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11-Mar-2009: Acer Arena, Sydney, Australia - Tickets, Preview, Meetups, Review/Photos


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Gig: Coldplay, Acer Arena, March 11 2009

 

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Coldplay really have become the biggest band in the world. The colossal commercial success of their latest release, 2008’s Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends, means they can charge $140 a ticket and still be able to sell out stadium shows with their legion of fiercely loyal followers – and that’s exactly what they’re doing this week. Returning for their first Australian visit since 2006’s Twisted Logic tour, the British supergroup are playing five packed-out shows at Sydney’s Acer Arena, beginning last night and ending on Sunday, to a 20 000 strong crowd each night.

 

But with growing popularity comes a wider fan base and, as last night’s show proved, Coldplay’s followers now include glitter-clad 12-year-olds pushing in front of annoyed punters in a vain attempt to find their mothers, and teenage girls chattering incessantly about all the unholy things they would do to singer Chris Martin. Irritating but not obnoxious – until the heckling began.

 

The support slots, filled by local post-punk group Decoder Ring and Buffalo dream-pop veterans Mercury Rev, were met with sarcastic cheers from the impatient crowd, with one particular teenage girl blocking her ears while her friend wailed “this is gross, I’m writing a letter of complaint!” Whilst Rev frontman Jonathan Donahue was admittedly quite ostentatious, it seemed that a vast majority of the audience were never willing to give him a chance anyway – and it’s a sad thing to witness when a city turns against the opportunity of discovering new music because of self-imposed walls. It’s also funny to note that Rev, formed in 1984, have been making music much longer than a lot of the haters have been alive.

 

Any hatred, however, instantly evaporated as soon as four shadows took to the stage, poised behind a thin veil. The crowd exploded as the band splashed into ‘Life in Technicolor’, kicking off a set that lasted close to two hours and included a steady mix of fan favourites. The stage setup was elaborately theatrical, as you’d expect a Coldplay concert to be – against a backdrop of the Viva cover, three large video balls hung (with similar balls and screens hanging from various parts of the arena roof) and a small antique television perched at the front of the stage also showed footage as it happened. The backdrop changed throughout the evening, with projection artwork, enormous video footage, dazzling block colours and a huge ‘VIVA LA VIDA’ making up just a few of its variations.

 

Martin, decked out in a beige shirt with a red V splattered on its front, was every bit the charismatic frontman, charmingly bantering between songs and leading the enchanted crowd in stadium sing-alongs of John Farnham’s ‘You’re The Voice’ and the Monkees’ ‘I’m A Believer’. Yellow confetti-filled balloons bounced above the audience as thousands of voices became one in singing ‘Yellow’,and the biggest cheers were saved for Viva La Vida’s chart-topping title track, with lights illuminating the packed arena. The band also regularly departed the main stage for the two side platforms, and at one point went up into the stands, amidst speechless fans, for a three-song acoustic interlude (including drummer Will Champion taking the microphone for a dulcet rendition of Coldplay b-side ‘Death Will Never Conquer’).

 

But whilst this variation in performance did keep things interesting, the fact that they squeezed over 20 songs into less than two hours meant that there had to be some chopping and changing. ‘God Put A Smile Upon Your Face’ and ‘Talk’ were reinvented as techno remixes, whilst ‘The Hardest Part’ and ‘Speed of Sound’ were played acoustically (on piano and guitar, respectively) – but only in part. What this meant was that those in the audience who had not been to prior Coldplay concerts were left with an incomplete rendering of some favourite tracks – the boys deserve to be commended for their initiative in crafting a show distinctly separate from the recorded experience, but it sometimes felt a little too separate.

 

The set’s true highlight came near the end – after the acoustic interlude, the band returned to the main stage for an absolutely gorgeous ‘Lovers in Japan’, with cherry blossom projections flashing brightly on stage whilst rainbow butterfly-shaped confetti rained down onto the eager crowd. Whilst these kinds of props can be a little naff, Coldplay pull it off – what was, for the most part, a delightful evening was topped off by an adorably sweet shower of music and colour.

 

When at last they reached ‘Life in Technicolor ii’ after an encore performance of ‘The Scientist’, it felt as though the band had taken all present on a musical journey as the same riff that opened the show closed it. Obnoxious 12-year-olds and weird techno remixes aside, the rabid crowd enthusiasm and almost-note-perfect set last night proved that Coldplay have cemented their place as The New U2 – arguably the world’s most recognisable and accessible band.

 

Except that Chris Martin isn’t as much of a douche as Bono. Yet.

 

Set:

 

Life in Technicolor

Violet Hill

Clocks

In My Place

Yellow/You’re The Voice

Glass of Water

Cemeteries of London

42

Fix You

Strawberry Swing

God Put A Smile Upon Your Face

Talk

The Hardest Part

Postcards from Far Away

Viva La Vida

Lost!

Speed of Sound

I’m A Believer

Death Will Never Conquer

Viva La Vida (interlude)

Politik

Lovers in Japan

Death and All His Friends

The Scientist

Life in Technicolor II

The Escapist (outro)

 

http://shakespearesister.wordpress.com/2009/03/12/gig-coldplay-acer-arena-march-11-2009/

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UN-F****N-BELIEVABLE!!! :)

 

Best night ever man!

 

I rocked up at 2pm & managed to end up 2nd row from stage, never been soo close at a gig before!!! Worth every second of the wait I tell ya!

 

COLDPLAY - thanks a MILLION for putting on an electrifying performance! You tore the Acer Arena down!

 

CHRIS - what can I say - a musical genius is what you are!! That voice, that piano playing, that everything!! The HARDEST PART solo got me goosebumps. YOU'RE AWESOME!

 

GUY - don't know what happened, but it seemed like your heart wasn't totally in it. Hope you're Ok bud :)

 

JONNY - love how you & Chris worked the stage! Rock on!!

 

WILL - what a surprise?! Great voice!! Chris should let you sing more. lol

 

Thanks to all the GREAT fans I met at the line-up: Kia, Mark, Rosie, Steve & Ray (hope I spelt all your names right) ... Umm, I can't remember the last time I played Monopoly & UNO at a gig....lol ... You made the wait far less painful!

 

KIA - you scored the drumstiick! How cool's that?! You deserved it & BTW No more toilet breaks for you when you're in a mosh pit OK??

 

SETLIST HIGHLIGHTS:

 

Fix You- OMG, I almost cried when everyone sung along. Truly magical!

The Hardest Part - That must make it on a CD. Chris went off!!

Yellow - it was fun popping all those balloons! I think I popped 3 of them.

Clocks - what can i say? my all time favourite Coldplay song.

 

NO THANKS to all those idiots who pushed & shoved there way through to the front of the stage. Have some respect for others, especially when you were right at the back of the moshpit! WAZAA SAYS ---> SHAME ON YOU.

 

In conclusion, it was an unforgettable night & I'm still buzzing with excitement 24 hours later!

 

COLDPLAY - you're always welcome in the land down under. Please come again because don't forget - AUSTRALIA'S GOT TALENT!!!

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UN-F****N-BELIEVABLE!!! :)

 

GUY - don't know what happened, but it seemed like your heart wasn't totally in it. Hope you're Ok bud :)

 

COLDPLAY - you are always welcome in the land down under. Please come again!

 

ROFL

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well first of all, people were not there to listen to talks about global economy, they were there to have fun. so maybe u should loosen up a bit and have more fun.

 

second of all, it's a live show. if u want to listen to the original version of every song, u might as well just listen to your ipod. of course they will change a bit here and there, add something extra. man, next time u should just go to mercury rev's gig. i do agree with u that it was quite rude of the guy to say that mercury rev is shit, but u called chris martin a twerp. pot calling the kettle black.

 

seriously, u have to loosen up and have fun.

If you're at Radiohead's next Sydney gig whenever that is, i'm going to...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...give you a nice hug because then you'll have proved worthy to reply to my comments.

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Wow so many shit people at this gig. Random tween next to me "OMG, Mercury Rev are like SOOOOOOOO shit, i'm going to write a letter of complaint". Problem is;

1. You need to be literate to write a letter of complaint, and if you've lined up all day for Coldplay it's obvious you don't rate your studies very well.

 

Give that kid a f'ing medal. They WERE shit. A majority of people think so.

 

 

2. You can't complain about the supports when you have the musical taste of a gay Brazilian boy. Honestly, the only way you would have been happy was if Kings of Leon and Coldplay were the bill.

 

 

Oh the poor gay Brazillian boys are hurting now!

 

When Mercury Rev are as successful as KOL, then your comments are welcome.

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If you're at Radiohead's next Sydney gig whenever that is, i'm going to...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...give you a nice hug because then you'll have proved worthy to reply to my comments.

 

well man, i'm NOT gonna miss radiohead's gig! not while i'm still able to go... once i'm back to my country though, the dream will just banish.

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..i got electric shock when he touched my shoulder and i touched his waist :P and yes, he smelled niceeeeeee (chris lovers, go on and hate me..i dont mind lol!).

 

edit:

chrisloveforever.jpg

*the guy taking our picture did not take the whole banner...but i'm still loving this photo regardless

 

:shocked2: you are so lucky, cant believe it!!! Would have given anything!

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and finally, i got a picture with him (and a friend of mine)...i got electric shock when he touched my shoulder and i touched his waist :P and yes, he smelled niceeeeeee (chris lovers, go on and hate me..i dont mind lol!).

 

edit:

chrisloveforever.jpg

*the guy taking our picture did not take the whole banner...but i'm still loving this photo regardless

:D omg, you're sooo lucky! would have been freaking out if I were that close to Chris

 

UN-F****N-BELIEVABLE!!! :)

 

Best night ever man!

 

GUY - don't know what happened, but it seemed like your heart wasn't totally in it. Hope you're Ok bud :)

 

 

Glad you had a great time! Awesome you got 2nd row! :)

 

What was wrong with Guy? :confused::(

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lol...

well although he's so thin, but he's toned...holding his waist is like holding a comfy yet strong cushion...:sneaky:

and he smelled really niceeeeee...even after jumping, running and singing on stage fr two hours and sweat like mad!!!

he.is.bloody.hot.

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wow it really does semm it is possible to meet them after the shows if you are patient huh?

 

They left the Brisbane show 1.5hrs after the actual concert finished - I would've spent that long waiting in the car to get out of the carpark so in some cases you might as well just wait :laugh3:

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