[21-Oct-2011] Coldplay @ Today Show, Rockefeller Plaza, New York, USA

[joecortazzo]

Ok so here is my review of the show.

 

 

I left my house in new jersey at 9am thursday morning, to head for nyc. I arrived in nyc around noon. I then had time to kill, so I walked around the city and visited ground zero. It was a nice windy day, so I walked around everywhere. I got lunch at a pizza place, and browsed the stores around times square. Then I thought I would get on the train and head for 49th and Rockefeller plaza, where the show was being held. I arrived there and it was filled with tourists. There were gates lined up along the street in stacks. I had no idea where the stage was gonna be or where I should line up. I asked a security guard, and he walked me over to where the stage was gonna be. He was very nice and cool. Probably the coolest security guard I have ever met. He told me that people were gonna line up along the citi bank building on 48th street. I was on the phone with a coldplayer, giving him directions and such.

 

 

I had been in contact the whole day with a bunch of coldplayers off here. We were all coordinating how we were gonna meet and when. I was the first one to arrive. The next coldplayer wouldn't arrive till 7pm, and I arrived at 5pm. I wanted to see if there was any line started along the citi bank building. So I walked over and turned the corner, and found 1 person sitting down. It was this girl sitting on a towel while reading a book. She had a coldplay sticker on her, so I immediately knew why she was sitting there. She was the first there, and the only one there. We started talking and I sat down with her, making myself 2nd in line. She had been there the day before in the pouring rain and had slept in penn station, cause she thought there would already be people there. I was amazed at how dedicated she was as a coldplay fan.

 

 

I sat with her for a few hours and the next coldplayer arrived. I put on my viva jacket so everyone could find me; the guy who coordinated everything sent a text out to everyone to look for me if they didn't know where it was. Around 7:30 pm, more people started arriving and sitting down. As the line grew, people walking by started asking why we were sitting around. As the sun fell, it got really cold. The line kept growing and growing. At 9pm, they put the gates up next to us and lined them up all the way down the street (to separate us from people walking on the sidewalk). Since my spot was saved and my stuff was there, I would go for little walks to kill time and stay warm.

 

 

They started setting up the stage and everything around 9:30pm. I was sitting with my group and chatting. The girls were making posters. Then people in my group started to say that they were hungry, so I walked over to the pizza place and got an extra large cheese pizza. I brought it back and everyone was so greatful and happy. One guy tried giving me some money but i said that it was my treat. Everyone was happy then and full of spirit. We all were discussing our favorite coldplay songs and other coldplay stuff. I then met a guy from england there, so I immediately started hanging with him, cause I am from the uk, so it was nice to have someone there that was from the same place I was. This random guy came up to the girl who was first in line, and bribed her with 60 dollars if he could sit with us. To my amazement she took it, and the dude sat down next to her. I was furious. But at the same time, she sorta earned it cause she was there for 2 days before in the pouring rain, and she had no money, so I guess it was ok.

 

 

It was very, very, very cold! I think around 48 degrees. I didn't bring anything except for a hoodie, so I was freezing. So around 2am, I went for a walk and got on the subway, so I could stay warm and kill time. I came back an hour later and everything was still the same. Some people were sleeping, and some were awake like me. I sat down and tried to shut my eyes, but just couldn't fall asleep. So I stood up, and walked down the line of people with my uk buddy to keep warm. I had bought a throwover blanket for 5 bucks, so i was wearing it as a scarf. Then someone discovered that there was heat coming up from a vent on the sidewalk. Sure enough, the 6 of us were huddled around enjoying the heat. No more then 5 minutes later, a really rude security guard told us to get off the sidewalk, cause we were "blocking traffic". What bullshit! It was 3 in the morning there was no damn traffic!

 

 

Around 5:30 am, when I was on the other side of 49th street with my friends getting a closer look at the stage, people in line stood up and started moving. We freaked out and ran as fast as we could back to the front, cause we had no idea what was going on, and we thought they were letting people in. We got to the front, and it just turned out that one of the security guards told everyone to line up. We were all standing and waiting then. Staff started handing out double sided mylo xyloto posters to everyone, so we were very happy. They opened the gates for the vip people, then around 5:56am, a guy grabbed me and told me to come with him. He then opened the gate for me and let me in! I was wearing my viva jacket so that's probably why.

 

 

I got up to the stage area, and I was near the front of the stage, but there was like 15 people in front of me. People from my group then joined behind me, then the crowd formed. It was 6am at that time. Around 6:45 Will, Guy, and johnny walked out on the stage for the soundcheck. Chris was nowhere to be found. So the boys soundchecked Viva La Vida and charlie brown. They then walked off and went back into the building. Around 7am, the today show started, and the announcers came out on stage and did a part for the show. Al Roker was one of them. My feet were in so much pain, I could barely stand, but there was nothing I could do. Finally, at 8:17am, the band walked out and started the show.

 

 

The setlist in order was:

Yellow

The scientist (during commercial break)

Charlie Brown

Rehab cover (chris on piano singing it very quietly and quickly during commercial)

Paradise

Viva la vida

ETIAW

and Fix you as the last song.

 

 

The performance was great, chris almost went off the stage a few times, due to his running around and dancing. There was a tall dude in front of me and a guy behind me that kept whistling really loud, so that sucked. Chris kept asking if everyone was ok, which is no surprise. During the intro of fix you chris said "this is the longest intro ever, but I am waiting for the news people to tell me when to start". So that made me laugh. The show finished with a thunderous ovation from the crowd. Everyone then started making their way out, my feet were in so much pain I could barely walk. The group I was with had all gone their separate ways, without even saying goodbye, probably cause they were all exhausted.

 

 

I walked down the street still wearing my viva jacket and carrying my huge poster with a smile on my face even though I was just standing in one spot for 3 hours straight. I got home and checked the recording of the show, and sure enough I could see myself in the crowd multiple times. I had been awake for 38 hours before I finally went to bed. The poster is hung on my wall, and I had a great time. I hope to do this again soon.

[joecortazzo]

I see myself in the last video! :dance: I was in the red coat :dance:

And you were camping out with Amy and Marisa? :awesome: I love her, she's my best friend. :hug:

 

Awesome! And yes I was camping out with them. There was a ton of people I was camping out with. :)

[gise_honey]

I got really good pictures guys! They are all on my facebook though, so I need to try to upload them to flickr. :dance:

I got front row, so I was really close :wideeyed: It was incredible.

 

*Christa 42* I think I saw you, you're in a lot of my pictures hahah :laugh3: I believe you were wearing a yellow shirt? :thinking:

 

Well here's the link to my facebook for those of you who are my friend on there, http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2114556832110.2100637.1491360631&type=3

 

:dance: I'll write a review later. :)

 

Your pics are really good.. i agree with you. Do you have a reflex camera?, don't you?. which one??

[Destrokk]

Who the fuck is at home on a weekday at 7 am? Of course I missed it.

I was pissed about that for a moment.

[Christa42]

I got really good pictures guys! They are all on my facebook though, so I need to try to upload them to flickr. :dance:

I got front row, so I was really close :wideeyed: It was incredible.

 

*Christa 42* I think I saw you, you're in a lot of my pictures hahah :laugh3: I believe you were wearing a yellow shirt? :thinking:

 

Well here's the link to my facebook for those of you who are my friend on there, http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2114556832110.2100637.1491360631&type=3

 

:dance: I'll write a review later. :)

 

Nope that was Angie, I wasto her left by all the speakers and stuff. in grey and pink channeling my inner elephant "J" :P

 

[ApproximatelyInfinite]

OK, this is my story thingy, very long. Pictures will come tomorrow :D

 

 

 

In short, I was able to get a VIP fan pass from Steph (StephBerryman), which is why I didn’t need to camp out on the street like so many did. I was exceedingly grateful for this, as anyone would be, but I also felt bad because not everyone I was going with had these passes, and we would all end up separated and with drastically different views, and those of us waiting the longest in the cold would have the worst places to watch from. I also got passes in 2008 when Coldplay played the Today Show, but that was run very differently (and I think more fairly) than it was this time.

 

Despite the fact that I didn’t need to camp out on the street, though, I still needed to get to Manhattan by about 4:30AM to ensure I got a good place. So this meant waking up at about 1:30-2AM to get ready and drive there. In 2008, my mom and brother and I took the earliest train and got to Rockefeller Plaza right at 6AM when it was starting, so I knew that wouldn’t be good enough this time. We got 5 rows or so back, but I figured I have the means of getting there earlier and have driven in Manhattan several times before, so I was going to get there as early as I could to ensure the best positioning. I left my house in my car at 3AM, which is just kind of a weird feeling. I wasn’t that tired, even though I hadn’t slept at all due to excitement (and serious nerves about being forced to rely on other people, something I’m not good at), but it’s weird to be like the only car on the road, and to set out for a journey at that time of day. It has this odd, ominous feeling to it, it’s hard to describe. But the first song I listened to when I started driving was “Major Minus,” and that seemed to fit the mood perfectly.

 

Conveniently and somewhat by chance, I parked in the garage directly next to the VIP fan line, needing to walk about ten feet from the door of the garage to my place in queue. It was 4:30, but being in the city that never sleeps, it felt more like 8PM. Marisa (In A Telescope Lens) and Zoe (NotLost92) came to visit me from their line, which was really great because we’d never met in person before, and I gave them the shirts I made them for ditching them, and we talked for awhile. I think the people around us realized we were more than just fans by eavesdropping on our conversations. The line at that point was maybe 20 people long, some people with blankets and chairs, but there was also a “VIP” line. Turns out what I had was called a “fan pass” (in 2008 it was called VIP) and there were like 15 people with status higher than that that got to go into the stage area first. And even higher than VIP status was “Christa status.” Christa, who worked so hard to get me my fan pass, has an NBC connection and was allowed to watch the whole thing basically from the sound booth on the side of the stage, and took Angie with her, because it was Angie’s birthday. I don’t know, I’m not really a jealous person, so I was just happy for them, not envious. Besides, it was kind of really fun to have Chris jumping in my face and being able to see the whole stage in one glance (well, not Guy so much, but I was in front of him in 2008, so I felt that was a good tradeoff). And I was mostly in this for the fun of it all—it’s not a full concert or anything, it’s just a few songs. Of course, I would have been really upset if something went wrong and I couldn’t have gotten in at all, especially after all that work getting there and trying to orchestrate things between people, but I was just so happy for what I had, because I never expected to be VIP this time. Even if I wasn’t VIP, it still would have been a great time and I still would have done it for fun.

 

The VIP/fan pass people got brought into the Plaza at 6AM. It was still pitch dark out because it’s October, and maybe about 43 degrees. I wasn’t cold until we got into the Plaza, which I think had a bit of a windtunnel effect going on, but even then, I just really like being cold. Our little fan pass group (me, Steph, Erica, and Mike) got to be right at the end of the ramp that Chris would dance down, which was GREAT, if you asked me, because you could see straight up it to the stage and I had a great view of Will and Jonny as well, albeit from like ten feet away, and I think we were all pretty happy with that. But a lot of the people around us, who had won passes via radio stations or something and weren’t mega Coldplay fans but knew the hits, were really whiney that they weren’t closer to the stage. I was really tired of their negativity after about three minutes in: there seemed to be nothing that they couldn’t complain about, such as the cold, or the distance from the stage, or the time it was taking them to come out. There were two women in front of me (so I was technically like second row from the ramp, but kind of between them) who were maybe in their late 30s and just having the absolute time of their lives, though. They got a kick out of every text they got from their friends saying they saw them on TV, they obviously really liked the band, even if they weren’t mega-fan status, and were just so in awe of being able to be that close for a show for free. I just really liked them, I don’t know, they made me happy. I’m not someone that’s done this sort of thing so many times for this band that all the excitement’s worn off, because then I probably wouldn’t bother to keep doing it, but it’s just kind of cute to see these people doing it for the first time, either seeing them for the first time at all or getting to be in a “special” show and see them up close, and get such a kick out of it. I get a kick out of it every time too, but not in that way, in that “I will never be luckier than this” way.

 

Around 6:30 (still dark), Will, Jonny, and Guy came onstage and soundchecked the instrumentals to “ETIAW,” “Charlie Brown,” and “Viva la Vida.” I figured they’d soundcheck again with Chris in a bit, but that was really it and Chris didn’t show his face til they were due to start. In 2008, the whole thing was basically a big long soundcheck with the guys hanging out onstage the whole time, talking to the audience and each other and playing each song about ten times over to perfect it…this time it was just the three of them doing one run-through of each song, giving a wave, and going back inside. So that was disappointing, but only in comparison to what happened in 2008—this was a complain-free day for me. The only thing that was even slightly annoying was that the crane camera was RIGHT in front of my face, so every time they did a sweeping crowd shot, it started and/or ended with me. I think over the course of the whole show, I was on screen about fifteen times. This marks the third time I’ve been on TV making a fool of myself for this band.

 

The show starts at 7, but you wouldn’t really know the difference standing out there. There are a few TVs inside the actual NBC building that we could see, but it was very hard to hear any of the broadcast itself, so it was just a lot of waiting around. NBC interns came out and passed huge-ass cardboard signs and markers out to everyone they could, which I just think is so stupid because holding up a sign ensures everyone behind you can’t see shit. There were also free sunglasses and free gloves to be had, but I never got any of either. You kind of needed the sunglasses—the TV lights and the LED colored lights onstage were absolutely blinding. I brought my SLR camera, and I had to mess with the settings every twenty minutes, which is why I have to edit a lot of the photos before I post them. When Chris was back on the proper part of the stage, I needed one light setting, but when he came down the ramp and was in our faces, I needed a completely different one, and it was hard to switch between the two in my excitement.

 

Anyway, during the downtime they’d do lots of sweeping shots of the crowd and stuff, which was pretty big, but nowhere NEAR as big as it was in 2008, but it was summer then—I think that was the difference. In 2008, people were lining the streets for blocks, and they had helicopters doing aerial shots of how huge the turnout was. This year, people filled the Plaza and maybe a bit down 48th Street, that’s about it. What do you want, on a weekday in late October. I got texted and tweeted from friends who said they saw me…sigh, it was Christmas Day all over again, when I was on the BBC singing my heart out to Coldplay. Al Roker and Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie did a little talky thing at the end of the ramp for the cameras like they do, so I had all their butts in my face during that, but we got to talk to them while they were in commercials and setting up shots and stuff, and they’re all very nice. One of the people kind of next to me was a couple maybe five or six years older than me with a baby that was like one and a half, and all the hosts (and Chris, actually) got such a kick out of that. She was very well behaved, and adorable.

 

I think the guys finally came out at like 8:30—I didn’t expect them til 9, but everyone around us was so damn whiney, like this wasn’t a scheduled show with a defined order of things and the band was taking their sweet time getting out there, so it was good that they came out when they did. Chris came down to the end of the ramp to say hi to us all in that area, and I shook his hand again. It’s kind of weird that he’s a “normal person” to me now. Like obviously not a NORMAL PERSON, but as much as I still idolize him and have pictures of him on my wall and talk about him, it’s very much like “oh hey, Chris” rather than “SKDJGKFSHKDFOKSDJG, CHRIS MARTIN AHHH.” I can even look him in the eye now, whereas the first time I met him they were a bit too astonishing in person to do that.

 

Anyway, they did “Yellow” first, making one of the cute women in front of me absolutely melt. Before the next song, during a commercial, Chris did half of “The Scientist” off-air before he was told he had 30 seconds to live and then did a cute fade-out of the song. “Paradise” was next, which is obligatory, but not unenjoyable, and it was my first time seeing it live. And then it was “Charlie Brown,” what a fantastic song that is live. I felt like the only one singing along to the new ones at all—the VIP section is not the sort of crowd that rips live bootlegs from summer shows and downloads album leaks the second they’re available, they’re people who like the band in a casual-fan way that got lucky. The people who really cared the most were at the back, like Marisa and Zoe (even though they got MUCH closer than I expected they would, really not too much worse than I had in 2008), and that’s what sucks about this kind of stuff. It’s about who you know and luck, not about how much you love the band, or even how much money you’re willing/able to shell out.

 

I think “Viva” was next, and Chris spent a lot of time at the end of the ramp, about 6 inches away. My camera lens was in his face far more than was polite, and I felt bad AND looked like a knob on a TV, but at least photos last longer. It was about 45 degrees and he was covered in sweat. Every time he’d spin and jump some would fly off, so it was a bit like getting a shower in the perspiration of your idol, which…well, it sounds like it would be nice in a fangirl sense, but it’s just kind of icky when you think about it, and it’s like the fifth time it’s happened so the novelty of having Chris Martin DNA on me has kind of dulled. Yes, I still love “Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall,” so I loved that live again. Chris spent most of that song again at the bottom of the ramp, dancing like a maniac, of course—he moved too fast for my camera settings, which would have taken too much time to change, so my photos of him up-close have a lot of motion-blur going on. And the last song was “Fix You,” sigh. I certainly don’t dislike that song, but it’s just not one of my personal favorites and would have gladly traded it for another new one because I’m so hyped up on that these days, but the crowd loved it. I also just think it’s a weird choice for a morning show—not enough energy, at least until the end. One of the two cute women in front of me just burst into tears when it was over, saying how happy she was for the whole experience, and that made me feel all nice and fuzzy. I still probably would have paid them to play “Hurts Like Heaven,” though.

 

And then it was over. It felt impossibly short, and of course it was, but that’s the nature of things like this. But my entire day, or the reason for my day, was over by 9AM…which is a weird feeling when you’ve been up for hours. We walked around the block to the other part of the Plaza and met up with the others we got separated from and reviewed our separate stories and pictures and expressed our tiredness. I only just got out of a cast two weeks ago after breaking my foot in four places, so I was kind of worse for wear even though I didn’t sleep out on the street or anything.

We were all starving and just starting to become zombies, so we went on the hunt for food. We wanted a diner, so we walked to Broadway and found one, but unfortunately it was a SINGING diner, where all the failed Broadway actors and actresses work and put on ridiculous shows while everyone’s eating, but we were so hungry and so tired that we didn’t want to find anywhere else and just ate our breakfasts screaming to each other over the horrible showtune renditions. And then we all had to go our separate ways. But honestly, a huge, huge part of the reason I do things like this, maybe even more than 50%, is to see the wonderful people I’ve met through this band, not JUST to see the band themselves. That’s why I would have slept outside for this if I didn’t get a pass—because events like this are the only times I can see people in person that I’ve gotten to know so well through a shared passion. That’s why I love queuing, too, and being miserable outside for things like this for hours on end: because we’re doing it together for the same reason, and we all understand that reason and don’t have to explain it or make excuses for it. These are the only people that get me in that way, who I don’t have to censor anything for, and to be able to spend time with them in any capacity is just as important as seeing the band itself to me.

 

 

[ApproximatelyInfinite]

Double post, sigh :angry:

 

But I'm FINALLY watching the footage back :D. I did notice that Apple was there, though, with a nanny or someone, in a pink Yankees hoodie. She looks very skeptical of the whole thing :lol:. Guess she pulled a sick day from school to go see her dad and uncles rock the Plaza.

[busybeeburns]

thanks for all your reviews and pics folks, great stuff! :D

[Christa42]

Great review Chelsea!

[nazym86]

I was right next to you!!!!

 

I see myself in the last video! :dance: I was in the red coat :dance:

And you were camping out with Amy and Marisa? :awesome: I love her, she's my best friend. :hug:

 

Hey!!!

 

Im the girl that was right next to you nearst the stage!!!

 

I knew it was you once you said you had the red jacket on!!!

Was that show not the best ever???

Amazing to be so close!

[nazym86]

wow! I'm glad others spied Apple in the crowd too! You know you are a Coldplay fan when you recognize their kids in the audience! :lol:

 

Those kids were the cutest. I dont know if you notcied. Chris mouthed to Moses ...."I Love You" I almost melted!!!

[Yeshe]

Those kids were the cutest. I dont know if you notcied. Chris mouthed to Moses ...."I Love You" I almost melted!!!

 

Awwww.....That's sweet!

Great reading about everyone's adventures. No matter if you were in the most VIP or nowhere close to the stage, you were very lucky to have been there that morning.

 

Thanks everyone for sharing your stories and pictures and videos.

[Blue Nails]

Those kids were the cutest. I dont know if you notcied. Chris mouthed to Moses ...."I Love You" I almost melted!!!

 

Aawwww, that is the cutest thing ever. Ever.

Is that in one of the videos?

 

Thanks all for your stories, I always love reading them. The longer the better. :lol:

[gise_honey]

Those kids were the cutest. I dont know if you notcied. Chris mouthed to Moses ...."I Love You" I almost melted!!!

 

oohh My God he is the sweetest man around the world

[kittybitty]

Those kids were the cutest. I dont know if you notcied. Chris mouthed to Moses ...."I Love You" I almost melted!!!

 

Dang, that's cute. What song is it on, any of the videos?

[ApproximatelyInfinite]

I thought I saw Moses in the videos too but I wasn't sure! AWW that's adorable :wacky:

 

Is the "I love you" thing on air?

[Texasluvsjonny]

Just now getting home. Off to the footie match so pics and review later.

Here's a taste :sneaky:

[In a telescope lens]

So here are my videos from the show, the audio sucks, but the video is still good. I was camping out with tons of other people including "In a telesope lens" haha

 

 

Me and my friends at Coldplay Today Show 10-21-11 - YouTube

 

 

 

 

 

JOE! :cheesy: hey! :D How the hell did you end up getting so close?! I watched the show with Jared and he read us your text messages :lol:

Glad you had an awesome time though! :dance:

GRAMMAR ERROR, GRAMMAR ERROR :lol:

that's going to bother me now :P

And you were camping out with Amy and Marisa? :awesome: I love her, she's my best friend. :hug:

I still can't believe you got a vip ticket at the last minute :bomb:

Those kids were the cutest. I dont know if you notcied. Chris mouthed to Moses ...."I Love You" I almost melted!!!

that is the cutest fucking thing ever oh my gosh

[ApproximatelyInfinite]

This is my favorite one of mine:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I even watermarked it, I never do that :uhoh:

[LFDianne]

Double post, sigh :angry:

 

But I'm FINALLY watching the footage back :D. I did notice that Apple was there, though, with a nanny or someone, in a pink Yankees hoodie. She looks very skeptical of the whole thing :lol:. Guess she pulled a sick day from school to go see her dad and uncles rock the Plaza.

 

 

I loved your review...Your excitement comes through so clearly in your writing :) It is strange to be "done" with such a major thing by 9-10am, isn't it?

[sk8rgrl1056]

I was lucky enough to get a set list after the show! Maybe someone with a different view than me knows whose it was?

 

 

:)

 

Almost forgot to upload my favorite shot. Can't stop looking at it, haha

 

[josawsparks]

loved reading all your reviews!!! thanks to everyone that took the time to write em up. got seriously nostalgic about the 2008 show lol, but i just didn't have it in me to go through the same ordeal this time and end up 150 ppl back again -__- glad to see you all seemed to have gotten great spots!

[Texasluvsjonny]

I was lucky enough to get a set list after the show! Maybe someone with a different view than me knows whose it was?

 

 

:)

It wasn't Jonny's or Miller's because I got both of those. :P

[sk8rgrl1056]

It wasn't Jonny's or Miller's because I got both of those. :P

 

You got two?! That's awesome! I'm a little jealous though.. Haha

[ApproximatelyInfinite]

I was lucky enough to get a set list after the show! Maybe someone with a different view than me knows whose it was?

 

 

:)

 

Almost forgot to upload my favorite shot. Can't stop looking at it, haha

 

 

That's an AMAZING photo :freak: