[8-Aug-2012] Coldplay @ United Center, Chicago, IL, USA

[Texasluvsjonny]

Oh and one of the Roadies who came out to BS us about who did a runner and stuff, told us that the Paris show will be filmed for the DVD and it will be a "double wristband" show. He lie about when Miller left so take it with a grain of salt.

[Christa42]

Awwwee Ang that was a really lovely review, now you have some major CP withdrawl comin. The board will miss your first hand accounts very much....... until the next tour!

[graceberryman]

I was at the concert last night, it was great. The people in front of us were really mean and asked us to stop screaming but whatever. I was in section 105 row D so basically the other side of the stadium from the stage. The upgrader came up to us and asked us a few questions, and when he looked at our tickets he said Have a Good Time and walked away :( I was pissed. But when I was sitting in my seat before the show holding my "I <3 you Guy Berryman" poster a man came up to me and had a coldplay pass on him and asked to take a picture of me with my poster. After he took it, I asked if he was a roadie, and then he pointed at my poster and said 'That's my brother" and walked away! I freaked out but he left before I could get a picture with him :( But it was still cool. The concert was great. I loved hearing DLIBYH and Amsterdam live. It sucked not having front row compared to Lolla last year but oh well :( Great experience for my third Coldplay concert.

[the_escapist]

So nice reading you as always, Angie.

 

You're a lucky girl. It was nice meeting you in Dallas.

 

Hope to see you soon!

[wabbit]

Selected pics from: http://geekchic0017.tumblr.com/

I really like the first one!

 

[Rvs_009]

Oh and one of the Roadies who came out to BS us about who did a runner and stuff, told us that the Paris show will be filmed for the DVD and it will be a "double wristband" show. He lie about when Miller left so take it with a grain of salt.

 

wow, the concert before the one i am attending. If it goes wrong, hopefully they choose malieveld to replace :D

 

And Amsterdam is just wow, although the 2003 performances are better (chris sings better and the climax is way bigger with the drums) but this is still 9,999999999999999999/10. Hope they keep and practice it for the 2nd leg of the stadium tour.

[kspillers2]

Angie, your reviews

are always so sterling, if you get tired of your

high pressure job I think you could have a writing career

in the music field. -Kel

[kspillers2]

I sacrificed my MOST beautiful hand painted

Tampa gig Elbow/Coldplay

banner to cut up for Kevin's T-shirt.

When we got passed up 3 times for an upgrade

I was getting pretty sad.

[drah22692]

@graceberryman

 

@graceberryman Oh my God, I think I saw you yesterday as well. There were two girls who screamed and then I saw a roadie sprinting out of the concert area. It was quite close to the floor seats, about three rows back.

[Pink]

Amsterdam! Y'all are so freakin' lucky. I think if they had played it at my shows, they would have had to carry me out on a stretcher.

[LFDianne]

I sacrificed my MOST beautiful hand painted

Tampa gig Elbow/Coldplay

banner to cut up for Kevin's T-shirt.

When we got passed up 3 times for an upgrade

I was getting pretty sad.

 

I remember you painting that banner in your hotel room when we met in Tampa! Of it had to be sacrificed, at least it was for 2nd row seats!

[DiOli05]

I am still in awe of the Amsterdam videos!!! I cannot believe they played it! it is one of my favorites, and i am sure i would have died if I had been able to be there!

[the3jr]

Angie, your review almost made me break down! :laugh4: I've been trying to keep my composure, trying not to sink into post-concert-withdrawal depression.

 

These last two nights have been magical, I really can't find the best words to put it in... It was just... amazing :cry: :laugh4:

 

Even though we didn't get to see the boys, I'm still so very glad I got to meet lots of you guys after the show! (TexasluvsJonny, the.hardest.part., LdySpace, Comicforce, gotcheese2768, etc.) The forums are really helping me move on and look forward to the next time I/we see them again! :D

[the3jr]

btw, here's my iPhone quality video of Amsterdam

Sorry ahead of time regarding the background noise (screams, singing, etc.)

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4jFoxhx1Tc]Coldplay - Amsterdam Live, Mylo Xylotour, August 8, 2012, Chicago IL, United Center - YouTube[/ame]

[Comicforce]

Angie, your review almost made me break down! :laugh4: I've been trying to keep my composure, trying not to sink into post-concert-withdrawal depression.

 

These last two nights have been magical, I really can't find the best words to put it in... It was just... amazing :cry: :laugh4:

 

Even though we didn't get to see the boys, I'm still so very glad I got to meet lots of you guys after the show! (TexasluvsJonny, the.hardest.part., LdySpace, Comicforce, gotcheese2768, etc.) The forums are really helping me move on and look forward to the next time I/we see them again! :D

 

It was great to meet all you guys too!.. what an amazing time we all had.

[wabbit]

Fan review and C-stage video from: http://headfortheburrows.tumblr.com/post/29110419307

 

 

 

 

So this past Wednesday, August 8th, my best friend and I went to see Coldplay live at the United Center, in Chicago. This was, without question, the best night of my life thus far - and my friend (Katy) said the same. Both of us list Coldplay as our favorite band when asked, by anyone, and I’d go so far as to say I’m quite obsessed with them. I own their entire discography, a number of their albums in record format, and I’m just generally all fanboy / in love with them type feels. I listen to them constantly, whether it be the tracks that were never released to the general public that I have mp3’s of (Murder, Lukas, Ladder to The Sun, the list goes on) or the newer stuff, or my favorite album by them, Parachutes.

 

So, naturally, you can see how excited I - we - both were for this night. We got there at 5:30, and the concert didn’t start until seven. Well, actually, the opening act was on and off and on stage again within a two-hour time period, so Coldplay didn’t actually come out until 9:00 p.m. - and they played till 11:30 ish.

 

As to the concert itself, I have no words. Or, rather, I do, but they’re hard to get down because even 24 hours later I’m still so fucking excited about it.

 

Of course everyone knows (or most of us?) about the wristbands - lovingly the “Xylobands,” by many of the fans - that each fan gets at the start of the concert, puts on, and then becomes a part of the experience. Of course we had heard about them. Fantasized about getting our bracelet (I love my red one!), and of course we had read and seen these amazing images online. But nothing, nothing could do it justice in person. After the band had taken their final bows (after TWO encores) and left the stage, the arena was plunged into total 100% darkness, and for one second nobody knew what was happening. And then suddenly every Xyloband in the place lit up, and the entire place went insane. Screaming as I’ve never heard before and a collective unity feeling that I cannot describe. I’ve never been a part of something like that before, with 20,000 other people all feeling the same emotions and all projecting the same message that Coldplay so boldly stands for (love, in my opinion) all at once.

 

Note: Coldplay loves their fans more than any other band - do you know any other group that gives back $640,000 per concert to their fanbase?

 

But to the actual concert itself - the wristbands, most amazingly, were only the beginning.

 

I mean, good lord, it’s Chris Martin, so of course there had to be confetti :)

 

After that (and that went on for a WHILE - we were drenched in the stuff) they brought out the huge balls (har har har)

 

These were amazing - the crowd would bop them around continuously, and at one point (the first picture of the balls shown) they eventually somehow made their way all back up to the stage. A few songs after they were dropped on the crowd, there was only one left floating around - and obviously people are wondering where they went to. Well, Chris took his guitar to the last one (it had gotten up on the stage) and when the balls popped they rained down confetti - which means they were pre-filled with the stuff. Incredible.

 

Next came the music. They had an amazing set list (also in the pictures) - and swapped out Warning Sign in favor of playing Amsterdam - which they haven’t played live in ten years till that night (Chris sort of mentioned it :P) - so that was really incredible. They also did The Scientist right into Yellow, which was so emotional and really fantastic. The final song that they played (this is the second encore they did) was Fix You, and I don’t think there was a dry eye in the place. It was, without doubt, overwhelming and amazing all at once.

 

But the first encore is what really made the night - well - extraordinary. I never dreamed something like this could happen to us - but it did. We bought our tickets off of stubhub, and there were better seats available than the ones we bought. There were worse ones, too, but we liked the location and the price was alright ($220 a piece - we got to the game late :p), so we went with them. About two songs before they ended their main set and started the first encore, we noticed some weird things happening around us.

 

For example, the set guys had started bringing things (weird things) up to a platform located about five feet behind us. Like, for instance: a box (later would hold a keyboard) and a MICROPHONE. One song later (and one to go before the encore) security guards started lining our aisle. Keep in mind, my friend and I had the seats that were at the very END of our row and nearest this aisle, so we were literally right next to the caution tape they started putting up and down the aisle (taping it to the end seat of every row, of which we occupied).

 

Of course the friends we had already made in the row right above us started freaking out with us. As I was the tallest person among our group, I was designated to lean as far over the caution tape as I could and look to see if the guys were coming. By now they had finished up Paradise, and the guards would let us lean as far past the tape as we could as long as we didn’t physically break it by walking through it or under it. Fine by me, mister mean security guard (he was rudeeeee) - I’m tall and can lean and see the entry way to the aisle (the same one that we’d been using all night to keep accessing our seats) to see if the guys are coming, when no one else can (because of either their seat position or their height or both). So of course everyone’s yelling at me “ARE THEY COMING YET?” over and over and I’m basically like “shut up cus you’ll know if I see Chris Martin’s head.”

 

And then it happened. I can’t, I just can’t. I saw Chris Martin walking down the same walkway we had been walking on all night. ALL night long. You have to understand, the United Center has 20,000 people in it right now. They could have chosen ANYWHERE in the arena to perform this encore at, and they chose our seats. Literally, we were three feet away. That last picture you see there is taken without using the zoom on my camera. Will eventually came up and put his keyboard on that box you see there, and Guy and Buckland came up to fill the spaces inbetween Will and Chris. They played Speed of Sound, Us Against The World, and then they went back to the main stage to play Fix You. Luckily, they used the main aisle (where we were right next to - remember) to walk back to the stage, and in doing so allowed us to get high fives - actually I only got a high five from Guy, but I was still able to touch the rest of them on their arms, and my best friend was able to touch Chris Martin. Also, not to be weird, but fuck it because we’re fans and creeping is caring, we were close enough to smell Chris Martin (you see in the video there he paused to talk to the security guys, and that black hair in front of the camera is my friend) - and lord help me - mother may I - he smells, simply, like pure sex. Amazing.

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z55fqKAsL5o]You can see a full video of the encore where they’re three feet away from us here.[/ame]

 

Thanks for reading, lovers - keep on the path you’re on :)

[the.hardest.part]

That review is impossible to follow considering how close I sat to this guy (only 2 rows apart) but Imma review it anyways.

 

Unlike Tuesday night, I consciously decided not to take a lot of pictures and just enjoy the concert, and that I did. Wednesday was 10x better than Tuesday and that is solely due to the crowd and how the boys fed off of it.

 

At times, the sound was deafening. Since the review above me covered everything, I just have to say OMFG to finally getting to hear Amsterdam in its entirety. I distinctly remember seeing Chris lean in to whisper something to Will, then Jonny, then Guy. Inside, I was freaking out because I knew he was up to something. Then it happened. I'll admit it took me a few moments to recognize what was happening then I lost it. AMSTERDAM. I sang every word as loud as I could if only to keep myself from crying (I actually did when he played the first minute of it on Tuesday). I know it's likely that I will never hear it again which is why I have forever engrained it on my heart. Warning Sign AND Amsterdam. My top two favorite Coldplay songs and I got to hear them both live! AH! I'm smiling just thinking about it.

 

I was gutted we didn't get to meet them either night but it was awesome hanging out with everyone. I stayed til almost 1:30 with Angie and Mike all to no avail. And the roadie, Andy, was awesome even if he did flat out lie to us about the supposed runner. I don't think he counted on us knowing so much about the Coldplay world :wink:. This was only reinforced when Guy tweeted this:

 

Coldplay ‏@coldplay We are in Chicago - only 2 shows left to play in the USA for the Mylo tour. It's been a great journey. GB

 

 

Can't fool us, Andy!

 

I can't wait to see you all again on the next tour, whenever that may be!

 

I'll leave you with my C-stage video of Speed of Sound with a smile from Jonny at 1:53 mark...

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzW1Xzoc87k]Coldplay - Speed of Sound (Acoustic) Chicago 8/8/12 - YouTube[/ame]

[wabbit]

Seems like everyone that wrote a review went to the first show? :confused:

 

This one was a skeptic, so i'll just leave a quote and some pics.

 

http://sethsaith.blogspot.com/2012/08/by-amping-up-theatrics-coldplay-raises.html

By Amping Up The Theatrics, Coldplay Raises Their Game -- Chicago Concert Review

Although I was hoping for the best, going in I was expecting to write about how Coldplay delivered a good, but far from great show. That I believe they delivered a fantastic one only makes me sense how satisfying their performance must have been to much more fervent fans.

 

[delilah0024]

ONE AMAZING CONCERT!

 

Well to begin with, this was my first concert that I've ever been too and what better concert to begin with than my favorite band; Coldplay! :dance: We went to the second show on August 8th

I bought my tickets a month and a half before the event on eBay. Section 328 Row 2 and seats 15 and 16 in which my godmother Liz went with me :D I sat in seat 15 and she sat in seat 16. We left the house at 5:30pm in case of traffic but good thing there wasn't any so we arrived at 6:00pm :) It took us a half around to find the cheapest parking spot so we barely got to the arena and actually sat down at 6:40pm. Then 20 minutes later the opening act started; Charlie XCX. I didn't really like her and my godmother didn't either so we decided to go to the bathroom and buy some food and she bought a cup of beer for the time being. We got back and Charlie XCX was still singing and not a lot of people were there yet at the arena. Then Marina and The Diamonds were up :heart: I love her and she was amazing! :D she played one of my favorite songs of her too; Primadonna Girl and my godmother liked her songs too. Then Marina was done and everyone clapped and it was around 8:40ish when she finished so we waited. We saw the staff getting the stage ready and I started getting really excited. Then at 9:00pm it started. I couldn't stop screaming/crying/jumping/mixed emotions when our Xylobands lit up! It was better than any of the video's I saw of it on YouTube. It was so MAGICAL in reality and when I saw Chris down there playing his piano I was already freaking out since he was right there! In the same building as me! Then when they started playing Hurts Like Heaven some bitch came to argue with us. :argue: that those were her seats. I understand that we made a mistake but she didn't have to scream at us and look so bitchy and make me miss part of their show. It was our first time at the United Center and excuse us if we got mistaken. So we moved to our actual section which was the next section and the seats were even better. They were just about finishing In My Place when we finally settled down. I got some of that confetti and it was just an amazing sight. Then during the next songs there were these balloon balls and one ball actually got to our section at the highest level and I got to push one but I really wanted to keep it :uneasy: but it was fine that I didn't :p The concert went on and on and I was the only one in our section that was the craziest. Everyone around me was sitting down all normal just enjoying the show while My Godmother and I were up standing and screaming and jumping :D I screamed out "I LOVE YOU CHRIS" a few times and everytime Chris looked our way I waved my arms and jumped really high so he'd notice me :laugh4: People around me laughed too :laugh4: Chris even gave us a shoutout (the people sitting behind the stage). Well the concert went on and by now you've heard that they played Amsterdam :heart: and it was amazing <3 Chris really surprised us :shocked2: :heart: They also played Us Against The World and Speed of Sound away from the stage and I kind of would like to know why if someone would please let me know XD

It was the best day of my life and the concert sadly ended at 11:00 with ETIAW; which was a great perfomance. Coldplay knows how to pull of amazing performances and I was just beyond amazed; still being my first concert ever. Chris was so adorable and so full of energy during the concert. I was just dying <333

VIVA LA COLDPLAY! :heart:

[gotcheese2768]

Well to begin with, this was my first concert that I've ever been too and what better concert to begin with than my favorite band; Coldplay! :dance: We went to the second show on August 8th

I bought my tickets a month and a half before the event on eBay. Section 328 Row 2 and seats 15 and 16 in which my godmother Liz went with me :D I sat in seat 15 and she sat in seat 16. We left the house at 5:30pm in case of traffic but good thing there wasn't any so we arrived at 6:00pm :) It took us a half around to find the cheapest parking spot so we barely got to the arena and actually sat down at 6:40pm. Then 20 minutes later the opening act started; Charlie XCX. I didn't really like her and my godmother didn't either so we decided to go to the bathroom and buy some food and she bought a cup of beer for the time being. We got back and Charlie XCX was still singing and not a lot of people were there yet at the arena. Then Marina and The Diamonds were up :heart: I love her and she was amazing! :D she played one of my favorite songs of her too; Primadonna Girl and my godmother liked her songs too. Then Marina was done and everyone clapped and it was around 8:40ish when she finished so we waited. We saw the staff getting the stage ready and I started getting really excited. Then at 9:00pm it started. I couldn't stop screaming/crying/jumping/mixed emotions when our Xylobands lit up! It was better than any of the video's I saw of it on YouTube. It was so MAGICAL in reality and when I saw Chris down there playing his piano I was already freaking out since he was right there! In the same building as me! Then when they started playing Hurts Like Heaven some bitch came to argue with us. :argue: that those were her seats. I understand that we made a mistake but she didn't have to scream at us and look so bitchy and make me miss part of their show. It was our first time at the United Center and excuse us if we got mistaken. So we moved to our actual section which was the next section and the seats were even better. They were just about finishing In My Place when we finally settled down. I got some of that confetti and it was just an amazing sight. Then during the next songs there were these balloon balls and one ball actually got to our section at the highest level and I got to push one but I really wanted to keep it :uneasy: but it was fine that I didn't :p The concert went on and on and I was the only one in our section that was the craziest. Everyone around me was sitting down all normal just enjoying the show while My Godmother and I were up standing and screaming and jumping :D I screamed out "I LOVE YOU CHRIS" a few times and everytime Chris looked our way I waved my arms and jumped really high so he'd notice me :laugh4: People around me laughed too :laugh4: Chris even gave us a shoutout (the people sitting behind the stage). Well the concert went on and by now you've heard that they played Amsterdam :heart: and it was amazing <3 Chris really surprised us :shocked2: :heart: They also played Us Against The World and Speed of Sound away from the stage and I kind of would like to know why if someone would please let me know XD

It was the best day of my life and the concert sadly ended at 11:00 with ETIAW; which was a great perfomance. Coldplay knows how to pull of amazing performances and I was just beyond amazed; still being my first concert ever. Chris was so adorable and so full of energy during the concert. I was just dying <333

VIVA LA COLDPLAY! :heart:

 

 

 

that is just something the boys do. they appreciate all their fans and just want to give all of them a chance to be closer. it's called the C-stage. during the VLV tour they did it twice B and C stages.

[the3jr]

A bit late (2 days) but here goes again:

 

 

Coldplay review 8-8-12

 

Night two of the Chicago shows had some energy left over from the night before, in other words, it was obvious that the crowd and the band had much more energy than the night before. After night one, my expectations were raised and they were definitely met from the energy level, the enthusiasm, the mood, everything was just heightened. Instead of going alone like the night before, I took some of my Coldplayer friends with me; it’s a whole different experience when you’re around people you know are diehard fans like you. One thing I kinda regret is that I forgot to bring my digital camera to the show, I ended up buying a disposable one so not all was lost; a good thing that forgetting the camera brought on me was that I could enjoy the concert without looking through the lens most of the time, I connected to the band, the music, and the crowd in a more intimate level (a difference from the night before) and thoroughly enjoyed it more. The usual set started with no disappointments or mistakes, and then something unexpected happened. Right before where Warning Sign would be, Chris said something to the rest of the band that would be the start of the highlight of the night, at least to an ultimate Coldplayer… Chris played the piano intro to Amsterdam, just like the night before, but he actually continued! This was such a treat; I had to pull out my phone to record it (even though I was trying to enjoy the concert as natural as possible). I teared up as the song went on, since this was such a rarity played live, and sang with it as passionately as I could. After Amsterdam though, Warning Sign had been nixed from the set (which didn’t bother me since I had the privilege to listen to that on night one). The set continued with Don’t Let It Break Your Heart and it was clear that even Coldplayers that have seen them many times, had their energy level pumped after the gem of a performance we had personally witnessed. When the C-Stage portion came up, I already expected to be close to them (after close observation from last night) and loved every minute of their presence only feet away from me. Tonight, Chris’s pre-C-stage story talked about the recent victory of the USA Women’s Beach Volleyball Olympic Team, in which he went on to imagining a combination of the USA & UK teams taking over the world… typical Chris, he wouldn’t be him without these alluring remarks. The show ended with a bang, nothing less than what was expected, and I was once again left in tears. I went down to the floor to collect fallen confetti (a free souvenir, and authentic too) and exited the arena in a daze. Like the night before, I went to the gate where the black SUVs were parked, and met most of the same Coldplayers that I had met the other night. They had told me that two of the SUVs had sped off right after the concert, but we still waited diligently to see if at least one of the boys would stop and meet us. The same time passed, with more interesting conversations, but still nothing… one of the roadies told us that they had pulled a runner and hopped onto a plane, but that was a flat lie (sensed by the veterans who’ve waited for them for many occasions before). Shortly after midnight, I quit my post and went home with a melting pot of emotions, the impact that the two nights I had spent seeing the best band on Earth had melted my heart, mind, soul, and spirit which to this moment, haven’t completely recovered from yet. The day after, still in a daze, Guy had tweeted from the Coldplay Twitter account that they were still in Chicago, which shined a light of truth into what we weren’t sure of. Still wishing I could’ve met them personally, but no regrets coming from me. I love them to death, and that is for sure. :nod:

[busybeeburns]

thanks for the review! :D

[brightside1994]

August 8th Chicago pics

 

Does anyone know when the photos will be put up online from the August 8th Chicago show? I really want to see the pictures!!!!!

[SvSmilowski]

I was enjoying the concert waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much so I hardly took any pictures or recorded anything.

The only song I did capture was 'Princess of China.' To be honest it's my least favorite and a poor choice to play at the concert considering the featured artist isn't even present, but alas still best experience ever!

 

[ame]www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rWxYCSslQ8[/ame]

[Dany93]

I have my Amsterdam up. Didn't catch the very beginning, and stoopid phone kept trying to focus but sound is good. Chris had a few whispers with Will when they got to the X stage and he pulled a piece of paper out and put in on his piano (lyrics would be my guess). I asked Dan Green after the show if he came down and spent the day practicing it and he said " you do know Chris don't you" :laugh3:

 

 

HAHAHAHAHA Chris :heart: :laugh3::laugh3::laugh3:

 

OMFG. I love Warning Sign, but I hope the boys enjoyed it enough to keep it for the rest of the tour. I know it's very unlikely though... Please, don't let it fade away like Trouble did...!

 

I hope so too...

 

 

Thanks for all your reviews! :nice: