Dublin review: 'Rush of blood' as Coldplay hit Phoenix Park

Coldplay put a smile upon the faces of 40,000 fans last night when they rocked Dublin's Phoenix Park, writes The Independent (Ireland). The thoughts of work this morning didn't stop the fans from partying for the final week of the band's Viva la Vida tour, which started in June 2008.

But there was no sign of Coldplay slowing down for the 156th date of their gruelling schedule. And there was no downpour, much to the relief of revellers who descended on the open air venue from 5pm yesterday. Tickets didn't sell out for the show -- a sign of the times -- as it's only nine months since the band sold out two nights at the O2. Hordes of people who couldn't afford the price of €82.85 for tickets enjoyed the music through the trees and some even had a barbecue.

There was a festival feel to the event as Coldplay fans tucked into pizza and beer and sat down on the grass before the main act appeared. Sisters Aisling and Neasa Kelly from Carlow were among the Coldplay fans who hurried out of work to the Ashtown Castle section of the Phoenix Park for the gig. "I'm so excited said Aisling, I've seen Coldplay in December in the O2. They were amazing then. They were so good that I had to come back and see them again."

Not everybody was as impressed by the event, as commuters were forced to avoid the Phoenix Park during rush-hour. However, gardai said there were no major traffic difficulties as the event started. Elbow, who won the 2008 Mercury Music Prize for their 4th album, 'The Seldom Seen Kid' warmed up the crowd. And White Lies also played support.

Vote for Jenny and win £500 prize pot for the Coldplaying Awards 2009!

The forthcoming Coldplaying Awards 2009 just got a little tastier! Our admin person Jenjie has just submitted a personal entry into the Absolute Radio Live Stories mini-competition that closes on Friday 25th September at 5pm. Here's the interesting part - if Jenjie (Jenny) comes FIRST in the online voting competition, all winners of the Coldplaying Awards 2009 categories will go into a prize draw to win a share of £500! Five lucky category winners drawn out at random will each win £100 - but once again... ONLY if Jenjie wins the Absolute competition!

VOTE FOR "JENNY: COLDPLAY" - http://www.absoluteradio.co.uk/music/live/stories/voting_new.html