Coldplay rocks with “Twisted Logic” (Photo by John Schreiber, Associate photo editor)

There was nothing cold about Coldplay’s performance Friday night at the Smirnoff Music Center. Simply put, Coldplay rocked the sell-out crowd of over 20,000 people to the brink of exhaustion.

From the beginning, lead singer Chris Martin promised the show would be twice as good as normal due to the band’s cancellation of its Houston show.

The show never lost that energy, and Martin’s stage performance rivaled that of U2’s Bono or the Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger. Bouncing around on stage like a poster child for Ritalin, Martin kept the crowd on its feet.

After opening the show with the song “Square One” off their new album, “X&Y,” the band went on to play “Politik” and the hit “Yellow,” during which dozens of large yellow balloons dropped into the crowd, adding to the already ecstatic atmosphere.

Through all this energy, however, the band did not forget its roots.

About three-quarters of the way through the set, the lights went down and the band gathered around to sing a tribute to the late Johnny Cash.

Martin recalled how his father, who was also present at the show, used to drive them to school and make them listen to Cash’s music. Although Martin said he didn’t realize it then, he now considers Cash to be “one of the greatest artists ever.” The band then busted into Cash’s famous “Ring of Fire.”

Other highlights of the night included the powerful live song “Clocks” and the band’s new song “Talk,” which closed out the set and whose opening riff was enough to send a chill down your spine.

The show finished out with an encore, including “Fix You” and the 2003 hit “In My Place.” During the last half of “In My Place,” Martin ran off stage, up the side aisle and into the middle of the crowd to finish the song – just one way that Martin showed his appreciation for the folks on the lawn.

Coldplay will tour in three more U.S. cities before returning to Europe, where it will eventually close out the “Twisted Logic” tour in Newcastle, England.