashing little lights added technical texture to the performance, creating red hearts and an ongoing ripple of blinking illumination.

Musically, Coldplay is at the core a groovy little band tightened over a nearly 30-year career. This quartet knows how to play big. “Higher Power” opened the show in full overdrive. Pyro powered “Adventure of a Lifetime” and “Paradise.” The crowd bounced through “God Put a Smile Upon Your Face” and “Yellow.”

Martin displayed his affability in his crowd interaction, for a time turning the stadium concert into a club gig. He stopped singing early in the show, claiming the drummer Champion owed $5 million in gambling debts. Somehow, in moments, that debt was “taken care of.”

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The show’s production team found bonafide Las Vegas newlyweds — still in their nuptial attire — and showed the couple on the big screens. The crowd shrieked as Martin sang, “Oh hello, my newlywed couple/You’re bringing us joy, not sorrow/I hope you didn’t do this too quick/And I hope you don’t regret this, tomorrow.”

And if you’re wondering why there is scant video of the blazing “A Sky Full of Stars,” it’s because Martin asked the crowd to pocket the phones for that number. Remarkably, thousands of fans did just that (great news for the band, not so much for the Yondr phone-case company).

Martin halted the song as it started, the crowd joining in the full stop. It was time to be in the moment, he said. Fair enough. Coldplay wields the power, using it only for good. And keep this “Sphere” thought in mind. It is a sustainable concept.

Elvis Chesney

It is inevitable to headline a residency in Vegas without invoking Elvis. Kenny Chesney and guest star Grace Potter dovetailed into “Burning Love” during Chesney’s show at Sphere on Friday. Chesney’s bassist, Harmoni Kelley, wears a white, Elvis-inspired jumpsuit during the show.

Potter and Chesney have previously revived their duet, “You and Tequila,” including his opening night show.

Uncle Kracker also joined Chesney, for “When The Sun Goes Down,” Follow Me” and “Drift Away,” all of which was folded into Kracker’s 51st-birthday celebration. Reba McEntire was backstage, and Chensey dedicated “Big Star” to that country icon, a former Colosseum headliner along with Brooks & Dunn.

Cool Hang Alert

Vintage Vegas is the theme for Monday’s Dark at the Space. Venue and campaign founder Mark Shunock hosts, with performances from Rita Lim, Ryan Baker, Cheyenne Adams, Jason Marquez, Tierney, Michael Shapiro, Lou Gazzara and Roxy Starr. Veteran Vegas showman and variety-show host Dennis Bono is Shunock’s Road Case Conversation guest. The show benefits Down Syndrome Connections Nevada. Frivolity starts at 8 p.m. and will livestream, an go to thespacelv.com/mondays-dark/ for intel.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.