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[20-Dec-2010] Crisis: Coldplay in Newcastle (JOURNAL TYNE THEATRE, WESTGATE RD)


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Sorry guys, I am just too tired with all of this plumbing nightmare (looks like we might have to have the floor removed just in time for Christmas :cry:) to write my normal full review. I usually write my (probably inane) stuff as soon as I get in and that means it's full of the important detail (at least for me :P) but that wasn't possible this time.

 

I've posted some thoughts already. Most importantly, once again I'd like to thank the incomparable Jayzo for providing me with a ticket, but even more incredibly (as if it was possible to give me more than one of my very best nights, in my life, ever) for using so much of his time and energy making sure I was able to pick up the tickets. He was stuck in the States and couldn't make the gig, but worked non-stop to make sure I did. Of all the many lovely people I've met through here, he is one of the very best, without question :sunny: Love you mate (in the most of platonic senses of course!!) And buddy I danced for both of us, promise!

 

This gig was very very special for me for many reasons, I'll list them (in no particular order):

 

- It was awesome to chat to the guys from Choir With No Name at various points. Real people, with such sad stories, but with new lives now and hope for the future. Incredible. We met a guy afterwards from the band who was born in Britain and abandoned at the age of five or six. He didn't know which country his parents were from. He didn't even know why he'd been given the name he has, or what it means. His life was in pieces until this charity gave him the chance. Incredible credit to the boys for this. Having them support was NO token effort (as Chris having dinner with them afterwards shows). They were an essential part of the evening for the band, and that was just so clear. The charity more than deserved the huge amount the gig raised for them, and thanks to the band, now thousands and thousands of people around the world know about this very worthy cause.

 

- The venue was absolutely incredible, a dream, such a magical setting :) We had people dressed as characters from the Wizard of Oz (I guess from the pantomime). It was like a fairytale. Brixton was a mind-blowing place to see a band who pack stadiums - this was better :sunny: <edit> - it seems the theme came from The Wizard of Oz - 'there's no place like home' - with the yellow brick road on the posters for the gig. Doh - wish I'd made that connection at the time!!

 

- The boys in their suits. They looked great, and it was so refreshing to see them confidently move out of the Viva era (much as I adored it). Viva gave this band its mojo back I think (whatever that means, I don't actually know :laugh3:)

 

- I didn't know the setlist :dance: I'd avoided looking at the night before's deliberately, although I'd had hints, and insisted that I was told if they'd played Lovers in Japan (my favourite) because I would have waited for it all night, and been devastated if I'd hoped for it and they didn't play it. I also had to know about Shiver after the HUGE tease on Coldplay.com. People missed the drums (and I missed the first half) but what I did see was the most powerful version of Shiver I've ever seen live. I wonder why Guy hates it so? I'm not asking for speculation, that's rhetorical! It might be something personal, and we have to respect that, but just Jonny and Chris on guitar was mindblowing :shocked:

 

- They played Lovers in Japan!!! Need I say more?! For me their best song since Warning Sign. Having lived in Osaka for so many years I know I may be a bit biased, but I honestly fell in love with this song the most from Viva from the very first listen. Just ecstasy.

 

- And and Dec were awesome. I've never been fans, but they were brilliant in the flesh actually. Makes me want to go back and watch Byker Grove (almost) :laugh3:

 

- God Put a Smile - proper version. One of my top five from them, I last heard it at Brixton 2008. The ending where Jonny goes wild on guitar is one of their finest moments for me.

 

- As someone put it so well by text, no gimmicks. This is the band I saw on the ARoBttH tour for the first time. Just four guys and their instruments, mostly. Playing to the crowd from Chris of course, but that's one of the things that made the band make such an impression on me the first time I saw them, along with the power of them live. 'Sitting' so close, I could see what incredibly consummate musicians they are, how close they are, so tight as a unit. I've never been so near before, except front row at Manchester. But that was part of the highly-orchestrated Viva tour. Chris was sick or not comfortable that night (sorry Debs, I will always disagree with you there!! :P) What was incredible was that a lot of the stage performance from Chris was gone (lying on the ground at the end of In My Place and VLV etc). I love that stuff once or twice on a tour, but after a few gigs it doesn't mean much. Please don't get me wrong, I completely understand why they do it - they have to, and Chris does it so well!! But all that stuff was missing at this gig, and it was all the better for it for me :)

 

- Our seats. Did I mention we were seven or so feet from centre stage, with me in the aisle and all the space I needed and could ever have dreamed of having at a Coldplay gig to dance? (Sure I have somewhere!! :P) Dancing and singing along is the most important thing for me, so for me this was an unbelievable opportunity. I rocked out so hard (and was so tired from the travel, and also my anaemia) that I had to hold on to the seat in front to keep standing up at times (sure the Guinness helped though of course :P). Words cannot describe...

 

- Till Kingdom Come with a different arrangement was brilliant. I thought it was a bit flat on the x&y tour, and got sick of it after five or so gigs, but they've remade it. I really hope to hear it again someday now. I may not ever, but hearing that version has made me love the song again as I always used to from the cd :)

 

- The guy getting up on stage to propose was so sweet. I still can't believe the hecklers, but they shut up soon enough (thank goodness). They looked like a lovely couple, and it doesn't get much better than that does it as a fan?!!

 

- Jonny's guitar solo for In My Place was one of the most breathtaking moments of my life. It always makes me shiver (no pun intended) but this was the best ever for me. So close; so much room to dance; so perfect.

 

- Hearing Christmas Lights live - unforgettable :sunny: They're already playing it as background music to stuff like the Nigella Lawson Pretends to Cook Stuff But Actually It's All done By Her Assistants and Film Crew show (heard tonight) so I guess it may not happen again, or at least very, very rarely. Magical (I'm running out of superlatives here!)

 

- Ok, I'm almost done! (the forum breathes a sigh of relief no doubt after my self-indulgent mutterings :P) Just a final thank you to the dapper gentleman Darren who took the spare ticket, and was both a perfect host in Newcastle and a great person to see such a gig with. He was stunned both with our seats and the performance. I hope he posts his vids and pics (in fact I'll make sure of it!) but will tell him to leave out the ones where I ruin them by singing like crazy and very badly (but then again, if I do that, he can't post any of them I guess :laugh3:) Expect to see something here soon, hopefully.

 

I'm a professional critic, so let's critique!! But please understand that this was a perfect night, and whatever minor quibbles I have are nothing more than nothing, I'm just including them for completeness :)

 

- I don't know if VLV has a place anymore. It absolutely defined their last phase. I love the song to death, but I don't know how they will move forward into a new era with it, it's (for me) almost like it might hold them back. They can't not play it of course, and that may be the problem. The singing from the crowd carried on of course once the song had finished, but unlike on the tour where they rightfully milked that, they seemed to want to move on swiftly here. I guess that's the answer in future. The next question is, though, will they have to produce a bigger anthem in future, or feel they have to? For me the answer to both is 'no' but I worry that they will feel that pressure. Oh well, let's wait and see!

 

- Clocks hasn't been good for me since 2006 (when they had that great sped-up ending) but then it's never been my favourite. Time to drop it I'd say. There's too much from this band to depend on past glories like that.

 

- Glass of Water and Cemeteries were odd choices. Cemeteries fills a stadium but not a small venue when the crowd aren't singing along particularly (they got louder as the night went on), or clapping when it's needed. Glass of Water to me is a strange one - nice song, not that well known by more casual fans, not a classic. It's like Politik without the edge; the heart and soul (wordplay intended this time!) that transforms a great Coldplay song (as they all are) into one of the best songs ever. 42 and Violet Hill (perfect opener) were much missed by me and let's hope they return!! Life in Technicolor would have mindblowing in such a small setting and is surely far more widely loved, Strawberry Swing too. Of all the Viva-era songs to be dropped, let's hope these are ones that stick around! To think that Wembley '09 might have been my last time to hear any of them, but especially 42 and Violet Hill :cry:

 

- Yellow's not a great very early song imho (first two tracks), and certainly not a starter, but full credit to the band for trying it out!! Experimentation was the name of the game, and that was what made this gig so very very special, so again this is absolutely no complaint, just an observation - or my own humble opinion, rather :) I would MUCH rather see this type of gig than the polished-to-perfection shows of the main tour.

 

So, that's it really - not as long or as self-indulgent as one of my usual reviews :laugh3: I was absolutely blessed to see this show, and it feels like an end of a journey for me. I first listened to A Rush in my little apartment in Japan when my then-girlfriend brought a stack of CDs over and thought to myself 'hmmm, both the Richard Ashcroft one and this are really special'. On first seeing them at Fuji Rock 2003 - having seen probably more than a thousand live sets - my jaw absolutely hit the floor when Politik started, and I fell in love. Crystal Palace at the start of the x&y tour was something special, but I didn't realise it at the time - an incredible mix of old and new, and full of golden nuggets like the incredible Everything's Not Lost. Great on CD but probably an even better crowd singalong than Viva for me.

 

After that it was multiple nights at arena tours, apart from the brilliant Brixton and the very special indeed BBC mini gig. But, this was the gig I've always dreamed of. Pretty much a full set; feet from the stage but with limitless room to dance; impromptu; daring; a band at the very top of their game (as they have been for years) without ever really seeming to believe it themselves; Christmas Lights....

 

I could go on forever but I have to stop somewhere, and so it is here.

 

:heart:

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Thanks for this awesome review of the Newcastle gig. :awesome: :sunny:

 

In particular I found this part moving:

 

"It was awesome to chat to the guys from Choir With No Name at various points. Real people, with such sad stories, but with new lives now and hope for the future. Incredible. We met a guy afterwards from the band who was born in Britain and abandoned at the age of five or six. He didn't know which country his parents were from. He didn't even know why he'd been given the name he has, or what it means. His life was in pieces until this charity gave him the chance. Incredible credit to the boys for this. Having them support was NO token effort (as Chris having dinner with them afterwards shows). They were an essential part of the evening for the band, and that was just so clear. I gave them and Crisis as much money as I could, I wish I could have given them more. But my future lies in charity work, so I'll be able to give much more than 'just' money"

 

I am sure that you can become a first-class ambassador of a humanitarian organization. :thumbsup:

 

You write about leaving out Viva la Vida and Clocks. For this occasion - the gigs on 19.12 and 20.12 - I found it appropriate to play these songs. They are after all Coldplay's greatest successes.

 

But again: THANKS for an :awesome: review.

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Hi All

 

Just a quick note before I head to work to back up all the previous comments, it was truly was a special night and I'm still on a high from it - it was such a privilege to attend and is something I will never forgot.

 

Pete - Thank you so much for helping me out, you are the other members I met are lovely people and it was a pleasure to meet you all.

 

I'll post the only 2 photo's that have come out ok, for some reason I just couldn't get any good

one's - all the rest are blurry.

 

Cheers

 

Darren

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Thank you, Pete!

 

We had people dressed as characters from the Wizard of Oz (I guess from the pantomime).
But the poster for the concerts had the yellow brick road as background, I thought that was the reason for people dressing up as characters from the Wizard of Oz.

But even Anchorman said he doesn't know why.

Surely I can't be the only one who made that connection. :thinking:

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Thank you, Pete!

 

But the poster for the concerts had the yellow brick road as background, I thought that was the reason for people dressing up as characters from the Wizard of Oz.

But even Anchorman said he doesn't know why.

Surely I can't be the only one who made that connection. :thinking:

 

Nope, my friend Tasha was at the theatre the night before to see 'Jack & The Beanstalk'

which is what's playing there at the moment, if you look at the stage setting you can see Leaves all around the white display, which is what it was for.

I have NO idea why they had the crisis team working as the tin man or otherwise.

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"THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME."

 

And they help people who are homeless. Crisis had a video they showed before the gig, with a Dorothy with a black eye, something about a certain number of women who are homeless are trying to escape abuse. It's just to highlight the homeless theme.

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I will work on a full review later, since I'm still working on unpacking after my lovely little journey home. :tongue:

 

But here are some videos for you to chew on in the meantime:

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfvQly8aWeE]YouTube - Coldplay - Newcastle December 20, 2010 - Inside Journal Tyne[/ame]

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0Gb2kpATCA]YouTube - Coldplay - Newcastle December 20, 2010 - Chris' F***ing Insecurity Speech[/ame]

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4xrKiRYt8I]YouTube - Coldplay - Newcastle December 20, 2010 - Trouble[/ame]

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf94UtFYEbc]YouTube - Coldplay - Newcastle December 20, 2010 - Shiver[/ame]

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3z6JlTdQx0]YouTube - Coldplay - Newcastle December 20, 2010 - God Put a Smile Upon Your Face[/ame]

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sz6n53V7cRA]YouTube - Coldplay - Newcastle December 20, 2010 - 'Till Kingdom Come[/ame]

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Nope, my friend Tasha was at the theatre the night before to see 'Jack & The Beanstalk'

which is what's playing there at the moment, if you look at the stage setting you can see Leaves all around the white display, which is what it was for.

I have NO idea why they had the crisis team working as the tin man or otherwise.

No no, I meant that on the poster for the Coldplay gig there is a yellow brick road and as Carrie said they had that "no place like home" theme so for me it wasn't a surprise to see them wearing costumes from Wizard of Oz.

I think we were misunderstanding each other. :thinking:

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^ Nope, I didn't get that, but someone else probably did. It was actually nice to listen to it without the distraction of the butterflies. I think that is the first time they've done it sans butterflies, right?

 

I like how someone posted a comment on YouTube just a few moments after I uploaded the "Chris' F***ing Insecurity Speech" video. :lol: Didn't take long!

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Hey Everyone,

 

I've been publishing a daily journal about my (first!) trip to England to see these shows... with so much traveling, obviously they are lagging a bit - just got up on the one on the Newcastle show ("Day Five"). I also put one up about "Blacky" today for context...

 

All can be found via this link - obviously Day Four (Liverpool) and Day Five (Newcastle) would be of the most interest to members of the forum...

 

Coldplay-Original-Prop-Blog-Crisis-Hidden-Gig-England-Concert-Tour-Portal.jpg

 

Nice to finally meet some fellow Coldplayers!

 

Jason

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Hey Everyone,

 

I've been publishing a daily journal about my (first!) trip to England to see these shows... with so much traveling, obviously they are lagging a bit - just got up on the one on the Newcastle show ("Day Five"). I also put one up about "Blacky" today for context...

 

All can be found via this link - obviously Day Four (Liverpool) and Day Five (Newcastle) would be of the most interest to members of the forum...

 

Coldplay-Original-Prop-Blog-Crisis-Hidden-Gig-England-Concert-Tour-Portal.jpg

 

Nice to finally meet some fellow Coldplayers!

 

Jason

 

 

Just read these nice accounts of meeting the band. Really :awesome:

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