You're on to something.

 

I don't believe there is any way they can do the Olympics. They are performing in Montreal on July 26. Opening Day of the Olympics is July 27. They have 4 US shows scheduled during the Olympic dates.

I don't believe there is any way they can do the Olympics. They are performing in Montreal on July 26. Opening Day of the Olympics is July 27. They have 4 US shows scheduled during the Olympic dates.

 

I don't know. These kids don't seem to suffer jet lag. :)

I was more suggesting the Xylobands making an appearance at the Olympic opening ceremony in some form or another rather than Coldplay. With so many North American tour dates, it might be tough for them to perform but I wouldn't put it past them. Either way, I'm sure the guy's investment in the glowband company is safe, I can really see them taking off.

Roadie #42 - Blog #159

14 December 2011 12:16 pm

#42 and the Charlie Brown video shoot

 

Following the directions from the car park to the video shoot location, I pass the pub that’s noted on the map. I look in the windows to see if there’s anyone I recognise in there. The pub is completely awash with folks covered in luminous paint. Clearly I’m getting close.

 

They’re quite a striking sight, all crazy hairdos, raving outfits and glow in the dark splashes - yet they’re all sat quietly chatting, drinking and reading the paper like it’s the most normal thing in the world. I have to wonder what the old fella in the corner who’s nipped in for a quiet lunchtime half is thinking.

 

The shoot site itself is classic Mat Whitecross. I trudge in over the mud and into a very musty abandoned old wreck. It’s about the least glamorous location you can imagine, but you can instantly see it’s going to look great.

 

On the way, I pass Paris, the band’s resident graffiti artist. He’s recounting a tale to his friend. Apparently, he turned up last night to get started Mylo-ing up the interior. When he arrived, he found that the key he’d been given didn’t appear to match the padlock.

 

Now, Paris is a graffiti artist from Bristol with a backpack full of spray cans and a job to do. It will come as a surprise to absolutely no-one that a locked door poses less of a problem to him than to many in this situation. Soon, he’s inside working his way around the walls weaving his magic.

 

Equally unsurprising is the fact that he’s shortly finding himself trying to explain to a local bobby that he really was allowed to be in here and that he really *wasn’t* planning an illegal party.

 

Never a dull moment…

 

I’ll not talk too much about the shoot itself - you’ll see the whole thing for yourself in the fullness of time and knowing Mat Whitecross as we do, it’s shaping up to be a belter…

 

 

R42

It's beginning to look a lot like the ETIAW video, not that I don't like that one but not again please! I really liked the parts in the live video, hope it's going to look somewhat like that.

I want that paint that glows on the dark, that's on their clothes.

i hope Mat Whitecross directs the rest of their videos until the end of time. :P:dazzled:

i hope Mat Whitecross directs the rest of their videos until the end of time. :P:dazzled:

 

looks like that Mat is becoming the new Anton Corbjn :wacky:

looks like that Mat is becoming the new Anton Corbjn :wacky:

 

:wacky:

i hope Mat Whitecross directs the rest of their videos until the end of time. :P:dazzled:

 

That would be awesome!

i hope Mat Whitecross directs the rest of their videos until the end of time. :P:dazzled:

 

BTW your sig :dazzled:

BTW your sig :dazzled:

 

well, thanks. :blush:

 

That would be awesome!

 

 

it definitely would be! he is so talented. :wacky:

well, thanks. :blush:

 

You're welcome :nice:

Paris live photoblog

14 December 2011 6:42 pm

We're blogging live from backstage at Coldplay's Paris show

 

Thursday: It wouldn't be a live blog without a video of the crowd bellowing along to Viva. And so here's the Paris crowd from last night, in fine voice...

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5URw4DJKOzs&feature=player_embedded]Paris Viva chant 15.12.11 - YouTube[/ame]

 

23.09: And with that, we're done (the last car is leaving the venue shortly). Thanks for reading and for keeping us company with hundreds of emails. Hope you enjoyed the photoblog and we'll see you for another sometime. Until then, we'll leave you with this photo of Will, the last of the band to head through the stage door after what was yet another triumphant show.

 

 

And with that, a blurry goodnight.

 

23.04: 'Why no Christmas Lights, it's nearly Christmas?' asks Robin by email. Guess it's not quite near enough for the band (who have, incidentally, now left the venue).

 

23.00: So, here are some shots of the band thanking tonight's amazing audience after Every Teardrop brought things to a suitably raucous climax.

 

 

 

 

 

22.52: Oh, lots of you asking for the setlist...

 

 

22.47: The crowd are *still* singing the Viva chant...

 

22.43: He's got the moves like Jagger...

 

 

22.39: A rather better one of Chris from Every Teardop Is A Waterfall. (The show has now finished, by the way, but as there's no "runner" to an airport tonight, we can sit here and post pictures for a bit longer...

 

 

22:37: The more blurry the picture, the more arty it is

 

 

(OK, so our shutter speed was all over the place)

 

22.26: These ones were taken during Clocks (the first song of the encore)

 

 

 

 

You can see the Clocks laser in this one...

 

 

Right, Fix You is reaching it's big climax.... NOW, and there's only one song to go after that...

 

22:17: A very, very brief video (literallty two seconds) of the Xylobands during Charlie Brown just now...

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD0bGyUFeJE&feature=player_embedded]Xylobands in Paris - YouTube[/ame]

 

22:10: More pics, from Politik and Viva...

 

 

 

 

 

21.56: B-stage for Up In Flames

 

 

And Jonny scooting back down the runway just before Chris chucked his guitar in the air earlier...

 

 

21.46: Quite pleased with this one...

 

 

21.40: Right, off to take some more photos...

 

21.38: And some photos from the show itself (they're playing Violet Hill as we type this...)

 

 

 

 

 

 

21.30: Thanks to Brooke for pointing out that we'd reverted to British time from French. C'est vrai! Sorted now.

 

21.29: Moving onto some photos of the show, here's a few of the Xylobands when they lit up as the band took to the stage for Mylo Xyloto / Hurts Like Heaven...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remember folks, blurry = arty.

 

21.24: Our inbox at [email protected] seems to be flooded with questions asking how old Dan Green is (we suspect Coldplaying involvement...). Vicki *thinks* he's 33. But that's not gospel. (Clearly he still looks about 14.)

 

21.23: And, of course, the pre-show huddle...

 

 

21.21: Waiting by the stage door...

 

 

 

21.16: Here's Chris, Jonny and Will as they left the dressing room to head to the stage...

 

 

 

 

21.13: The band are on! Pictures coming in a sec....

 

20.56: A chap in the crowd selling the new Coldplay tour programme which actually features an interview with Dan, as well as chats with Chris, Jonny, Will,

Guy and Phil, plus a piece by Roadie #42. (Ahem you can order it from the Coldplay Online Shop now.)

 

 

20.48: Our telephone theme continues! It's Coldplay soundman/producer Dan Green ON his telephone.

 

 

(He was very nice about us taking this photo, considering he was mid-conversation at the time)

 

20.41: So, we mentioned that we went on our epic journey looking for the Oxfam guys. Happily, we found them eventually. This first picture shows Pete, who's rejoined the tour tonight, having covered the entire Viva tour as Oxfam's representative.

 

 

As you'll notice the campaign Oxfam is pushing on this tour is Love Food, Hate Injustice - Oxfam's global campaign for a future where everyone always has enough to eat. At each show, local volunteers will be chatting to Coldplay fans and dressing as hotdogs...

 

 

Head over to oxfamontour.org/coldplay/ for lots more info, regular blogs from the road and to get your face on the fan wall.

 

20.34: Band sighted! The Bercy is a bit of a maze of corridors and rooms with closed doors, but we just found Will, Guy and Jonny doing their vocal warm-up exercises (which mainly involve going "Laaa laaaa laaaaa laaa"). Here's a photo...

 

 

(We thought flash might disturb them, hence the arty blurry look, complete with action-shot on the pages of the magazine Jonny is flicking through)

 

20.30: A few of you emailing [email protected] to ask what the capacity is tonight - the answer is, we're told, a very specific 15,203.

 

20.27: Our little detour also means we can show you what tonight's venue, The Bercy, currently looks like outside.

 

 

 

 

20.25: Coldplay stage time in 55 minutes by the way.

 

20.24: Sorry for the gap in service. We went to look for the Oxfam volunteers, and ended up outside the venue by mistake. Still, at least that meant we got some local colour...

 

 

20.03: Thanks for all the emails saying "Dear Anchorwoman" because we're in The Girls' room today. Very droll.

 

19.56: Jennifer emailed [email protected] to ask what's for dinner - so we just popped to catering to find out...

 

 

 

In the corner of that second shot, you'll notice EJ's Baked Talapia which, she tells us, is "delicious". (As we got here so late, we thought we'd better skip dinner. THAT is the kind of sacrifice we make for you folks.)

 

19.54: Ooh, turns out the stage is *really* close to where our laptop is. This is most definitely A Good Thing for anyone doing a live blog. So here's a couple of photos of Emeli - who is great, by the way. If you'd like to know more about her, check out our

interview with her (where you can also hear some music).

 

 

 

19.45: Right, we're off to get some photos of Emeli and anything else we run into...

 

19.44: Nathalie (as opposed to Natalie) would like a picture of our "work station" tonight. It's this little corner of a desk which we've been allowed to have in the room marked "The Girls" (ie, Coldplay's PAs Vicki and EJ have been kind enough to let us perch our laptop in their 'hood for the evening).

 

 

19.37: Natalie has emailed to ask what time the show starts. And the answer is...

 

 

And, in fact, we can hear the cheer from here as Emeli Sandé has just taken to the stage...

 

19.34: The boiler suits which the crew are wearing on this tour. Very natty.

 

 

19.31: Another nice telephone. Seems if you pick this one up, a voice at the other end can tell you everything about Coldplay (presumably it's

 

the Oracle).

 

 

19.30: The band are currently all busy doing interviews (like us, they were delayed getting here, so everything is quite hectic right now...). As ever, if you want

to keep us company during the blog, we're at [email protected].

 

19.20: By the way, if you didn't check out Roadie #42's blog about yesterday's Charlie Brown video shoot yet, you can read that

 

here.

 

19.19: This is how it's looking inside the venue - where the crowd is already coming in...

 

 

19.13: They have nice telephones backstage at The Bercy...

 

 

 

19.00: This is the backstage entrance to tonight's venue, The Bercy, which is famed (among other things) for being covered entirely in grass.

 

 

The band's tour accountant was telling us that they have to lower a lawnmower from above in order to trim the grass. Sounds like quite a spectacle.

 

18.57: On our epic journey here from the airport, we passed the Stade de France, which hosted the World Cup Final in 1998 and which will host Coldplay on 2 September next year.

 

 

18.50: We spoke to Jonny on the way over and we can reveal that, after much deliberation, he decided that Favourite Albums of the Year are Torches by Foster The People and, particularly, Skying by The Horrors.

 

18:42: Bon soir! After spending a long time stuck in Paris rush hour traffic (the journey from the airport took considerably longer than the flight from the UK), we are in The Bercy and ready to blog. Apologies for the late start. Let's get to it.

Mat Whitecross - YESSS!

 

Brilliant film maker, uniquely theirs!

Mat Whitecross - YESSS!

 

Brilliant film maker, uniquely theirs!

 

:nod: Definitely!

Warsaw and Madrid shows added

15 December 2011 1:58 pm

Two more summer 2012 dates confirmed

 

Good afternoon. We're pleased to announce that two dates have been added to the European leg of Coldplay's summer 2012 tour, taking the band to Spain and Poland. Here's the info...

 

20 May

Madrid, Spain - Vicente Calderion - On sale 22 December here / AMEX pre-sale 20 December here

 

19 September

Warsaw, Poland - National Stadium - On sale January 2012 here

 

Click here for the full list of upcoming shows across Europe and North America.

 

Anchorman

Listen to tonight's Radio 2 concert

15 December 2011 2:23 pm

Hear last week's Dingwalls show wherever in the world you are

 

Last week, Coldplay performed a special Christmas show at London's Dingwalls venue for BBC Radio 2 In Concert. The show will be broadcast tonight (Thursday, 15 December) at 8pm UK time. You can listen live online, wherever in the world you are, by clicking here.

 

Then, from 10pm, those of you in the UK will be able to watch highlights on the Radio 2 website or by pressing the Red Button on your TV remote control from any BBC TV Channel.

 

Anchorman

Hear the full Dingwalls show on-demand

16 December 2011 10:05 am

And those of you in the UK can watch it too

 

 

 

Good morning. For the next seven days, Coldplay's special show at London's tiny Dingwalls venue for BBC Radio 2 is available in full online. You can hear the concert, wherever you are, by clicking here (and skipping to 43m). Those of you in the UK, meanwhile, can watch the show here or via the Red Button on your TV (which on a BBC channel). You can also watch Christmas Lights, above, and listen to the band's interview with Jo Whiley, below.

 

 

 

Anchorman

Can someone insert the BBC Media Player thingies for me? I don't know how to do that...

Extra North American dates added

16 December 2011 10:59 pm

Second nights in Vancouver, Dallas, Philadelphia, DC, Boston, San Jose, Toronto, Montreal and East Rutherford

 

Good evening. Nine extra dates have now been added to Coldplay's North American tour - all of which are second nights at existing venues: Vancouver on 21 April, San Jose on 28 April, Dallas on 23 June, Philadelphia on 6 July, Washington DC on 9 July, Toronto on 24 July, Montreal on 27 July, Boston on 30 July and East Rutherford on 4 August. See below for the full updated list of shows.

 

The AMEX pre-sale for all three shows begins at 10am (local time) today from here. The general sales for all the confirmed shows except LA and Chicago begin Saturday at 10am (local time) from 1-800-745-3000, Ticketmaster and Livenation.

 

APRIL

17 Edmonton, AB Rexall Place

18 Calgary, AB Scotiabank Saddledome

20 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena

21 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena (extra date)

24 Portland, OR Rose Garden Arena

25 Seattle, WA KeyArena

27 San Jose, CA HP Pavilion At San Jose

28 San Jose, CA HP Pavilion At San Jose (extra date)

 

MAY

1 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl (On sale 9 Jan)

2 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl (On sale 9 Jan)

 

JUNE

22 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center

25 Houston, TX Toyota Center

28 Tampa, FL St. Pete Times Forum

29 Miami, FL American Airlines Arena

 

JULY

2 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena

5 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center

8 Washington, DC Verizon Center

23 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre

24 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre (Extra date)

26 Montreal, QC Bell Centre

27 Montreal, QC Bell Centre (Extra date)

29 Boston, MA TD Garden

 

AUGUST

3 East Rutherford, NJ Izod Center

4 East Rutherford, NJ - Izod Center (Extra date)

7 Chicago, IL United Center (On sale 19 Dec)

11 St. Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center

 

Anchorman

^Wait...Aren't the Olympics supposed to start on July 27 ??!! :thinking:

Nooooooo! I would have loved to watch them for the opening ceremony :cry:

Well, at least the Canadians can enjoy them one more evening! :wacky:

New York. Where is the NYC show? :-(

Roadie #42 Blog #160

17 December 2011 5:31 pm

Roadie #42 blogs about Paris, Cologne and an unexpectedly flashing wristband...

 

 

What a difference a few weeks can make. We had shows in Paris and Cologne during the album launch period. We’re back in those same two cities now and we’ve reached the light at the end of the tunnel that got us through the past six months or so of promo chaos. Yes, we’re finally “just doing gigs”.

 

Not only that - to further the joy, the band have decided not to soundcheck for these last few shows. This relaxes the schedule to a fantastically civilised degree. Finally, it’s just back to the only thing that matters being the time that the band and the audience come together. And what a time that's turning out to be…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before I continue with the shows we’ve just had, I must make mention of a great story I heard from the Charlie Brown video shoot the other day. The xyloband wristbands are activated using radio by Jason, our inventor-in-residence. He was of course at the video shoot with his kit making the wristbands flash appropriately.

 

Apparently, when he flicked the switch on Mat Whitecross’s command, a local woman who had been at X Factor on the weekend sat up in her living room and noticed that the wristband on her mantlepiece had started flashing. She thought no more of it until she left her flat to pop to the shops and walked past a building with a pile of flight-cases outside and Charlie Brown quite clearly blasting through the walls.

 

She excitedly ran back to the flat and donned her wristband, convinced that she’d discovered a secret gig. Back at the shoot site, the wristbands were actually being used by security to identify those involved in the video, so she simply wandered into the church for a look at what was going on, before finally asking someone just what on earth was going on.

 

I love the idea of the wristbands being some multi-coloured flashing Bat-Symbol calling Coldplay fans to action. She clearly did too! Who knows where all this will end up…

 

 

I do know that we ended up in France. Scene of many of Coldplay’s finest shows. This Paris show was no exception, with a hugely vocal and up-for-it crowd lifting it into a rollickingly good night.

 

 

Shiver makes it into the Paris setlist again. It contrasts well against the more densely layered new material and judging by the Paris reaction, it’s a very welcome addition.

 

Folks filming the show on their phones is pretty commonplace now, but Paris marks something that’s definitely a first for me. I look out and see a fella holding a tablet aloft in both hands, even panning around and following Chris up and down the ramp. He seems to be at it for the whole show - I can only wonder what it must have been like being stood behind him all night.

 

Another strange and unusual occurrence comes back at the hotel. In my younger days, I was a very enthusiastic and indeed quite accomplished drinker. The times I make it into the bar on a tour now though, tend to be countable on one hand. As midnight marks it officially becoming my birthday, I wander down “just for one” with predictable results.

 

There’s much talk in the bar of the fact that the hotel rooms all have acoustic guitars in them. This too is most unusual. My guitar is horribly out of tune. I resist the temptation to ring the front desk to ask for someone to tune it, then notice that the name of the hotel is in fancy text above the tuning pegs. More imaginative than a bathrobe, I guess - but hell getting the suitcase shut…

 

I’m reminded of why drinking and I parted ways for much of the following day, but can’t fail to be kept in good spirits by constant good wishes as I wander about the corridors before the gig. Indeed, when I finally get under the stage to my world, I find it’s been decorated, making it amusingly difficult to actually see the stage.

 

 

The Cologne show sees Shiver shuffled onto the B-Stage (or the “X-Stage” as I believe it is correctly termed), where Will rightfully gets a big cheer for his contribution and all round multi-instrumentalism.

 

 

The flight home sees another round of Happy Birthdays, a cake and then home for a birthday day off.

 

Magic.

 

R42

I do know that we ended up in France. Scene of many of Coldplay’s finest shows. This Paris show was no exception, with a hugely vocal and up-for-it crowd lifting it into a rollickingly good night.

 

:)