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16-Dec-08 - London, O2 Arena - Tickets, Preview, Meetups, Review/Photos

Jenjie

By Jenjie
in 2008: UK & Ireland Tour

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busybeeburns

busybeeburns

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Coldplay, The O2, London

 

coldplaypa_105521a.jpg

 

Coldplay capped a great year by inviting 20,000 adoring fans to join the singing

 

I guess if you've played every mega-bowl on the planet, the O2 arena must feel a bit pokey.

 

Maybe that's why Coldplay treated their concert last Tuesday at the old Millennium Dome like a Christmas knees-up down the pub (with 20,000 mates, that is). And even though Chris Martin can get right up some people's noses, you can forgive them a bit of fun at the end of yet another bumper year. Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends set a new record for the most downloaded album ever; picked up a clutch of Grammy nominations; and, recently, a copyright infringement (you know you're doing well when the lawsuits start flying your way).

 

Busy boys, then, and they certainly seemed in a hurry for the show's first hour. "Clocks", "Speed of Life", "In My Place", among other hits, simply sped by. As for "Yellow", the band's breakthrough hit, even they recognised that this needed some novelty value eight years after it first had us weeping into our Chardonnay – giant coloured space hoppers were released into the arena, they floated beguilingly above only to explode, spilling luminous confetti everywhere.

 

It was the sort of distraction that Coldplay hardly need, though. The band know exactly what makes their adoring audience tick, and meticulously craft each tender melody or stirring coda for maximum emotional impact. Time and again, bittersweet passages signalled soaring choruses that even Scrooge might warm to, and when the heart-wrenching organ piped in on "Fix You", thousands sighed en masse.

 

By the song's end there were dozens around me in tears. As the audience relaxed, so did Martin. He's no Stevie Wonder, and was happy to casually prompt the crowd to help him with some of the higher notes. Often, he dropped a phrase, letting the audience finish it for him. In most singers, this would be irritating, but somehow he got away with it. In fact, I totally fell for Martin on Tuesday.

 

He bounced all over the stage like Pinocchio with a guitar, limbs everywhere. When he collapsed in exhaustion, you half expected to see him yanked back up like a marionette. But his affability comes from the fact that he is not afraid to stumble about and crash into guitarist Johnny Buckland with a smile. It may all be part of the performance, along with his apologies to us for rambling on, but it's a part that the audience appreciates doesn't need rehearsing and they cheer him to the pre-stressed steel rafters for it.

 

Behind Martin, drummer Will Champion and bassist Guy Berryman provided a lithe platform for the guitarist Buckland , who switched smoothly between intricate melodies and stadium-chewing riffs. Sadly, quieter moments, such as "Strawberry Swing", fared less well in the cavernous O2, but these were few. As Coldplay's No 1 single "Viva la Vida" gave way to new single "Lost", the crowd more or less took over.

 

A brief section on a secondary stage didn't quite work, with the band segueing "God Put a Smile On My Face" into "Talk" before anybody realised what was going on. Much more successful was a foray into the rear seats of the O2, where, surrounded by the wide-eyed faithful, all four members of the band played an acoustic and affecting "Green Eyes". But before anyone forgot this was an end-of-term party, Simon Pegg joined in on harmonica for a loose, bobble-hatted blast through "Jingle Bells".

 

As the crowd spilled out into the icy Greenwich air, fans began singing impromptu versions of "Viva la Vida", like me, sweetly satisfied. The band returns in September with a string of shows at Wembley Stadium, with no less than Jay-Z for support. Soon, perhaps even that giant venue may be too small for them.

 

http://www.independent.co.uk

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Jenjie

Jenjie

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will call it a night as well.. dont wanna go home :bigcry: dont wanna leave Coldplayland !!! dont wanna change my flag....

 

Jen, you'll have to wait for Friday for my reviews. Promise I will write them for wiki archives. now, it's just too late and tomorrow long trip back home (:bigcry:)

 

edit : ^^ dont worry about it ! ;)

night everyone !!

 

s'alright. you catch up on some sleep first :D

 

 

 

All I got was that it was for people who something something, and are now out 99 pence and it's a sham!

 

:laugh3:

 

 

"anyone who phoned into Strictly Come Dancing and is now 99p out of pocket. its a tragedy, its a shambles."

 

refers to the previous saturday's semi-finals when the person who should have been voted off wasn't & all 3 got through to the final.

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Long Live Life

Long Live Life

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One word to describe it: awesome! I've been to loads of gigs in my time, this was just awesome.

 

My apologies to kimchi who was looking to ticket swap for a better butterfly grabbing position, I got my number's mixed up (I'm dyslexic ) . I was in block 103, not 107 !

 

When I realised the error my phone died and I was unable to call you, I'm so sorry!

 

The highlight of the evening for me was the Simon Pegg sets as they ended up only a few rows behind from where I was sitting!

 

BTW I started the wooooooo-ooh - ing at the end! It eminated from me and spread around in concentric circles! The best end to a perfect gig!

 

The only slight critiicism of the gig was not of Coldplay but of the audience, it just seemed so oddly muted for a venue this size compared to gigs I've been to in the past. Perhaps it is the seated venue that is causing this, I went to see Keane there last summer and that had a very animated audience but the floor was standing rather than seated - as gigs should be!

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Chavi

Chavi

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The only slight critiicism of the gig was not of Coldplay but of the audience, it just seemed so oddly muted for a venue this size compared to gigs I've been to in the past. Perhaps it is the seated venue that is causing this, I went to see Keane there last summer and that had a very animated audience but the floor was standing rather than seated - as gigs should be!

 

Amen ! :P

 

my second (SHORT) "review" :

 

We were at the venue pretty early. But a security guard told us the band was inside already, because they wanted to do more during soundcheck (now we know it was for Jingle Bells :D). So we went to Starbucks :lol: and we saw Oxfam Pete waiting for the volunteers.. we walked up to him and his face was like this :stunned: still couldnt believe I was there.. he should've got it now that i'm a huge fan :P he asked me about the crowd, to which I replied I was disappointed. And he said he agreed, and said it shouldnt have been all seated !!

We met other coldplayers again .. and around 6:30pm, we went inside the venue. Took pictures and waited to see the High wire. They were pretty good. Then, Jon Hopkins came on stage and we all got out :lol:

Later, when he was finally done, we got back inside and said we would see each other after the show. 15minutes before the show started, Pete (aka Kimchi) finally joined me. I knew we would have a blast enjoying the concert together ! JayZ was on and I started to be pumped.. I could see from where I was Mark enjoying it as well :P I should've taken a pic ! And the Blue danube started, so I stood up. Pete didnt really want to, was afraid to annoy people behind. I told him I didnt care :P (I'm so rude and selfish! :rolleyes:) but then, the lights went off and we saw sparklers. EVERYONE immediatly stood up ! wow I was gladly surprised ! :dance:

I had such a good time with Pete. He had so much energy, and we had so much fun dancing and singing together. It was funny sometimes when I found myself screaming like a groupie and him singing very loud into my phone! such great moments. Thanks a lot Pete, you made that show much more amazing, and it was a true pleasure to share that special evening with you ! :kiss: I'll never forget it !

The boys were fabulous, the concert much better than two days before and the crowd more pleasant. EVen though people were still not what I expected they would be, they were a bit more into it, not only for the usual big hits but also for Lost somehow (maybe it is a big hit afterall). That was a good point !

Simon Pegg was impressively charming :P and I couldnt resist but scream for his name AGAIN!

Sorry, my memory's fucked up and I cant make a proper review of each song. But what I can say is that this gig didnt leave me with a disappointing feeling, it kinda made me feel better about the other show, and made me realised I DID have a good time for these London gigs afterall ! Well, it's still Coldplay we're talking about .. :heart:

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5I0Sw2cD1WY]YouTube - Jingle Bells with Simon Pegg, Coldplay live at the O2[/ame]

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ic-dDL-r_Ts]YouTube - end of in my place London O2 16 dec 2008[/ame]

 

yay another screen.. :dozey:

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busybeeburns

busybeeburns

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Coldplay, The O2, Greenwich ****

 

Coldplay have been churning out hits for what seems like an age, so it’s easy to forget just how talented they really are until you see them live in concert.

 

The first time I saw the band perform six years ago was a rather muted affair, with Chris Martin spending most of the time glued to the piano and very little spent on production.

 

But when the lights came up on The O2 stage, the rock band even your mother likes seemed to have found a cache of dynamite, shoved it up their bums and lit the fuse.

 

Lead singer Chris Martin’s exuberance was infectious, bouncing across the stage like a five-year-old on Christmas morning, and belting out favourites such as In My Place and Clocks.

 

Fans did their best impression of an X-Factor entrant, singing as the band performed their breakthrough hit Yellow, while giant yellow balloons floated down from the ceiling showering fans with gold confetti when they burst.

 

Other surprises came when Martin and drummer Will Champion climbed up into the back of the audience to play with Shaun of the Dead comedian Simon Pegg on the harmonica.

 

Only about 30 minutes in to the show did the band perform tracks from their latest album Viva La Vida.

 

But perhaps this was a deliberate ploy to distract the audience from what were the least memorable and downbeat songs of the evening.

 

For a band which seemed to be running out of steam just a couple of years ago, the concert was a welcome reminder their material is as strong as ever.

 

Martin is without a doubt a talent often overlooked by critics and the media, more concerned with his film star wife and children named after fruit.

 

His ability to sing and swap from piano to guitar without hesitation was exhilarating to watch.

 

The band seemed perfectly at home on the huge arena’s stage and rarely did it look empty or lifeless.

 

Coldplay surpassed my expectations, delivering not only flawless performances but also a show to match any offered up by glitzy pop stars like Britney or Madonna, which dominate this venue.

 

The future seems bright for the band and with no signs of slowing down there’s no reason why this hit factory can’t keep delivering the goods. So lets all cheer Viva La Coldplay and Viva La O2.

 

http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/leisure/4012330.Coldplay__The_O2__Greenwich_____/

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bello-lo

bello-lo

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Coldplay have been churning out hits for what seems like an age, so it’s easy to forget just how talented they really are until you see them live in concert.

 

The first time I saw the band perform six years ago was a rather muted affair, with Chris Martin spending most of the time glued to the piano and very little spent on production.

 

But when the lights came up on The O2 stage, the rock band even your mother likes seemed to have found a cache of dynamite, shoved it up their bums and lit the fuse.

 

Lead singer Chris Martin’s exuberance was infectious, bouncing across the stage like a five-year-old on Christmas morning, and belting out favourites such as In My Place and Clocks.

 

Fans did their best impression of an X-Factor entrant, singing as the band performed their breakthrough hit Yellow, while giant yellow balloons floated down from the ceiling showering fans with gold confetti when they burst.

 

Other surprises came when Martin and drummer Will Champion climbed up into the back of the audience to play with Shaun of the Dead comedian Simon Pegg on the harmonica.

 

Only about 30 minutes in to the show did the band perform tracks from their latest album Viva La Vida.

But perhaps this was a deliberate ploy to distract the audience from what were the least memorable and downbeat songs of the evening.

 

For a band which seemed to be running out of steam just a couple of years ago, the concert was a welcome reminder their material is as strong as ever.

 

Martin is without a doubt a talent often overlooked by critics and the media, more concerned with his film star wife and children named after fruit.

 

His ability to sing and swap from piano to guitar without hesitation was exhilarating to watch.

 

The band seemed perfectly at home on the huge arena’s stage and rarely did it look empty or lifeless.

 

Coldplay surpassed my expectations, delivering not only flawless performances but also a show to match any offered up by glitzy pop stars like Britney or Madonna, which dominate this venue.

 

The future seems bright for the band and with no signs of slowing down there’s no reason why this hit factory can’t keep delivering the goods. So lets all cheer Viva La Coldplay and Viva La O2.

 

http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/leisure/4012330.Coldplay__The_O2__Greenwich_____/

 

does the reporter not know Guy and Jonny or failed to see them there too. And erm last time I looked LIT and Violet Hill which they opened with were from VLV :stunned::confused:

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warby

warby

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Well it was a month ago and it was great. I have finally posted my clips to youtube

 

[ame=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Teu_Yd8Hu8I]YouTube - Coldplay The O2 Arena London 15th Dec 2008 Part 1[/ame]

 

[ame=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=77zDpLRR7nQ]YouTube - Coldplay The O2 Arena London 15th Dec 2008 Part 2[/ame]

 

[ame=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=P7lmx3adDO8]YouTube - Coldplay The O2 Arena London 15th Dec 2008 Part 3[/ame]

 

[ame=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=yS0KAFeuJm4]YouTube - Coldplay The O2 Arena London 16th Dec 2008 Part 1[/ame]

 

[ame=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=CFmFRiJjtMw]YouTube - Coldplay The O2 Arena London 16th Dec 2008 Part 2[/ame]

 

[ame=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=57EfiZnaVk4]YouTube - Coldplay The O2 Arena London 16th Dec 2008 Part 3[/ame]

 

Hope you enjoy.

 

Cheers

Warby

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SueDeNimes

SueDeNimes

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I certainly did enjoy!! :):)

Thank you for the videos!

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