Guy is soooo geeky XDD I love this side of him! I'm amazed that he finally manage to finish his foot-operated gig-camera..!! someone's unfinished engineer studies are finally paying off...XD!!

^^^

 

:lol:

i wonder what he'd get if he used it on any of the many pervs in here......... :P

 

very, very bright BLUE :lol:

Guy needs to get that aura camera going on some of the coldplaying members. I'm guessing those that the Coldplay Karma has touched will have beautiful auras

 

ooh, i bet angie has like, the best aura!

 

i think mine might be getting brighter...ticket upgrades from R42 definitely counts as coldplay karma, i think :P

 

i want to see chris's aura :lol:

Roadie #42 - Blog #50

November 9, 2008 10:03 am

In which #42 reaches his half-century

 

Chris bounds up to me on the journey into Orlando with a new setlst. It's been quite a while since we've played Setlist Twister. The start of this tour often felt like trying to ride a malfunctioning mechanical bull and then, all of a sudden, seemingly out of completely nowhere, things settled into a definitive form.

 

The current setlist is pretty much engraved into everyone on the crew's brains. The endings to songs trigger mental flags that it's time to carry out the necessary steps to be ready for the next one. As I've said before though, familiarity and repetition can become a little tiring. The show has got stronger and stronger night upon night in terms of the band's performance, but you can't beat a nice shake-up to keep everyone interested.

 

The new setlist relies on some elements that we don't have here yet, which means that we won't be descending into chaos tonight. In fact, potential for chaos is nicely deflated as the band call a production meeting on stage at the end of soundcheck. It only becomes apparent how much is involved in the gig now when the crowd of people affected by the changes begins to assemble on stage.

 

This is also only the 'immediate crew' and the department heads, but questions fly thick and fast: "If that song is going to follow this one, the balls are going to be in this position - what do you want on them in the change?", "Which mic are you going to sing at if you're finishing that song on guitar and then going straight to the piano?", "Do you want the longer intro version of that song to give you time to get from here to there, or are we going to go back to the old version?", "Is the piano going to stay out between this song and this one, or do you want it out of the way?" and so it goes on.

 

It's all minute tiny details, but they're exactly the kind of thing that could trip everyone up if they're not addressed in advance. The informal "round table" approach with the band and crew began in the studio - before rehearsals even began for this tour. Full and open communication between band and crew has been invaluable in getting a lot done quickly and that's what we're trying to do here. I won't spoil the surprise and tell you what the new setlist involves, but I think you'll like it and rest assured, when things finally fall into place, you'll be hearing about it here!

 

 

Getting to sunny Florida in November is a treat for a bunch of British roadies accustomed to cold grey weather in the winter months. Today, Will's drumtech Bash tells me of a surfing trip on the day off yesterday. This is all down to Brook, who is the guy who fires all that wonderful butterfly confetti each night. When I first met Brook, I remarked to someone that he was the most Californian person I had ever met - ever. I was quickly informed though, that he hails from down here in Florida. Never was particularly good with geography...

 

Being as he's on home turf tonight, I figured now's a good time to talk about his butterflies. They are a huge high point on the show, obviously and it's quite possible that the band get the best view of them each night - being as they're looking down the room right into them. The most amazing thing about them is that they get into absolutely everything. Open any flightcase and there'll be at least one in there somewhere, they're in every drawer and every toolbox around the venue. If you leave anything open, they'll get in there before Lovers In Japan draws to a close.

 

Every night, the fans in the moving lights are blown through with a "leaf blower" to keep them clear for the next day. I'm reliably informed that at Front Of House (roadie glossary: the enclosure in the crowd where the sound, lighting and video desks are) there is usually a frenzy of "wafting" to keep the little critters out of the mixing desks. One of the sound crew apparently even used to blow across the desk to keep them away. Quite whether this was out of dogged determination or out of a desire to amuse himself, I'm not sure.

 

My personal favourite butterfly experience has to be coming home for some days off during the European tour and opening my paperback for some bedtime reading hundreds of miles away - only to have one of the luminous little buggers gently drop from between the pages. Given that I'm actually UNDERNEATH the stage while they're making their descent I still cannot work out how it got there. All good fun. And I have to say, I'm slightly envious of the fact that Brook gets to tell people he fires butterflies out of a canon for a living....

 

Here's the drumkit before the encore last night.

 

 

Roadie #42

yeah !! new songs !

thanks deydey! :dance:

Noo! They can't come out with a new setlist now! I just resolved to be wise and not spend my money on flight + ticket to another concert... :p

 

:D

Oh damn, new setlist-

More reason to spaz out that there might be a second North American leg of the tour !!!! Fadelight, c'mon, just admit it, you are powerless. Just repaeat this sentence, Hi, my name is Fadelight, and I'm a Coldplayaholic. And then we'll start saving our pennies!

 

 

The third major setlist change, arguably, and the UK hasn't yet had the chance to see any of them :cry:

Oh damn, new setlist-

More reason to spaz out that there might be a second North American leg of the tour !!!! Fadelight, c'mon, just admit it, you are powerless. Just repaeat this sentence, Hi, my name is Fadelight, and I'm a Coldplayaholic. And then we'll start saving our pennies!

 

 

 

I will resist...resist....resist...re....sist...

 

 

Hi, my name is Fadelight, and I'm a Coldplayaholic.

 

Hi, my name is Fadelight, and I'm going to be looking at plane fare to Denver, Salt Lake, Anaheim, and Arizona later today to determine which is cheapest.

 

...yep, Coldplayaholic

The third major setlist change, arguably, and the UK hasn't yet had the chance to see any of them :cry:

 

same here:cry:

 

 

anwyay

 

When I first met Brook, I remarked to someone that he was the most Californian person I had ever met - ever. I was quickly informed though, that he hails from down here in Florida. Never was particularly good with geography...

 

 

:lol:

New setlist! YAY! :dance:

If they're bringing in Prospekt's March stuff, then that means that LiT II has to be the new opener for this tour.

 

Oh my. LiT II opening my first Coldplay gig would be the best thing ever.

 

New old songs too, hopefully. I also hope Strawberry Swing doesn't get the chop.

Heh, somehow I don't think we'll be hearing a lot of the new material not until at least Prospekt's March is released worldwide. That again, Glass of Water will I think be regular from now on. Also would be great if they did Shiver, Sparks, Warning Sign! and some other pre-Viva songs. I think nobody would mind hearing new material, but Roadie himself said that it will be a balanced show so maybe 2 or 3 other songs, with mixed setlist.

Heh, somehow I don't think we'll be hearing a lot of the new material not until at least Prospekt's March is released worldwide. That again, Glass of Water will I think be regular from now on.

 

Can they play Glass of Water without either a rhythm guitar or piano? I thought that was why we hadn't heard it since Albert's last night.

I asked that to the oracle but no answer :(

yay! in time for the 2nd atlanta show!

damn, new setlist? that means there's no way i can miss them if they do that third US leg! ohhhh, my bank account hates me :D

well this got me excited!! do you guys think there's any chance they start the new setlist tonight?? i hope they add in some old songs that theyve been leaving out.. aka amsterdam. but then i'll just be really mad i didnt get to hear it in boston and ill consider going to some far away show....

i doubt it'll be tonight, if it takes that much scheduling, i think it might be next week sometime.

 

but if they throw in amsterdam or some parachutes-era stuff that's not trouble, which we've heard millions of times, it would be amazing. as well as some EP tracks! (and strawberry swing BETTER stay in the mix).

Roadie #42 - Blog #51

November 9, 2008 8:16 pm

#42 joins Chris in the studio as he works on new songs...

It would seem that the impending Prospekt's March EP release has sent the band (and Chris in particular) into that familiar Coldplay overdrive. It's a day off today, but the term seems to mean little to one Mr. Martin. I've tagged along as he meets up with Viva's co-producer Rik Simpson to "put some ideas down". I remember talking to Rik ages ago about how some songs arrive right at the end of a project - and that sometimes they are the best ones. He was saying that he reckons it's down to the fact that the creative juices are still flowing but there is suddenly the joy of the pressure being off. So, with "Prospekts March" finished and on its way, here he is with the tap still running.

 

 

 

Songs at this point are sketches, they are mere collections of chord progressions, riffs and melodies. From these seeds though, all the good stuff will happen. It's partly about getting things down at this stage - so that the flood of ideas doesn't end up slipping away forgotten. It's also about being able to hear things back and evaluate them, not necessarily now, but further down the line when work proper on the next record begins.

 

 

 

One part of the recording studio experience that I always forget is that of utter silence. Studio control rooms have large amounts of money spent on correct acoustic treatment, to ensure that the recording engineer can hear every detail of the work at hand. For the roadie, this brings the opportunity to realise just how bad one's tinnitus is. The ringing in my ears is usually just a dull roar, covered by the sounds of air conditioning, traffic or other background noises. Here though, there's no getting away from it. Thankfully the strength of the coffee leaves the grinding of my teeth vibrating through my head enough to help.

 

For a moment, I'm reminded that for a very short time, Rik joined the Coldplay roadcrew. It was back on the Rush Of Blood tour. I remember him having a grand old time and being proud as punch that he had achieved full roadie status the day he bought a torch (flashlight) with a leather belt holster. Once they get into recording a particularly dramatic and atmospheric piece, the lights get dimmed to a point where I bet he's wishing he had it with him once again. He's fumbling around checking cables in the almost pitch black of the control room. Dan Green, the band's live soundman is here and fades up the lights. The dimmer makes a tiny but piercing squeal that merges in with the string part that Chris is playing at the synth. "Brilliant!" he shouts, as if it had been deliberate, before finding the note and incorporating it into the piece. Meanwhile, Rik is holding his iPhone out to light the back of the machine he's fixing. Good to see that making it up as you go along isn't just something that happens at gigs...

 

Revisiting another conversation from times past, I have to recall Chris talking at the end of the X&Y tour about "becoming a big band". "We've just got the job" was his quote. He repeated this emphatically and claimed that they had to do something with it, that they had a responsibility to become great if it was to continue. (I may be misquoting that bit, but you get the idea). Well, it seems that they're not just taking the job seriously, but they're putting in the overtime, too....

 

 

Roadie #42

Wow!!!

 

Very cool, so new stuff is still coming ;)

 

I am amazed about how creative he is/they are ...

This is one of #42's best blogs! Definitely a real insight into the workings of the band that we'd probably never get to see otherwise. Really awesome.

what a blog, sunday best :dance: