Just how good ARE they? I've seen vids on YouTube where in all honesty they've frankly embarassed themselves with their suckage, (as well as a bunch where they have simply done amazing :D) and I really need to know because I am trying to decide whether or not to spend an actually kind of sizeable chunk of money on tickets to one of Coldplay's concerts.

 

Please, I know we all love Coldplay here, but I want as impartial an opinion as I can get. Does Chris Martin usually hit most of the high notes? (<- that's the most important) do they usually sound good at concerts? Would you consider them a wee bit over/underrated live?

 

Another thing, I've never really been to a full concert to speak of. How noisy is it? Is it hard to hear the actual music, or what? I would like to have some opinions.

I would say do it. I've never been disappointed. Even with the bum crowd at the first Manchester gig, it was amazing. Seeing them live is so different to watching the youtube vids, because you just can't feel the atmosphere from youtube.

I didn't really enjoy myself at the X & Y concert that I went to, but then I didn't really like that album... still thought they were great live, I just didn't like those songs as much.

 

They're great live - no band is going to sound exactly the same live as on record, and when Chris doesn't hit the notes, it's usually because he's leaping all over the stage getting the crowd all worked up.

 

I've seen them five times and they just keep getting better and better...

I have been to lots of gigs from all kind of different artists and in generally I always would say concerts are always great and much much better then to listen to a CD.

Coldplay is def. up at the top what concerts concerns...the energy is just unbelievable. Until last year I didn't saw them live cause for some reason I thought they wouldn't be good live....but they are more then good, so I def. would go for the gig.

But no they won't sound like on CD, there will be different arrangements of some songs and there will be bumb notes but that what live gigs all about...who wants to see a perfect live gig anways...LOL

honestly, this might be my biased.

 

both nights were the best nights of my life.

 

they sound fantastic live. really. i think some of their songs are better live.

 

and it's noisy, yeah, but you can still hear the music. you just can't hear people talking and screaming. :D:D:D

 

they put on a fucking fantastic show. there's so much energy in the room that you can't help but scream and dance.

 

it's amazing. honestly. amazing.

YouTube, as a general rule of thumb, sucks. The picture quality sucks. The audio quality sucks. The users...well, you're better off ignoring them.

 

Obviously you cannot simulate any concert experience on YouTube, expecially one that was filmed on a mediocre camcorder, compressed for acceptable YouTube standards (i.e. very low quality), then automatically compressed even further when uploading to the Tube.

 

You don't get the atmosphere. You don't get the actual sound. You don't get the thousands of fans singing along with you and screaming.

^see that's what I'm worried about. If anyone's taking me, it's going to be my father, (since I cannot drive and don't really know many Coldplay fans I could go with) who says he likes a lot of Coldplay songs, but doesn't care much for the screaming in a concert. I doubt I would mind myself (actually that's part of the appeal, since it's part of the "concert experience" etc.) I'm trying to convince him (and to a certain extent myself) to spend $200 + on concert tickets in this recession that we're in. I've told him that Coldplay is supposedly very good live, and he said he'll think about it, which is generally a no.

I've seen them twice in the last 6 months, and they were pretty much the 2 greatest days of my life

 

It was amazing basically because we just made the absolute most of it. We got there really early to work up the excitement (both gigs we were first there :D) Then when we got in, we just went absolutely mental all the way through. I appreciate that you probably wouldnt want to do that with your dad there, but honestly the more you get into it the more you will enjoy it

 

Even if they played a crap set (which by the way has never, and will never happen) as long as your getting into it, you'll thoroughly enjoy it!

i had the same problem..

 

i bought tickets to a show and went on youtube to see how good they were i was disappointed and was like damn this is going to suck and i wasn't looking forward to it at all. i even considered giving my tickets away...

 

but in the end they are so amazing live words cannot describe it! each time is go great! i love them!

 

so i say spend that money and you will have one of the best nights of your life if not the best night!

^see that's what I'm worried about. If anyone's taking me, it's going to be my father, (since I cannot drive and don't really know many Coldplay fans I could go with) who says he likes a lot of Coldplay songs, but doesn't care much for the screaming in a concert. I doubt I would mind myself (actually that's part of the appeal, since it's part of the "concert experience" etc.) I'm trying to convince him (and to a certain extent myself) to spend $200 + on concert tickets in this recession that we're in. I've told him that Coldplay is supposedly very good live, and he said he'll think about it, which is generally a no.

That's tricky, then. Fans screaming are generally a part of any large-scale concert experience. You can still hear the songs, as the screaming is intermittent (usually loudest at the beginning, end, whenever a song starts, or whenever Chris speaks between songs), but hopefully your dad won't be too irked. Heck, encourage him to join in, as it's part of the fun! :D

never worry about the sound. I used to worry about how the sound would be at different parts of the arena, etc. They spent a ridiculous amount of time and money to make sure that every person gets supreme sound. it will be loud, but you will hear everything just fine.

I've seen them for 3 show on the Viva la Vida tour and they sounded gret and played with awesome energy for each of the shows. Definitely came out of each of the shows wanting to be able to go back again.

Well i went to a show 2 nights ago and it was the best night of my life. definitely worth it.

Between June to October I saw them three times. At the free show in MSG, the Today show, and at the Izod Center. The MSG show was one of their first shows, and honestly they were complete crap. However, they are great performers and know how to keep the energy in the room going. Bum notes were hit, songs took a while to set up, voices didn't match the CD, but they joked, kept in tune with the audience and it was still a fantastic night.

 

That Friday (thanks to Ian), I saw them at the Today show. You cannot compare the videos to the live performance. I'm sure many people can agree, the sound system they have is horrible. The guys even stopped playing for 20 mins and called Phil up on stage to complain about the sound, everything about that stage was horrible. Mics weren't loud enough, backtracks weren't loud enough, timing was off, but once again, thanks to their energy and performance, the show was great.

 

Now, onto the Izod center. Between those 5 months, the band TREMENDOUSLY improved. Timing, notes, voices, show and everything was fantastic. I was in the same situation as you with the parents, can't drive, so my mom took me to both the MSG and Izod show, and she even said that there was a great improvement and now she sees that they can actually play.

 

The time you see a band on their schedule I think determines how well the show will be. For example, glastonbury 2002 was a lot better than glastonbury 2004 (i think). Because 2002 was after they had toured and practiced their songs while 04 was almost directly after the album came out. Since you're going to see them now, it's been months since viva la vida and prospekt's march came out, so you're guranteed to have an excellent show.

 

And if they're your favorite band, it's always nice to indulge just once... =D

*looks at thread* The most recent Coldplay concert I went to, I went with my mom (not my choice, but she was the only one willing to pay for a floor seat with me! :P). Seriously, it doesn't matter who you go with, because if you love Coldplay enough, you'll be so absorbed in the music and performance that you'll forget you even came with anyone! ;) So a) you shouldn't be worried about that.

 

b), I agree with the others who say that you can't judge their concerts by Youtube. There is so SO much that you're missing when you watch those videos, it's kind of ridiculous to even attempt to judge from them! You don't get the experience of being incredibly close to your favorite band while they play your favorite songs, how amazing it is to hear those songs live, mistakes and all, the confetti falling all around you while they play LIJ... just the whole experience. *happy sigh* :P

 

So yeah, you should go. There's a reason why so many of us here go to Coldplay concert after Coldplay concert- just look at Angie! :lol:

 

Also, try to get the best seats (for which you feel comfortable paying, at least). My first concert I had nosebleeds, and the next one I had floor seats- I can't even begin to describe what a difference it made!

Well I've seen them once. To be honest, I was very very disappointed. The sound techs messed everything up. Not until the acoustic set were they able to fix it. His voice was iffy, he relied on the crowd to help him out a lot.

 

But then they hit the opening notes to Politik....thats when it all seemed right! Chris knocked it out of the god damned valley! The perfection of that once song was worth all the hell it was getting to the Festival.

 

I just spent $300 on two concerts. I am only not looking forward to one show because of shit seat. But the other, Great seats great venue. And the greatest band on earth.

 

GO! You will regret it if you dont. My dad told me, U2, Micheal Jackson, Stones all those bands he saw in their Prime were worth it. Not Coldplay, I simply replied "those bands you juts listed, aren't anymore. Coldplay is, these two nights will be to me, like those nights for you. Coldplay are the best live band in the world today. To see them once is awesome. To see them twice, I consider myself lucky. Three times, well, I'll be telling my kids about it."

 

I say GO Go GO. Its worth it!

"If you never try, you'll never know..." ;)

 

Absolutely. Incredible. Live.

 

Totally worth every cent.

 

Definitely no regrets.

Well, after seeing them live, my two best friends fell absolutely in love with the band. And they are hard people to please.

okay, so this is pretty overwhelmingly positive... :P

 

I'll try asking my dad again later.