Now this is spooky. Coldplay, current darlings of the “Of course I don’t listen to Radio 2, what are you thinking of” brigade are using the exact same intro tape as Fields of the Nephilim used to; you know, that spooky `Harmonica Man’ theme from some spaghetti western or other.

Then again, maybe it isn’t that weird after all. Fields of the Nephilim fans were, for the most part, dark-clad miseries who tended to stay in their bedrooms rather a lot because they were too sensitive for this world. Not at all like a large section of Coldplay fans, then. Of course, Nephilim fans really wouldn’t have listened to Radio 2 and Radio 2 certainly wouldn’t have played the Nephilim. So, back to the Travis comparisons…

The truth is, Coldplay are a decent enough band - a handful of rather pretty, folky pop songs that, okay, owe more than a little to Radiohead and Jeff Buckley but so what, and no discernible attitude problems. Nice guys playing nice music. ‘Yellow’, which gets a predictably ecstatic reception tonight (coming, as it does, after a solo acoustic rendition of some anonymous b-side that even Chris Martin admits is “shit”), is undoubtedly one of the pop highlights of this year, while ‘Shiver’ has the audacity to rock out for a short while before getting all pretty on us in a mildly seductive way.

What lets Coldplay down, at least live, is their inability to progress into anything resembling performers. Chris stands motionless behind his microphone; Chris gently strums his guitar; Chris sits motionless behind a keyboard. It’s just not very exciting. It doesn’t help that too many people here tonight appear to have no real desire to listen to the music.

They’re here cos their mates are here and there’s a chance to talk even more loudly to them than usual, and the beer’s cheap. And when ‘Yellow’ achieves classic status in years to come their kids will ask them what Coldplay were like live and they will answer that they don’t remember since they spent the whole fucking gig shouting in someone’s ear and occasionally braying tunelessly along to the ones they know. But, hey, that’s the music snob in me - I like to be able to hear the band I’ve gone to see (unless it’s deathly dull support act Lowgold whose only discernible purpose is to make the last Oasis album sound innovative). And talking of innovation, who would want to listen to the boring, oh-so-predictable Radiohead when you could immerse yourself in the ever-changing world of Coldplay? Did we mention that they’re nice blokes?

John Leeson