^may 9 ??? :confused: :lol:

Ooh! I didn't get it at first! hahaha :lol::lol:

Roadie #42 - Blog #173

10 June 2012 7:42 pm

#42 and the hometown shows

 

In a lot of ways, hometown shows can be like a family Christmas. They’re ostensibly a time of joy and celebration. You do tend to forget though, how much stress comes along with it - and you pretty much always collapse in a heap at the end, glad that it’s all over for a year or so.

 

(click for hi-res version)

 

London, of course, is just another gig - the same as any other. Every gig has to go well and every gig is important. Nevertheless, you can feel the crew collectively clench their teeth (and other parts) as the hometown shows approach.

 

It’s glorious being able to drive (or in some lucky cases walk) home from a show. Having friends and family visiting is also a joy. It’s a rare and slightly surreal sight, as the worlds of work and home collide. Usually they’re so driven apart by touring and here they are mingling happily. As crew-folks shepherd their loved ones around the stage for a look before the show, suddenly their families become part of ours. And as we’re introduced by name and job description, we briefly become part of theirs.

 

This of course, brings with it its very own pressure. Nobody wants to bugger things up in front of their mates - or worse still, their mum. It’s tough to ignore too, the fact that all the major UK press is in London. Clearly, not fucking this up would be good.

 

All of these extra visitors means virtual guest-list-meltdown up in the production office. It’s Nicole, our wonderful production assistant, who stands amidst this torrential downpour of requests. (“Can I get my neighbour plus one?”, “The guy from the company that delivers lightbulbs to the studio has asked for his daughter plus two”… and so it goes on). If this is the family Christmas dinner, she’s undoubtedly juggling place settings for the biggest table ever assembled.

 

Perhaps Nicole’s ability to remain so irrepressibly cheery amongst all this, may well have something to do with it being her birthday on show 2. Alongside hundreds of guest tickets and passes, her desk is dotted with cakes, balloons, cupcakes and cards - including the communal card signed by all. The card-signing is undoubtedly “won” though, by Arlene from management, who ends her greeting: “Lots of love from Arlene Moon (+3)”.

 

The shows aren’t without their moments of panic crew-side. Nothing major, but enough gremlin-chasing to keep everyone well on their toes. Every night feels like a triumph as the after-show drinks see round after round of everyone’s nearest and dearest telling them, “No, I mean it, it really, really *was* amazing”.

 

I can’t disagree. The stadiums haven’t just been the most “Mylo” presentation of the live show so far, they’ve been by far and away the best stadium shows the band have ever done. Perhaps even the first genuinely superb stadium shows of the band’s career.

 

They’ve been doing stadiums since back on X&Y. I felt like Viva was the tour where the band themselves got comfortable enough to fill the space - and to perhaps even enjoy the size and scale of the event. This time round though, every single piece seems to have fallen into place. The confetti, the pyro, the lasers, the inflatables, Andy Bramley’s spectacular screens footage. Misty and Paul’s remarkable stage design and Graham’s glorious lighting. Paris has graffiti’d the whole place to within an inch of its life. Last but by no means least, there’s Jason’s wristbands that turn the whole audience into the highlight of the show - and the gigs themselves into something truly unique and groundbreaking.

 

We’ve broken ground too, in doing outdoor shows wholly without a roof. I’m sure folks have done it before, but we certainly haven’t. I show a friend of mine around the stage after the first night in London. He’s been in the production industry for longer than many of the audience have been alive. “What on earth are you thinking?” he questions incredulously. “What happens when it pisses down?” I shrug: “The band get wet and shit breaks”. Well it’s got us this far…

 

The damp has certainly been a great opportunity to discover pretty much every new and exciting way you never knew your gear could fail. But spending the afternoons working out what’s happened and what needs to happen to make it right, brings truth to the cliche of the touring crew being a family unto themselves. Everyone makes fun at each other’s expense without mercy - it’s almost a sport. Once there’s a problem though, everyone gathers around to pitch in and get things sorted without so much as a missed beat.

 

The sight of more than two people staring frowningly at a piece of equipment is enough to gather the tribe. Suddenly the brain trust is brought to bear and what was unsolvable gets chipped away at until all is once again well with the world and full strength is regained.

 

So, that’s the hometown festivities dealt with for a while again. Top time all round.

 

R42

Manchester & Wembley panoramas

10 June 2012 7:57 am

Check out our hi-res photos from Saturday's shows in London and Manchester

 

Good morning. Yesterday, Coldplay managed to play two stadium shows in one day - their own at Manchester's Etihad Stadium and as part of Capital Radio's Summertime Ball at London's Wembley Stadium. Here are Roadie #42's crowd panoramas - click the pics for the hi-res versions.

 

MANCHESTER ETIHAD STADIUM, SATURDAY

 

 

LONDON WEMBLEY STADIUM, SATURDAY

 

 

Anchorman

 

Manchester & Wembley panoramas

11 June 2012 7:57 am

Check out our hi-res photos from Saturday's shows in London and Manchester

 

Good morning. Here are Roadie #42's panorama shots from the two incredible shows at Manchester's Etihad Stadium this weekend, and from Capital Radio's Summertime Ball at London's Wembley Stadium. Click the pics for the hi-res versions.

 

MANCHESTER ETIHAD STADIUM, SUNDAY

 

 

MANCHESTER ETIHAD STADIUM, SATURDAY

 

 

LONDON WEMBLEY STADIUM, SATURDAY

 

 

Anchorman

I really love all these panoramas :)

Me too!

:cheesy: Can we add them to the gallery somehow?

I guess so :)

I guess so :)

 

Great :) I don't mind adding them, I just don't seem to be able to create a subcategory in the coldplay.com archive of the gallery :(

Neither can I, I will ask Ian to make a new category :)

Neither can I, I will ask Ian to make a new category :)

 

Thank you! :kiss:

Marina and the Diamonds interview

13 June 2012 4:53 pm

We chat to Coldplay's summer 2012 support act

 

Welsh/Greek singer Marina and the Diamonds has supported Coldplay at several of the European stadium shows and will join the band for more dates in Europe and North America this summer. We caught up with her at the Emirates Stadium to find out a bit more about her.

 

 

Hi Marina, how are you?

Pretty good, thanks! It's been kind of a strange summer, because I had a vocal fold haemorrhage, so the Coldplay shows have been the first time I've been singing for quite a while. So that was a bit of a nightmare, but there's been many nice things happening as well.

 

Like seeing your second album, Electra Heart, enter the UK charts at Number One.

Yes, absolutely!

 

For those Coldplay fans that haven't heard of you, how would you describe your music?

Um, well the second album is a dark electronic pop album.

 

Sung by a lady who doesn't appear on stage with any actual diamonds.

Indeed. I don't even own a real one.

 

Do you not?

No. I don't feel you should buy them yourself. You have to wait for a boy to buy you one.

 

[ame]www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3Rp_0hoNTY[/ame]

 

So, how has the first-leg of the tour with Coldplay been?

Pretty good. Turin was the only tough one - because they were all chanting "Coldplay! Coldplay!" I guess they were excited! But apart from that, it's been amazing. Zurich was particularly incredible.

 

Playing a support show is never easy.

Yeah, it's a challenge. For me you do it because you want to be a better performer and have that challenge of trying to convince people all over again.

 

You've had big crowds to play to - people seem to have been getting in early for these shows.

Exactly. Most of them are almost full by the time you go on.

 

Do you perform differently for this sort of show?

Yeah, you do. You're more self-conscious in that you feel you have to show people that you're really good and get them interested quickly. And also because your technique is meant to expand for all the people so that you can reach the furthest person away. But the learning curve hasn't been too intense, because I did an arena tour with Katy Perry last summer. At those shows, you were just staring out into a black hole. With the stadium shows it almost feels smaller, because you can actually see everyone!

 

Ah, so that tour sounds like good practice.

Yeah, incredible. I think the art of being a performer is learning to adapt to a 200-person gig and maybe a 60,000-person gig. I think that's a real skill.

 

And have the Coldplay crowds been good listeners?

Yeah. Zurich were a lot more familiar with me, I think, so for songs like Radioactive and Primadonna they were actually jumping up and down! And other songs from the new album have been going down really well too.

 

It must be a great testing ground to see that number of people reacting to your music in front of you.

It is, actually. And Primadonna has actually gone down really well everywhere, which I maybe didn't expect, cos it's quite a girlie song.

 

[ame]www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj5L9SYhoSE[/ame]

 

So, have you met the Coldplay chaps?

Yes, I've met all of them now. They're just really lovely. Actually, it's a real testament to the band that all the crew are really nice people too. You can always tell what an artist is like from the crew they have. Everyone from the catering guys to the production manager on this tour has been really nice and helpful.

 

How have you been getting around between the shows?

On a tour bus. Which is good, although I think sometimes on the long journeys everyone starts to feel a bit caged in!

 

What's the longest journey you've had?

I think it was 14 hours. Not as bad as going across America, but still long enough to get through like four seasons of Mad Men!

 

Had you seen Coldplay play before this tour?

I don't think I had, actually. Maybe at a festival. But I think it's hard not to be a fan, because their music has such huge reach. It sounds really basic, but it's just such good music. They're brilliant songwriters.

 

Have you been impressed by the show?

Oh, it's incredible. Katy's was amazing in a different way, but I think Coldplay's is definitely the best band show I've ever seen. They put in so much effort to ensure that everyone has the night of their lives.

 

Do you know how you came to be on the tour?

I've no idea, actually. Jo Whiley told me ages ago that Chris liked Obsessions from the first album, but that's all I knew of.

 

[ame]www.youtube.com/watch?v=np3QLrHJmRA[/ame]

 

What else have you got coming up this year?

I've got my second single coming out, and then my own tour - which is called the Lonely Hearts Club - starts in the UK in June. That goes to America in July. And then I'm back with Coldplay in America and Europe from the end of July. And then the European Lonely Hearts Club starts after that.

 

Are things going well for you outside the UK?

Yeah, it's starting to go really well in Germany. And America is starting to look very interesting, which is exciting.

 

Is the album coming out everywhere?

I think so, yes.

 

We always ask the support acts in these interviews for their favourite Coldplay song.

Can I say two?

 

Of course.

Well, I love Yellow because the position it's written from is really unique - in that he's writing it in the present, but in the past: "I wrote a song for you, and it was called Yellow". I always thought that was smart. And it has such beautiful, vulnerable lyrics, which is kind of rare for male-fronted rock bands.

 

And the other one?

Violet Hill. I think melodically it's quite different to their other songs, and the pace of it is quite unusual. I thought it was a really interesting first choice of single for the last album.

 

So, do you feel you've learnt much from your few weeks with Coldplay?

Definitely. Watching Chris as a frontman is really interesting. I love it. And one thing which has really made an impression on me is that they're not posturing at all. They just genuinely love it and they want to make people feel that it's been worth the money for the ticket. You can see that that's really important to them. It's pretty inspiring, actually, to see a band at this level that still feel that way.

 

For more information on Marina and the Diamonds, head to marinaandthediamonds.com

Princess of China (Invisible Men Remix)

16 June 2012 5:42 pm

Check out the excellent remix of the current single

 

Good evening. Here's the Invisible Men remix of Princess of China - which is available from iTunes worldwide as part of the Princess of China EP by clicking here.

 

[ame]www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUEBqRgAO38[/ame]

 

Anchorman

Official Coldplay Tumblr page

21 June 2012 5:21 pm

We've just launched a page on the site

 

Good evening. We've just launched an official Coldplay page on Tumblr - find it at coldplay.tumblr.com. We'll be using the page to post photos and gifs (like this Emirates Stadium timelapse) and to reblog fans' Coldplay art (please tag yours with "Coldplay"). See you over there.

 

Anchorman

Panorama: American Airlines Arena, Dallas

23 June 2012 10:05 pm

Our hi-res photo of last night's Dallas crowd

 

Good evening. Roadie #42's panorama photos of the European stadium shows went down so well with the fans who attended the gigs, we thought we'd continue them for the latest North American leg of the Mylo Xyloto tour, which kicked off in Dallas last night. Click for the hi-res version.

 

 

Anchorman

With perspective distortion, this makes the arena gig look stadium size.:laugh3:

 

American Airlines Arena? No! American Airlines Center!

Princess of China (Acoustic)

25 June 2012 11:27 am

Check out the acoustic version of the band's current single

 

Good morning. Check out the acoustic version of Princess of China, featuring Rihanna, which is available to download from the Princess of China EP on iTunes by clicking here.

 

[ame]www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Hfy_uxvxZc[/ame]

 

Anchorman

Princess of China (Acoustic)

25 June 2012 11:27 am

Check out the acoustic version of the band's current single

 

Good morning. Check out the acoustic version of Princess of China, featuring Rihanna, which is available to download from the Princess of China EP on iTunes by clicking here.

 

 

Anchorman

 

 

I'm so glad they released it. I love, love, love this version!!! Guitars are gorgeous. I think it fits the feel of the song perfectly.

Panorama: American Airlines Arena, Dallas

23 June 2012 10:05 pm

Our hi-res photo of last night's Dallas crowd

 

Good evening. Roadie #42's panorama photos of the European stadium shows went down so well with the fans who attended the gigs, we thought we'd continue them for the latest North American leg of the Mylo Xyloto tour, which kicked off in Dallas last night. Click for the hi-res version.

 

 

Anchorman

 

Panoramas: American Airlines Arena, Dallas

25 June 2012 10:05 pm

Our hi-res photo of Coldplay's two Dallas crowds

 

Good evening. Roadie #42's panorama photos of the European stadium shows went down so well with the fans who attended the gigs, we thought we'd continue them for the latest North American leg of the Mylo Xyloto tour, which kicked off in Dallas last night. Click the pics for hi-res version.

 

SATURDAY 23 JUNE

 

 

FRIDAY 22 JUNE

 

 

Anchorman

Princess of China (Acoustic)

25 June 2012 11:27 am

Check out the acoustic version of the band's current single

 

Good morning. Check out the acoustic version of Princess of China, featuring Rihanna, which is available to download from the Princess of China EP on iTunes by clicking here.

 

 

Anchorman

 

I really liked this acoustic version! A bit too much of this echo thing, but I quite like it :wacky:

Panorama: Toyota Center, Houston

26 June 2012 5:44 pm

Check out Roadie #42's crowd shot from last night's show

 

Good evening. Last night in Houston, Coldplay played to an excellent crowd at the Toyota Center. Here's Roadie #42's panorama photo of them, just before the show. (Special mention to the fan in the thumbnail photo above, who appears to be holding up 4 and 2 with his fingers.) Click the pic to see the hi-res version.

 

 

Anchorman

Panoramas: Toyota Center, Houston

27 June 2012 5:44 pm

Check out Roadie #42's crowd shots from the two Houston shows

 

Good evening. Here are Roadie #42's panorama photos of the two Houston shows, taken just before they began. Click to see the hi-res versions.

 

TUESDAY, 26 JUNE

 

 

MONDAY, 25 JUNE

 

 

Anchorman

Panorama: Times Forum, Tampa Bay

29 June 2012 7:15 pm

Here's Roadie #42's shot of last night's crowd

 

Good evening. Here's Roadie #42's panorama photo of the crowd at last night's Tampa Bay show (which was another belter). Click the pic for the hi-res version.

 

 

Click here for more summer 2012 crowd panoramas.

 

Anchorman

Everytime I see a new post in this thread I'm hoping for a new R42 blog, but it's always one of these panorama shoots. Oh, the disappointment.