18-Sep-2009: Wembley Stadium, London - Tickets, Previews, Meetups, Reviews/Photos

[maccassidy]

hello guys *big wave* ..... I just found my way here. I was at the concert as well and when I saw that picture here I had to laugh so much, because.....

 

I remember the woman! :lol:

 

She's here, are you on this too?:

 

if the camera would have been pointing a biiit more downwards I would actually be on that picture!!!! the guy with the glasses on the left was behind me and the woman who's head is cut off here was standing right next to me!!!!

I was in the 2nd row!!! I just had to share this :D :)

 

needless to say the concert was absolutely amazing..... this was my first Coldplay concert and I spent the whole weekend in my head, pretending I was still there :laugh3: Friday was the worst actually 'cos I was looking at the time thinking "I got there at that time yesterday...... this is when I got in..... this is when I reached my perfect place in 2nd row...... they're probably on stage right now *aaaaah*..."

[Zeya]

Actually I don't think he was looking at my camera but I'll just take your word for it Jen :D

 

I think he was at least looking at your direction :D

Some people won't even need anyone to tell them that any of the band members are looking at them.

Even when they were miles away from the boys :dozey:

[busybeeburns]

Review by http://drownedinsound.com/gigs/40380/reviews/4137944

 

8/10

 

It pains me that Girls Aloud are as average as they are tonight, as that’s primarily the reason why I’m here. I’ve been bought a ticket in the knowledge that there may never be any more live performances by the quintet, but the fact that they’re playing a mere 40 minute set at 6pm is a real organisational oversight. An even bigger cock-up however is the Girls’ setlist choice. Their performance is perfectly passable, but the material itself lets them down; a sickly cover of ‘I’ll Stand By You’, a lacklustre version of ‘Something Kinda Oooh’ and an unnecessary take on Robyn’s ‘Every Heartbeat’ are all wasted opportunities. Things are somewhat rectified when the layered vocals pull together for the heart-melting chorus on ‘Call the Shots’ but even a dynamic rendition of the appropriately titled ‘The Promise’ leaves you feeling like it’s too little, too late.

 

Whereas Jay-Z’s performance is downright brilliant. Despite my seat being nearer Brentford than the stage, Jay-Z impressively manages to make the stage his own within seconds and fill the gargantuan arena thanks in no small part to having two drummers and a fuckload of volume at his disposal. ‘On to the Next One’ and ‘Dirt Off Your Shoulder’ sound immense, with a great deal of the standing audience bouncing along with Jay-Z’s instructional hand gestures. ‘D.O.A.’ mixes in with the rest of his material seamlessly and the ever reliable ’99 Problems’ provides a great opportunity for 100,000 middle aged people to mock practise their air-scratching. Hell, even the slightly pompous-on-record ‘Empire State of Mind’ is elevated to modern classic status, in no small part due to Alicia Keys stand-in Bridget Kelly’s haunting vocals.

 

Throughout, Jay-Z manages to strike that difficult balance between being a solo superstar and a loveable down-to-earth chap, stopping to point out various American Football shirts in the crowd he approves of or ladies’ haircuts. Such is the feel good factor in the stadium that the four safety stewards next to me begin taking 15 minute shifts to cover one another in order to go dance down the front. After an hour, Jay-Z cements his place as a global phenomenon and leaves the stage to a pumped up, wholly appreciative room of converted fans, no doubt adding to the ones he collected at last year's Glastonbury.

 

Confession time: truth be told, I don’t hold any hope of Coldplay touching their warm up, seeing as I have no more than a passing interest in them. It’s not that they’re bad, or dislikeable. Just so…. beige? Even their name sounds a bit limp. However it will be eternally baffling to me that the band has always attracted such a venomous level of hatred, mainly because their music is merely far too pleasant to waste anger on. Coldplay have always worked around musical structures at their most base and therefore if it’s not for you it’s easy enough to ignore. But it would appear that whilst we’ve been largely overlooking their progress, Coldplay have now fully grown into what those subtle, fledgling EPs hinted at: much like Jay-Z, they are now fully-rounded global stars, and tonight is as good a performance as you’ll likely ever see from a rock band that straddles such a broad music-loving spectrum.

 

The live show itself is grand and one that - in print - will likely sound appalling; featuring a heavily scripted interchange between Martin and a giant Simon Cowell video, a Mexican wave of mobile phones, Simon Pegg fleetingly joining the band playing harmonica on a makeshift ‘impromptu’ stage and U2-esque pyrotechnics. But in actuality, there’s something massively endearing and human about the entire evening that breaks up the seriousness (and occasional similarity) of the slightly excessive 26 songs.

 

The set is understandably Viva La Vida heavy, with the band’s best record to date A Rush of Blood to the Head also heavily filtering proceedings, but the difference between the formers recorded rendition and the live translation is a world apart. ‘Life in Technicolor’ bookends the gig, creating a stunning sense of anticipation; the new album's title track manages to join an entire stadium in song, which echoes long into the tube ride home; and lesser known tracks such as ‘Death and All His Friends’ and ‘42’ sound colossal when allowed to spread their wings, encroaching previously uncharted territory for the band which many Radiohead fans would claim as solely theirs.

 

Former glories naturally get the warmest greeting, whether it’s the early unveiling of the somehow-still-mesmerising piano line of ‘Clocks’, an empty arena being magically filled with giant balloons in a three second blackout as breakthrough hit 'Yellow' fades in, the epic intro to ‘Politik’ nearly deafening everyone, or the huge sing-a-long that is sparked by ‘God Put a Smile Upon Your Face’. Or indeed ‘Trouble’. Or ‘Talk’. Or ‘Fix you’… This is in no small part due to Martin understanding that a snappy couplet is more memorable than a piece of prose yet - when handled delicately - ultimately more rewarding. In fact when you hear these songs all together, you realise just how good a back catalogue the band has, even if it is perhaps still a little too one-dimensional to be regarded alongside some of their peers.

 

To many readers of this site, Coldplay will likely never be more than a passing name, and I suspect this review or anything barring a night in their presence will do anything to alter that. It somehow feels too easy to fall for their charms. Yet there is a natural, unpolished energy to their performance tonight that is joyous to behold and feel part of. And if they’re good enough for a beaming Jay-Z to want to get back in on the act, returning to sing ‘Lost+’ with the band towards the close, then just maybe they should be good enough for us too.

[CookyMnstr]

Ok, so I know it's almost a week late:blush: and maybe the wiki page is full of insightful reviews, but well, you cant' stop my fingers from typing! :P

 

For this show I chose to sit and be able to relax before the show(the "chicken&chips" though pricey were yummy) and be able to have a beer. And thank God I could go and hide in the bathroom for most of Girls Aloud:sick:. I'd never heard or seen White Lies before this, but they were great; I came home and bought the album! So CP gets the points they lost by having GA open by introducing me to WL. JayZ....:stunned:. I'm not a hiphop fan AT ALL, but by the end I was bouncing along with the rest of the crowd:dance:...he really has a gift for getting everyone into it. GA was terrible terrible, as you could tell from my tweets. The only reason I can come up with why they were chosen is that when it came time to set up this gig, the guys had been on tour for a while and were horny as heck, so first girls they saw, Chris was like--BOOK 'EM!<perv>:lol:

 

So, the main act.:D I all of a sudden started getting super nervous/anxious in the minutes leading up to Cp coming on. It was finally here---the moment I'd been waiting 10months for!!! For the whole show I was very emotional realizing that one of my dreams/goals was actually coming true. It's very surreal to say "one day I will go to London, and will go watch my favorite band in their "hometown," and then for it to actually come true!!!:D Fanfuckingtastic. (I broke down hysterically:bigcry: during The Scientist, like gagging/coughing I was crying so hard, and then didn't sing a beep, just soaked it allll in--I'll never forget that moment:nice:) Another crazy/great thing was hanging with Ian(well for a bit, until he DITCHED me&Joe for C-stage:P) If it weren't for this site, the past year of my life would've been so different in so many ways; because of coldplaying I've made wonderful friendships and met so many lovely people, and hell I'd never just gone to London on my own, if the cpers meet up hadn't been happening. So Bossman...you rock!!!!:hug:

 

The show as always was so much fun, and seeing the fireworks was amazing, my face really did look like this---->:stunned:+:wacky: Those big screens were awesome! I was able to get good vids(well better than I normally do!) just shooting them directly. My pics would've been better if I'd have a steady hand:shame: but I think I managed some decent shots...

 

 

 

poor butterflies:flutterby:

 

 

I also got a bunch of great pics pre-show of crazy coldplayes:D

 

 

Queue...

 

Proudly representin'

 

the Bossman...

 

C&C&C working out our gig stragegy:thinking:

 

Coldplayers got C-stage covered!

 

 

 

Ok, that's it. I'm spent!:dead: The Wembley/cpers virus has got me good, I need to go rest after posting this:P

 

EDIT: link to my post with vids (Cooky likes being organized!:wacko:)

[lndnsky]

Ooh Cooky I love it... :D :D :D

Pics are great. Especially the pre-show!!! You all look so happy... :D

[Pris]

I love the yellow balloons :wacky:

 

Ahhhh :dead: Thank you :awesome: :kiss:

[Christa42]

As always another amazing review Cooky!

[maccassidy]

oh man those are great pics!!!!! thanks for that :)

[Stefan8]

Queue...

I'm in this pic! :P

[busybeeburns]

which one's you?

[Stefan8]

The guy sitting there, in the front. Biting my nails or something. :lol:

[busybeeburns]

love the pics and review!! :D go get some rest and shut eye, go go go! :flutterby: :flutterby: :flutterby:

Ok, so I know it's almost a week late:blush: and maybe the wiki page is full of insightful reviews, but well, you cant' stop my fingers from typing! :P

 

For this show I chose to sit and be able to relax before the show(the "chicken&chips" though pricey were yummy) and be able to have a beer. And thank God I could go and hide in the bathroom for most of Girls Aloud:sick:. I'd never heard or seen White Lies before this, but they were great; I came home and bought the album! So CP gets the points they lost by having GA open by introducing me to WL. JayZ....:stunned:. I'm not a hiphop fan AT ALL, but by the end I was bouncing along with the rest of the crowd:dance:...he really has a gift for getting everyone into it. GA was terrible terrible, as you could tell from my tweets. The only reason I can come up with why they were chosen is that when it came time to set up this gig, the guys had been on tour for a while and were horny as heck, so first girls they saw, Chris was like--BOOK 'EM!<perv>:lol:

 

So, the main act.:D I all of a sudden started getting super nervous/anxious in the minutes leading up to Cp coming on. It was finally here---the moment I'd been waiting 10months for!!! For the whole show I was very emotional realizing that one of my dreams/goals was actually coming true. It's very surreal to say "one day I will go to London, and will go watch my favorite band in their "hometown," and then for it to actually come true!!!:D Fanfuckingtastic. (I broke down hysterically:bigcry: during The Scientist, like gagging/coughing I was crying so hard, and then didn't sing a beep, just soaked it allll in--I'll never forget that moment:nice:) Another crazy/great thing was hanging with Ian(well for a bit, until he DITCHED me&Joe for C-stage:P) If it weren't for this site, the past year of my life would've been so different in so many ways; because of coldplaying I've made wonderful friendships and met so many lovely people, and hell I'd never just gone to London on my own, if the cpers meet up hadn't been happening. So Bossman...you rock!!!!:hug:

 

The show as always was so much fun, and seeing the fireworks was amazing, my face really did look like this---->:stunned:+:wacky: Those big screens were awesome! I was able to get good vids(well better than I normally do!) just shooting them directly. My pics would've been better if I'd have a steady hand:shame: but I think I managed some decent shots...

 

 

 

poor butterflies:flutterby:

 

 

I also got a bunch of great pics pre-show of crazy coldplayes:D

 

 

Queue...

 

Proudly representin'

 

the Bossman...

 

C&C&C working out our gig stragegy:thinking:

 

Coldplayers got C-stage covered!

 

 

 

Ok, that's it. I'm spent!:dead: The Wembley/cpers virus has got me good, I need to go rest after posting this:P

 

EDIT: link to my post with vids (Cooky likes being organized!:wacko:)

[maccassidy]

The guy sitting there, in the front. Biting my nails or something. :lol:

 

yes I do remember you!! :laugh3:

[Stefan8]

Not in a bad way I hope. :uhoh:

[maccassidy]

no, should I? :P I just remember your face. :D since you were standing in front of me I got to see your face a bit more often than you did get to see mine^^

[Stefan8]

I'm sorry you had to look to my face. :lol: Now I'm curious as to what your face looks like!

[maccassidy]

I'm sorry you had to look to my face. :lol: Now I'm curious as to what your face looks like!

 

absolutely nothing to apologise for!! man, I should have registered here BEFORE the concert. I would have had company.... since I went alone you know?

it's not the best pic ever^^quality sucks lol but that's me

 

CLICK

[airieslady]

Queue...

 

I am in this pic too! My red hair standing next to Coldpatrix! :gorgeous: :D

[Stefan8]

absolutely nothing to apologise for!! man, I should have registered here BEFORE the concert. I would have had company.... since I went alone you know?

it's not the best pic ever^^quality sucks lol but that's me

 

CLICK

 

Sorry, don't remember you... :embarassed: But there were so many people!

 

Yeah, you should! There were lots of Coldplayers there on both days!

I spotted another girl who was at the concert on her own, isn't that boring? Especially the wait! Although I might be going to a concert alone... sometimes it's really hard to find someone who wants to go with me. :rolleyes:

 

Oh, and if you got some water from the security people over there and it tasted like bananas, it was because of me throwing away my banana peel in the water supply. :lol:

[maccassidy]

Sorry, don't remember you... :embarassed: But there were so many people!

 

Yeah, you should! There were lots of Coldplayers there on both days!

I spotted another girl who was at the concert on her own, isn't that boring? Especially the wait! Although I might be going to a concert alone... sometimes it's really hard to find someone who wants to go with me. :rolleyes:

 

Oh, and if you got some water from the security people over there and it tasted like bananas, it was because of me throwing away my banana peel in the water supply. :lol:

 

that's alright. like I said: I wasn't in your field of view. there were LOADS of people. it was INSANE.... AMAZING :lol::D

 

damn it. next time!!!! well, I was there from 12 or so onwards but I had a book and music so it was alright. the fact that I was waiting to see Coldplay made it all fade away and the concert itself.... it's always cool if there are people you know to enjoy it with but honestly? I can't imagine having a better time than I already had.... since it was PERFECT!!!

my water tasted just fine :laugh3::laugh3: no banana taste whatsoever :laugh3::laugh3:

 

what's that concert you might be going to alone then? I'm curious :)

where exactly are you by the way!?

[Stefan8]

The concert was indeed fantastic, I also liked the supporting acts very much (especially Jay-Z). Girls Aloud were fun at first, but their set was too long. And they weren't that hot either. :P

 

I live near Amsterdam. ;)

 

And I saw Bat for Lashes when they were supporting Coldplay in Nijmegen and they are coming to Amsterdam, but nobody knows them. :P I'd really love to see them again. But, most of the time I'll convince someone to tag along. :wacky:

[maccassidy]

yeah Jay-Z was amazing. I also liked White Lies..... I knew some of their songs so it was so cool I got to see them life! Girls Aloud was not that great for me.... had to endure it to get what I want^^the funny and absurd thing was that this one girl next to me said to her boyfriend after White Lies [she had never heard of them before] "well, they're not very original are they?" but she went mental when Girls Aloud played! it seems like quite a few people were there for Girls Aloud rather than Coldplay :o can't wrap my head around that :shocked2: anyways..... Girls Aloud are SO original, yes, indeed. I'll stop here.... don't wanna offend anybody but that made me laugh so hard when I heard her say that^^

 

haven't heard of them. sure you'll have a great time :)

near Amsterdam! that's so cool.... never been to Amsterdam but it's on my list of places I wanna go to :D

[Stefan8]

I liked White Lies too! I know most of their songs pretty well and they were also in Nijmegen (supporting CP). They played a shorter set in Wembley, which was a little disappointing... especially because they had to make it shorter because of Girls Aloud. :dozey: And yeah, there were lots of (too many) Girls Aloud fans. There was also this (I assume, gay) guy who went completely mental when GA came on and sang along with every song. :lol:

 

Amsterdam is a great city, lots of tourists, lots of shops, lots of water, lots of drugs! :P

[maccassidy]

it was? oh man! don't tell me that..... makes me angry! Coldplay shouldn't make a shorter setlist because of Girls freaking Aloud! wtf?! that doesn't even SOUND right!! loool yeah there were several SCREAMERS when Girls Aloud was on stage..... I was standing there, like frozen in place, enduring my fate, telling myself "it's over soon. it has to be. then Coldplay will come on stage. focus. zen-place. zen-place" :D :D you had this girl a little bit to your right who was screaming SO MUCH. I won't ask "did you hear her" lol 'cos there's no way you didn't :laugh3::laugh3::laugh3:

 

how many times have you seen Coldplay live?!

 

banana-water?! :D yeah, Amsterdam. heard about those cafés they got there :D :D

[Texasluvsjonny]

OK finally home and rested and have uploaded my pics and videos.

 

Friday was just amazing. I think I was almost as excited about Wembley Stadium as I was about Coldplay. :P I so wanted some grass off the pitch but the flooring was locked down. :cry:

squeeeee it's Wembley

 

Anyway. We got there early. I had bought the tickets for the first night so I went to queue at the box office while everyone else went and got in the different queues so we could have someone in each line til we found out which line we had to be in. Ian soon joined me at the box office. The ticket companies really screwed the pooch on these shows. :angry:

 

Turns out it was all for nothing as it didn't matter how early you lined up as much as which line you were in or rather which crew was running your queue because although we were right at the front of our queue, our gate wasn't let in as quickly as others, so we ended up 6 rows back. :(

 

White Lies were good. I have heard some of their stuff but didn't know that much about them. Their singer turned out to wayyyyyyyyyy prettier than I expected. :wink3:

 

Girls Aloud. I see why no one in the US has heard of them. What a pile of kack! I didn't think anything could be worse than the pussy cat dolls, but I was so very wrong. The ginger one is a man, I am almost sure of it. I think the fact they kept talking shit about how everyone came out to see them was the worse part. NO ONE CAME TO SEE YOU CUNTS, GET OFF THE FUCKING STAGE!. The colors...it was like an Easter Egg exploded. None of them can sing. None of them can dance. WTF! How could William Champion allow this to happen?

 

Jay Z was just out of this world fucking awesome! He had the crowd in an instant and really worked the crowd. Just brilliant.

 

Coldplay was their usual brilliant selves. I was a bit worried that Chris would still be sick especially since he came out with the scarf on, but I thought he sounded great.

 

Down sides: The security on this night was lame. People smoking all around us. We had to beg and plead for some water. Someone pissed in a cup. But the worse part was the guy next to me smelled like a dead fish. Not a little smelly, but the most putrid thing imaginable. Finally I couldn't take it any more and had to move back because it was making me sick. I had to wash the inside of my nose with toothpaste back at the hotel to get the smell out. :sick:

 

I didn't shoot my usual amount of pics and videos because I just wanted to enjoy these last two shows.

 

pics

 

 

Wembsqueeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

 

Our meet up spot....The J pole. *snicker snicker*

 

It is big inside.

 

I see our Italian friends :D

 

White Lies are pretty

 

Jigga whatttttttttttt

 

Jigga whooooooooo

 

teh Coldplays :cool:

Early J & C luff :heart:

 

 

 

Videos

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA1jHHKwR4c]YouTube - JayZ 99 problems[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPsCP0yasLY]YouTube - In My Place[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFoOJJIMFRU]YouTube - Glass of Water[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrCCFbCJPIA]YouTube - Clocks[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44ZEpHSYDqM]YouTube - JB kicking ass![/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH3TR5guUZc]YouTube - The Scientist[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mN2Hnqp634]YouTube - LIT ii[/ame]