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:

Concert Review: Ed Sheeran Brings British Charm to Gillette Stadium; Plays Biggest U.S. Show to Date

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Ed Sheeran performed his biggest U.S. show to date on Friday, September 25th, at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA (Benjamin Esakof/Roman's Rap-Up).

Ed Sheeran brought his North American tour to New England this past Friday night, but this was no ordinary show. At his largest venue yet, and his first time playing in an NFL stadium, Sheeran and his openers, British singer Passenger and Atlantic label-mate Christina Perri, gave his fans a special night that none will soon forget.

Sheeran’s shows have a special quality. To fill and entertain an entire stadium full of over 52,000 people, you’d think he’d have to take a page from Taylor Swift’s concert handbook, having a moving stage, dancers, etc. However, that wasn’t the case. Instead, the “Lego House” singer calmly walked onstage adorned in a signature red flannel, acoustic guitar in hand. That obviously didn’t matter to the thousands there to see him, with Sheeran opening by saying “if you’re not [bothering] anyone else, do whatever the f**k you want.” The crowd happily agreed with this statement.

Ed Sheeran performed his biggest U.S. show to date on Friday, September 25th, at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA (Benjamin Esakof/Roman's Rap-Up).

With no backup, Ed was on it own. Using a foot pedal board, he was his own one-man-band. Flawlessly strumming and singing along, Sheeran effortlessly transitioned from sultry hit to sultry hit, with his 52,915 (to be exact) background singers helping him with “Photograph,” “Sing,” & “Lego House,” among the many.

Nearing the end of the show, the British star pulled out all the stops. Christina Perri joined Ed onstage to sing her song “Be My Forever” (which he is featured on), which led the already-hoarse crowd to strain their voices even more, never missing a word. But the fun and surprises didn’t stop there. Chris Martin, lead singer of world-famous band Coldplay, emerged from behind the massive LED panels. Before the fans could even stop screaming, Chris joined Ed in treating the crowd to a once-in-a-lifetime performance: a duet of Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud,” and Coldplay’s “Yellow.”

Ed Sheeran has done the unthinkable, something only existing in most performers’ dreams, showing it’s possible to be popular with no flashy dancers or sets, just a really good voice and a guitar. Just a few years ago, he was playing small nightclubs for just a few hundred fans. Today he’s selling out major world-class stadiums & arenas like Wembley Stadium in his home country, and now Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. 

Well done, Sheeran - you’re a living, breathing example that dreams do come true. 

Concert Review: Beyoncé and Jay Z Electrify Gillette Stadium for "On The Run" Tour

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FOXBOROUGH, MA - JULY 1: Beyoncé and JAY Z perform on the On The Run Tour at Gillette Stadium on Tuesday, July 1, 2014, in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Mason Poole/Parkwood Entertainment/PictureGroup)

FOXBOROUGH, MA - JULY 1: Beyoncé and JAY Z perform on the On The Run Tour at Gillette Stadium on Tuesday, July 1, 2014, in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Mason Poole/Parkwood Entertainment/PictureGroup)

What’s better than a solo Beyoncé concert? A Beyoncé and Jay Z concert.

Beyoncé and Jay Z brought their hugely successful “On The Run” tour to Gillette Stadium Tuesday night for a sold-out crowd of over 50,000. If there is one concert in your life you have to see, then definitely it’s this one.

The show opened up with one of the couple’s first songs, “Bonnie And Clyde,” which lit the crowd on fire. Going into the tour, I was slightly concerned that it just would be a typical joint tour, where the two artists each take the stage for half the time. To my delight, the show was executed perfectly as a joint performance. After the first song, Bey and Jay switched off, doing their hits like “Crazy In Love,” “Tom Ford,” and more.

FOXBOROUGH, MA - JULY 1: Beyoncé performs on the On The Run Tour at Gillette Stadium on Tuesday, July 1, 2014, in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Mason Poole/Parkwood Entertainment/PictureGroup)

Seeing Beyoncé for the second time in several months, fresh off her “Mrs. Carter Show World Tour”, I was excited to see her doing songs off her new, self-titled album. Queen Bey sexily danced and grinded through “Flawless,” “Yoncé,” and “Partition” (among others).

The focus of the night, however, wasn’t solely Beyoncé or Jay Z, but rather on their relationship to one another. In recent news, gossip magazines have claimed that Jay has been cheating on Bey, which would be very hard to believe after seeing this show. There was an obvious connection between them, and the whole audience knew it, especially during Jay Z’s “Young Forever,” when the two sang to each other while walking to the center stage.

As I noted back in December at the “Mrs. Carter Show,” Bey really does have a connection with her fans, as does Jay Z. The stage had a setup in the center of the stadium, which both stars used as way to get closer to their fans. In fact, Jay actually took a few minutes to walk onto that stage just to look at “all the sexy ladies.” There, he freestyled an intro to his wife’s “Partition.” That’s not the only time that they collaborated on something not officially recorded. Bey joined in, with perhaps my favorite moment of the night, by singing Justin Timberlake’s part in Jay Z’s “Holy Grail.”

Respect that, bow-down bitches.