JERSEY CITY, New Jersey — If you didn't mind the (near constant) rain, the resultant mud, the trench foot or the indescribable odor of 10,000 soaking-wet Tool fans, well, then the second All Points West festival was genuinely great.

Actually, it was pretty great regardless of those things, a testament to the organizers who assembled a lineup that managed to outshine the deluges that flooded New Jersey's Liberty State Park all weekend. The brainchild of Goldenvoice, the same folks who bring you Coachella, APW lived up to the pedigree, delivering a lineup heavy on indie (both new and old), hip-hop and buzz bands, and positively top-heavy with headliners — Jay-Z (who filled in last minute for the , Coldplay and Tool. It was so solid a schedule, full of so many can't miss acts, that you almost didn't mind trekking through calf-deep mud to get from one stage to the next.

it was Coldplay who closed out All Points West, with a set that managed to be both massive — they have, after all, sold something north of 50 million albums worldwide — and minimal, connecting with each member of the waterlogged masses who stuck around Sunday to see them perform (this is probably the secret to their success: Coldplay are very personable dudes).

Kicking off with a trio of tracks — "Life in Technicolor," "Violet Hill," the massive "Clocks" — Coldplay then got down to getting close to the crowd. Frontman Chris Martin saluted their dedication: "As four British people who grew up in the mud and the rain," he laughed, "we salute you for coming out to what can only be described as a mud Jacuzzi."

They got psychedelic ("Strawberry Swing"), trance-y ("God Put a Smile on Your Face") and goofy (Martin's sorta jig during "42"), and — much like Jay-Z — they paid tribute to both the Beastie Boys and Michael Jackson, the former with a ballady take on "Fight for Your Right (to Party)", the latter with a version of "Billie Jean," complete with Martin's Jacko-esque falsettos.

They closed All Points West with the somber, wobbly "The Scientist," as Martin promised the crowd that it would probably be a while until they heard from Coldplay again. We should be dry by then.

Source: MTV

Coldplay at All Points West festival, Liberty State Park, New Jersey (2nd August 2009):

Pictures by Jamd

It’s terribly fashionable to criticize Coldplay but unless trenchfoot is the latest hipster accessory, there wasn’t anyone being fashionable on the third day of All Points West, writes Rolling Stone.

With the rain and sludge double-whammy demoralizing the thousands of fans in Liberty State Park, the sound of the London-four piece spinning out a decade’s worth of stadium anthems and a few other party favors was just the unpretentious tonic that Sunday night needed.

Dressed in their now familiar (but no-less conspicuous) French revolutionary clobber and backlit to within an inch of their lives, Chris Martin and Co. reached high gear almost instantly, dispatching “Clocks,” “In My Place” and “Yellow” before they’d even said a proper hello. “As four British people who grew up in the mud and the rain, we salute you for coming out to what can only be described as a mud Jacuzzi,” gushed Chris Martin before spinning and spiraling around the stage during '42'; like a little boy who’s just discovered how fun it is to make yourself dizzy.

Although the band is nearing the end of a touring cycle that has been in motion since last year’s Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends, they attacked the set with all the verve and energy of a band who’ve just come out of hibernation rather than beginning to go back into it. It’s a prowess that made the woozy psychedelic sway of “Strawberry Swing” sound more like a mesmerizing tribal stomp, transformed “God Put A Smile On Your Face” into a synthetic, New Order-esque dance number and even saw them throwing in an All Points West-related surprise in the shape of another Beastie Boys shout out.

But while Jay-Z damn near blew up the main stage by tearing through “No Sleep ‘Til Brooklyn” in honor of the absent hip-hoppers as his opener on Friday night, Martin paid his own homage by cantering through a priceless piano-ballad version of “Fight For Your Right (To Party),” bringing out belly laughs as well as sing-alongs from the crowd. Corny as hell for sure, but there’s not a soul on site who could have questioned the sincerity of Martin’s tribute. That charming combination of the silly and the profound was repeated during an brief acoustic set (played from a mini-stage in the center of the crowd) when all four members added to the continual stream of Jacko-tributes by putting their spin on “Billie Jean” — complete with some admirably precise Martin falsettos.

Yet, even after such an impressive set, the singer’s self-effacing streak was no less prominent. “You probably won’t see us again for a while… which is probably good news for some of you,” was his preamble before the band wound down with “The Scientist.” On balance, the prospect of spending some time away from Coldplay is no where near as exciting as taking a break from All Points West. It’ll take a year off just to scrape the mud off.

Source: Rolling Stone

Coldplay at All Points West festival, Liberty State Park, New Jersey (2nd August 2009):

Pictures by Jamd

After a soggy Friday and sunny Saturday, the thunderstorms returned for the third and last day of All Points West, this time resulting in major delays and canceled sets for the festival held at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, NJ. But after the rain cleared and mercifully stayed away, organizers hustled to get the schedule back on track, culminating in a dazzler of a headlining set by Coldplay, writes Billboard.

Sunday's line-up, scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m. in the comedy tent and 2 p.m. on the music stages, was pushed back several hours due to severe storms that hit the area midday. Fans who arrived early were turned away at the gates, and it wasn't until just before 4 p.m. that ticket holders were invited to line up at the festival entrance for an even longer wait for admission.

Comedians Todd Barry, Christian Finnegan and Janeane Garofalo, originally slated for 45-minute sets at the Queen of the Valley tent, were rushed through with 10 minutes each to make way for the musical acts that followed them. "I might do a tour of entirely rained-out festivals," said Barry, "it's big money for not a lot of work at all."

Some sets were canceled altogether--indie rockers Steel Train and New Jersey punk band the Gaslight Anthem, scheduled to take the main Blue Comet stage in the afternoon, were scrapped to allow later bands to perform at their scheduled times.

Silversun Pickups opened the main stage just as the sun started to burn off the cloud cover, and its performance of the 2006 single "Lazy Eye" prompted a mudpit dance party that gathered more dirty feet as the set went on. Acclaimed Manchester outfit Elbow turned up spirits even higher with frontman Guy Garvey's charming stage command and audience participation numbers like "Grounds For Divorce". British post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen had a slow start as singer Ian McCulloch wrestled with some technical complaints but worked up to a stirring close with its 1982 hit "The Cutter."

Coldplay brought the festival home in spectacular fashion -- literally, if you include the band's "Viva La Vida" French Revolutionary-themed costumery -- with show pieces ranging from pyrotechnics to enormous yellow balloons released into the audience during the song "Yellow."

"As four people from Britain who grew up in the mud and rain, we take off our proverbial hats to you New Yorkers and New Jerseyans who came out to what can only be described as a mud jacuzzi," said singer Chris Martin. He later said the show was "one of the strangest smelling but best concerts we've ever done," referring to the strong odor of manure that had been churned by the storms and lingered over the festival grounds. Coldplay also paid tribute to "absent friends" with an acoustic "Billie Jean" cover and, in one of the more unexpected interpretations of the weekend, Chris Martin's solo piano crooner version of the Beastie Boys' "Fight For Your Right to Party."

Source: Billboard

Coldplay at All Points West festival, Liberty State Park, New Jersey (2nd August 2009):

Pictures by Jamd

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Thus spoke Coldplay frontman Chris Martin Sunday night as he looked over the soaking crowd on the final evening of the second edition of All Points West Music and Arts Festival in Jersey City, "This has to be the strangest-smelling but best concert we've ever played," writes New Jersey News.

Martin was referring to the odorous mixture of mud, rain water, mulch and swampland into which Liberty State Park was transformed over the past three days, and the audience roared in acknowledgement, as if to say, "We know, but we survived!"

By 10 p.m. on Sunday, the grounds at the park looked as though they had endured all they could. There wasn't much grass left to speak of. The garbage bins were overflowing with water bottles and half-eaten tacos. Stray shoes littered the soggy muck, abandoned by concertgoers who had long since decided that the best footwear at All Points West was none at all.

"We're four people from Britain who grew up in the mud and the rain," Martin said, "so we take our hats off to you New Yorkers and New Jerseyers for surviving what could only be described as a mud jacuzzi."

Coldplay was a fittingly grand finale to this festival -- the largest of its kind on the East Coast. The quartet can arguably be called the biggest band in the world, and Martin and company acted the part. Taking several cues from U2's book, Martin spoke continuously with audience members, inviting them to sing along, then complimenting them for doing so. On "Violet Hill," from the band's most recent album, he replaced the line, "If you love me, let me know" with "If your feet are muddy, let me know."

When the band played its very first hit single, "Yellow," a cascade of large yellow balloons came rolling into the crowd and bounced along its surface. When one came bouncing back toward Martin, he deftly popped it with the neck of his guitar. Coldplay also utilized a smaller second stage (like U2), on which they huddled together to play an electro-freak version of their otherwise pedestrian hit "God Put a Smile on Your Face." Martin followed that with a solo piano rendition of the Beastie Boys' "Fight for Your Right To Party" -- a tip of the cap to the Brooklyn rappers who had to pull out of the festival.

Earlier in the muddy day, electro-pop newbies La Rouge and Lykke Li had the crowd at the third stage raving for hours. Rock acts We Are Scientists, Mogwai, and the Black Keys were among the highlights at the second stage. The Black Keys, in particular, impressed with their thunderous two-man blues-rock assault. And the on the main stage, the crowd stepped around the numerous mud puddles (or, in some cases, danced in them with abandon) as English acts Elbow, Echo and the Bunnymen, and Coldplay made them forget about being wet.

Source: New Jersey News

Coldplay at All Points West festival, Liberty State Park, New Jersey (2nd August 2009):

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So… not so bad being the world’s biggest pop-rock band after all. Not on the perfect 2009 Montreal night – the only one. Not when even La Ronde’s fireworks display were perfectly timed to open one of your ballad-anthems. And not when 30,000 people jammed Parc jean Drapeau and Osheaga for its biggest-ever single act, writes the Montreal Gazette.

So we’ll drop any debates about the significance of Coldplay, or the critical resistance to their ambitions claiming a status deeper than the one they own: globe-conquering pop band.

Night had come down as the River Stage shadow-scrim silhouetted the band for Violet Hill’s soft-focus war memorial. Goosepimple red lighting for the climactic Clocks, followed by singer Chris Martin scrambling stage left to throw the chorus of In My Place to the masses. “Merci beaucoup, mes amis,” he said, before the stage went Yellow and balloons bounced over the audience.

After those four songs, they’d won. Debate about pop-rock (well… yeah) versus rock, popularity versus status, had dissolved in the certainty that Chris Martin’s globe-orbiting melodies were going to own the night. Delivering the co-dependent anthem Fix You only revealed more deeply how these songs find the soft spot in every listener. The videoscreen shot of all the girls in the front row singing along was priceless.

And when you’re winning… the band somehow made its way to a platform mid-crowd for a mini acoustic set. Fireworks to their left, August moon to their right… both of which Martin pointed to. It was as though Montreal were having a summer.

As is his wont, Martin flew around the stage, charmingly, ungainly, in his majorette jacket, engaging the massive crowd in French (“, ***, *** – terrible!” when a singalong was off-time). More interestingly, he played with virtually every song – meaning the band had taken the time to work something specifically live into the setlist, and to recognize something few bands do: pop hooks can be elastic, if you care enough to stretch them. God Put A Smile Upon My Face was discofied, and winningly so. Drummer Will Champion manned the kettles for Viva La Vida (admittedly, a staple). Guitarist Johnny Buckland made a point of nailing his hooks on the big screen.

Mostly, this was a band enjoyed its headliner status, and knew that – even if these songs are, at heart, softer than some of the bands on the plateau above them.

Is there meaning beyond that? Certainly. But last night, Eddie Vedder might have done well to note the joy in playing your hits for fans some of whom idly want, and others who may even deeply need them. And last night, even Bono might have been a little envious.

Source: Montreal Gazette

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Source: http://www.cyberpresse.ca

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With the music industry losing loads of cash and smaller acts getting more attention, many people think the era of huge record sales and big stadium shows is over. One problem with that theory: Coldplay, writes Metro News (Canada).

It seems that no one told the British foursome, which is arguably the biggest band in the world right now, that the days of epic, over-the-top concerts are a thing of the past. The band has been traversing the world playing for thousands of fans in both packed arenas and bursting-at-the-seams stadiums, and putting on a damn good show at that.

By the time the group took the stage Thursday night at Rogers Centre they had played nearly 140 shows in support of its most recent album, Viva la Vida. While they’ve been putting on large, anthemic shows for years, the new disc, with its rockier tones and more guitar-based songs, meant fans were in for a more raucous show than they may have seen the last time the band strolled into town.

That energy came through early, as they kicked off the gig with the opening to Vida’s Life in Technicolor and then quickly moved to that album’s first single, Violet Hill. Clocks, their massive hit off their sophomore disc was third, while their other dramatic single off A Rush of Blood To The Head, In My Place, soon followed.

What was most remarkable, and somewhat surprising, is how intense the show was. While songs like Parachutes’ Yellow and X&Y’s Fix You are catchy enough, their measured pace can feel sluggish on disc.

Live, however, many of Coldplay’s slower tracks (and there are many), were amped up, or at least had more of a soul than their recorded versions.

It helped that the group, decked out in the same drunken clown-like military garb you’ve seen in their recent press shots, had no qualms about prancing around the large stage like they were in a brash rock band — and the screams and yells from the nearly 44,000 Torontonians didn’t hurt either.

If there were any low points it was when Martin went behind the piano. (Which, again, happened a lot.) His stage presence is still commanding when he’s sitting down, but he’s far more engaging when he’s able to move freely, or when he’s bobbing his head and strumming a guitar.

Still, the group have mastered the difficult art of putting on an intimate and alluring performance at a place like the Rogers Centre. And if this was the last large-scale rock show to come to Canada, then what a way to go out.

Source: Metro News (Canada)

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It was a rare alchemy that made last night's concert at the mammoth Rogers Centre a ticket to good to pass up as Elbow, the Mercury Prize-winning British critical darlings, and Coldplay, the Grammy-winning heir to the title of "world biggest band" joined forces in Toronto, writes The National Post.

Before the big bands, the night was begun by the young British rockabilly trio Kitty Daisy & Lewis, who were hand selected by Coldplay's Chris Martin for the tour. Playing on the massive stage, the group - fronted by a trio of teenage siblings - did their best to warm up the slowly filing-in crowd. The reception was polite, if not quizzical. As Elbow readied to take the stage, three massive video screen behind the stage turned on, and it was clear that the production level was about to go up a notch. Elbow is smart-rock: big, epic lullabies and devastatingly-orchestrated complex Mancunian rock set to Guy Garvey's biting lyrics. One could only wonder how all that would translate to the caverns of the Rogers Centre.

Starting off with Starling, the first track from their Mercury-winning album Seldom Seen Kid, singer Garvey lifted a trumpet and helped blast out the opening staccatos of the song before taking the mic. The band confidently whipped through a too-short set featuring songs such as Everything Has Changed (introduced by Garvey with: "This song is about the day after falling in love. Which I highly recommend if you've never tried it."), the chant-inducing Station Approach (a "song about our hometown, but you can borrow it whenever you like"), at full stride during Ground For Divorce and the lovely closer "One Day Like This".

The mix was perfect, allowing the stadium to swell with Garvey's warm voice. There were indeed only two things wrong with their set: a bit of audience indifference and the notion that it should have run a full hour longer. This was an opening act, but swap Toronto for anywhere in the UK, and Elbow could have filled the arena themselves. But this arena was full for the main act. Coldplay has been functioning as the heir apparent to U2 ever since their first world tour, although, that seems to suit Chris Martin and company just fine. With each tour they hone their show, upping the spectacle and stage presence.

After hyping up the crowd with a combination of U2's Magnificent, Jay-Z's I Just Wanna Love You, and Strauss' Blue Danube Waltz (presumably a salute to Coldplay's friends and influences), the lights lowered, the trio of screens fired back up, and a large giant orb descended from the roof of the arena.

In darkness, the band – Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion and Guy Berryman – took the stage and opened with the instrumental "Life in Technicolour" and by the time they started the first verse of Violet Hill, the audience was singing along. After asking for some lights, Martin surveyed the almost 50,000 strong and remarked "that's a lot of people" before launching into In My Place. The band has clearly perfected the routine of the tour, now into its second year. With the opening chords of their first-ever hit, Yellow, a hundred or so giant yellow balloons were tossed and dropped into the crowd. As the song progressed, Martin encouraged some crowd interaction, asking everyone to sing along "even if you are here because of your girlfriend".

After a few songs from last year's Grammy-winning Viva La Vida, the quartet played the mesmerizing 49. And it was here where it was clear just how orchestrated the video team was. With the songs quiet piano opening, the screens displayed Martin singing in black and white with dramatic filters, and through a pin-hole camera effect. As the song exploded, the edits become chopping, then transitioned into full colour. The unsung video team acted from then on like an invisible band member - adding another layer to the show.

In the first stage shift of the night, all four members came to the stage-left extension for sped-up, self-remixed and slightly sinister versions of God Put a Smile Upon Your Face and Talk. Martin then cued the "Michael Bolton" segment of the show, where he joked about his need for a haircut and thanked the audience for coming through the traffic and the garbage to see them play before launching into Hardest Part and then bringing the crowd to frenzy with the thundering Viva la Vida and Lost!.

As the song wrapped, a sudden tide of movement down the aisles and from security towards a wooden platform near the bottom of the field below my seat in section 130. Then it immediately made sense as the band sprinted off stage and ran through a secured field- level aisle and onto the platform.

Source: National Post

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On a particularly humid evening, Coldplay touched down at the Rogers Centre for an energetic, uplifting and momentarily off kilter set. Working off of their vast catalogue of current and past hits, the British four-piece launched into "Life In Technicolour," the lead instrumental off of their latest offering Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, writes Exclaim.

After a strong rendition of "Violet Hill," lead singer Chris Martin took a moment to stare out into the sea of writhing bodies and ask, "Everybody all right?" which sent the sell-out crowd into hysterics. The band kept the energy in the building pumping with one of their first hits, "Yellow," during which an explosion of yellow balloons was released above the floor, and then with a stirring "Fix You."

The momentum that the band had been building came to screeching halt temporarily when the took to a mini-stage amongst the floor seats and made the head-scratching decision to play a techno/dance version of "God Put a Smile Upon Your Face" from their sophomore disc A Rush of Blood to the Head. Thankfully, the mistake was quickly forgotten, when Martin turned up his cheeky charm and used a little self-depreciating humour to win back the audience.

After finishing their set with "Lost," the group exited the stage to a deafening chorus of screams. After a few tense moments, Martin and the boys came out for the first of three mini-encores, where they hammered out a fairly funky acoustic version of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean," as well as "Politik" and their most popular tearjerker "The Scientist," which had some young ladies literally crying.

With drummer Will Champion also celebrating his birthday and a stadium full of fans singing him "Happy Birthday," the night seemed pretty much like a massive house party where everything was just right.

Source: Exclaim.ca

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In many ways, the world of pop music is akin to the world of professional sports. One invariably starts at the bottom (the minors) and works one's way slowly to the Big Leagues (the exceptions jump the queue via shows such as American Idol ). Thursday night's triptych at the Rogers Centre offered a classic example of three bands at different levels on the ladder, bottom to top, writes The Globe and Mail.

I purposely arrived early to catch the relatively unknown rookies Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, a trio of young London, England, siblings whose influences include vintage 78 rpm records and classic fifties rock 'n' roll, rockabilly and blues. Integrating standup bass, barrelhouse piano and laptop guitar into the mix, the group (which is rounded out by Mum and Dad on guitar and bass) covers the likes of Johnny Horton ( Mean Son of a Gun ), Louis Jordan ( Ooo-Wee ) and Canned Heat ( Going Up the Country ), making them a kind of present-day version of John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers. It was good fun, but would have worked far better in an intimate club setting than in that cavernous, still-filling stadium. Quirky, but destined for anonymity in the minors.

Second-billed Elbow gives every indication of an act ready to break into the Big Leagues worldwide (in Britain the band's pretty much already there). This earnest and unpretentious quintet from Manchester is at the forefront of a movement to bring 1970s-style prog rock back to the mainstream.

Led by humble and appreciative lead singer Guy Garvey, echoes of Peter Gabriel-era Genesis reverberated throughout the short but intriguing performance. Layering later-period Gabriel, world-beat rhythms, classically inspired keyboards and skittish Robert Fripp-styled guitars behind Garvey's very British and understated vocals, Elbow picked up where Genesis apologists Marillion left off. An unlikely choice for Coldplay's lead-in, but intriguing.

Internet chatter would have it that London-based Coldplay has eclipsed U2 as the biggest band in the world right now. I don't really think so, but don't try and tell that to the 45,000 fans in attendance Thursday, who sung along joyously to nearly every song in the band's generous two-hour-plus set.

Comprising “three really shy people and one idiot” (the latter, presumably, being affable and charismatic lead singer Chris Martin), Coldplay gave a remarkable performance that illustrated that this Grammy-winning band has mastered the art of arena rock. The massive performance had everything, including every song a Coldplay fan could have wanted to hear and then some. Backed by five large screens, the performance was actually played out on a simple stage set that let the music (and Martin) do the talking.

But the show was cleverly structured so that attention never waned. On breakthrough hit Yellow , hundreds of large yellow balloons floated down from the rafters. Late-set number Lovers in Japan featured another storm, this of confetti. Lasers and video clips were inserted, but sparingly. A highlight came when the quartet ventured down to a smaller stage mid-arena to perform a short acoustic set which included a tribute to Michael Jackson ( Billie Jean ).

Martin himself has grown into an incredibly warm and vivacious front man who never stops smiling and totally connects with his audience. Inviting sing-alongs (“consider this your Canadian Idol audition”), Martin probably got more than he intended when the audience simply would not stop chanting the chorus to the massive hit Viva La Vida . Ultimately the band had to drown them out simply by starting its next number, Lost .

During the encore, Martin suggested that the band probably would not be back in Toronto “for a couple of years.” All good and well, then, that we got to see the quartet at what is probably the height of its fame and power, in an arena-rock spectacle that was just about as good as it gets.

Source: The Globe and Mail

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More excellent reviews of Coldplay's concert at the Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON (30th July 2009) have been posted at the Coldplay Live forum, that didn't quite make the main review article in time this morning. Here is part one, of just some of the many:

Okay I had the craziest day ever yesterday. Got up early, drove to Toronto, shopped, got ready, and then we went to the venue... Well we were staying at the hotel there but we had to get our VIP ticket things... at first they wouldn't give them to us since I was with my friends and we're only 16 so I don't think they believed us even though we had proof we knew Chloe. -_-

Anyways, my mom went down and got them for us, and then at about 7:30 we went in and were sent on a wild goose chase around the venue because no one could find where the family room was. FINALLY, we found it, and hung out there for a bit. Johnny came in after he warmed up and signed my ticket for me saying, "Best wishes Katie. Nice to see you again! Johnny" I'll upload it in a bit. My friends and I also got a picture with him and then a group shot with him and Chloe. I need to wait until they're uploaded on facebook, but I'll maybe post the one of me with him...

Then a bit later we were escorted to our seats. It was really stressful because the show was just about to start and the security guy taking us to our seats had no idea where he was going. So finally Chloe was like fuck this and found it herself, ahahhaa. She's really awesome. We were in section 111 and row 1... if anyone was near there. When the band started playing a few songs in the middle of the crowd, Chloe let us is move to get closer and we were standing in the middle of the crowd on this weird elevated thing. Then the confetti started! Haha we were taking so many pictures with that, and the confetti machine was right there so the dude who was in charge of it, told us when he was going to turn it on so we could get a pic. xD The concert was amazing and my feet are KILLING me from standing/dancing/running around the venue.

After the show, we went back to the family room for about an hour and then Johnny came out again. He got me directions for the after party cause my friends and I didn't know where to go. :$ He was so nice about it. So Chloe gave us wristbands for it and my friends and I ended up getting a ride with her cousin. It was Will's birthday as you all know, so we sang him a happy birthday and my friends got a picture of the cake, so I'll probably post that too, once it's uploaded. Johnny, Will and Guy were at the party but this time Chris didn't come. I'm assuming it's because it was outside and there were random drunk people walking by so I'm sure that wasn't the best situation, plus I heard he doesn't really go to the after parties because having to talk loud over the music strains his voice. Either way, he wasn't there, but it was rad nonetheless.

My friends and I just hung out and took pictures and took a cab back to the hotel at 3am. We didn't sleep till 4am and we got up at 6am to drive home. I'm so tired right now, haah. But yeah, I'll definitely upload a few pictures once they're up on facebook. [thanks sandersidle]

I was the only one in my area who knew all the words to every song. My sister came in second only because she didn't know Death and All of His Friends, Green Eyes, and Glass of Water. Kitty, Daisy and Lewis were not the best band and we decided to get some overpriced pizza while they played their set. Then Elbow came out and were totally amazing! We started a small chant in our area for the dancing roadie. Then pit started a wave then the lights went down and the band walked out.

Right after Violet when Chris sings "If you love me, won't you let me know." I shout "I love you Jon!" into the crowd. I spend the next bit of the concert chanting Jonny and singing along. When they ran to the acoustic stage I thought I'd lost them then saw them right below me. Jonny did a cute little dance during Death Will Never Conquer. The Lovers butterflies didn't come into my area so we had a fun time collected them after the concert. When Phil gave Will the birthday cake, all I could say was Phil's name I could barely sing. It was beautiful and few things could make it better. Oh, and we were the ones struting around in birthday hats. Thank you Coldplay!! [thanks AngelsHaveBlueEyes]

ohgezz, that was frickin awesome!!! My FIRST CP concert! So a few hours before the concert, i was still at home but just finished re-reading a bit of Harry Potter so i was a bit sleepy...i managed to stay awake by listening to Coldplay for the remaining 2 or so hours before i left at 6:00...wasnt as big of a hastle to get downtown as i thought (from Scar.)...when i got to my gate (gate 5) i saw that they had signs showing a female sign (like the ones u see on the doors of the washrooms), but no male sign, i figured, how the fuck do i get in then? Eventually got in and right away i was tempted to buy something from the merch section but a fucktonne of ppl were there...so had to wait in line for a long ass time...around 30 ppl in a small space in front of the table...felt sorry for the ppl around me, i was sweating my ass off....but got slightly annoyed by ppl who didnt get the shirt ideas, like, theyre like, "Why 42, what does that mean?" eventually though, i thought the shirts were a bit too expensive ($40?!?!?!?) so i got a nice viva bottle, last one in stock too!

Back to the concert, actually, before that...ELBOW...honestly, i never heard them play before...i knew they would be a support act since i read the reviews from the other concerts...but yeah, they were pretty damn good... right before the concert started at 9:30ish, they played Magnificent by U2 and Give it to Me by Jay Z and of course that classical piece then...THEY CAME OUTTT. LiT was awesome esp. the OHH OHH OHHHHH part near the end, everyone sung it...Clocks, In My Place and Yellow of course, big crowd pleasers, esp yellow imo, they played it with the little pause in the beginning and sped up, love it that way, and the BALLOONS, frig, didnt bounce to my section though...but hahaha, no one knew Glass of Water around me 'cept me.......next real big songs were Fix You and Strawberry Swing. They came out to the b-stage to do their bit (GPaSUYF, Talk, Hardest Part, Postcards)...i thought they would come out further then that though ...as they were playing postcards, i told my sister to get ready to stand up for...

VIVA! everyone went crazy of course for viva, and joined in for the Ohh ohh OHHHH ohhh part at the end, i kinda started it for my section. Next they came into the audience which i knew would happen, but my sister did not, i told her they would but didnt believe me....sucks though, they went to the wrong side, as in not my side....i think Chris messed up Billie Jean though but owel, still ace. Next was Politik, i fully forgot they would do that and it caught me off guard (one of my fav songs)...i pointed out the magic ball turned into a globe and everyone around was like, oh yeahhh! LiJ followed and everyone went bonkers again for the Butterfly Confetti...like the Balloons, they didnt reach my section ....after Death and all his friends, ppl started leaving and my mom and sis and her bf wanted to leave, and i said "dont worry, they'll come out for a few more songs...and they did!

finished off with scientist and thats when my camera died....also, they sang happy b-day to will which i also said would happen and phil came out!!! all in all great night, Chris made a lot of jokes about the garbage strike and his hair (even the hairdressers in toronto are on strike) and about how big and loud toronto crowds are. so we were filing out and i rushed to get LRLRL, got me 4 in total..on the way out, i saw a butterfly stuck to some lady's show, i wanted to get it SO bad....and also, a few kids with the 'Yellow' Balloons!!! [thanks jc90]

The concert was AMAZING. This was my fifth time seeing Coldplay All in Toronto. And I think I start every review off with that one statement. Alright so I went with my sister, we got down pretty early because we were going to do some shopping but then decided we didn't have enough time. I kind of wish we did go so I wouldn't have to listen to the first opening band Kitty, Lewis and whatever. They gave me a headache which kind of made the whole show not as good as it could have been.

So after the first band were off Mindy (my twin sister) and I went to the bathroom...and someone had left their ticket in the bathroom, a floor ticket. So my first thought was...oh no this poor person! What if they need it to get back to the floor? (I later saw that people had wristbands so I hope she managed to get back). I told Mindy about it and spent a few minutes deliberating whether or not to just leave in the the stall or not. I thought that somoene would just take it, so I grabbed it and gave it to someone who worked there, hoping that it would be in better hands but also worrying that the person might go back to the bathroom and freak out if it was missing. I really hope the person managed to get back, I felt really bad.

Anway so after that was over me and Mindy split a $10 beer and then watched Elbow who I actually really enjoyed. The wait for Coldplay to come on took a while, 40-45 minutes. I think there might have been some problems with the lights because they had some guy go up on this lighting rig. Definately didn't look too safe. Then FINALLY they came on! So great. We were in section 129, row 21 so it wasn't that bad seating wise.

The music was amazing, and the sound quality was actually really good. The lights, butterflys and balloons were great. They didn't hit our section, but I grabbed some butterflys that were in this little pile on my way out. Chris was bouncing and jumping around and falling all over the place as usual.

One of the highlights for me was that the third stage was right at the end of the aisle next to me! So at one point Mindy spotted that the instruments had been set up and suggested we stand on the steps because it had to be soon. So we headed down there and in a few minutes they were running over to us! We had a rear view of the stage (not SUCH a bad thing ). Thought to point out that I spotted Phil running back with Chris. I'm surprised no one mentioned the light wave! I might have missed someone mentioning it but it was beautiful! Basically, Chris told everyone to take out their phones. Instantly thousands of blue lights appear. Then he tells us all to put our phones by our side, and that we were going to do "the wave" with cell phone lights! It was amazing to watch, it looked like thousands of stars going up. We did the whole thing a few times and before that he had just one corner waving their phones around. [thanks twin4life]

More new pictures of Coldplay at Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON (30th July 2009):

Pictures by pink_elephant @ Coldplaying

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It's been over a year since Coldplay released Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends. They've toured it endlessly and tirelessly since, and returned to Toronto for the second time in a year (they played Toronto's Air Canada Centre on the same day last year) on Thursday night at the Rogers Centre to play one more time before they take a break and begin thinking about their next record, writes Chart Attack.

First, the crowd were treated to the sounds of Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, an R&B trio of '50s sensibilities. Their skiffle and early rock 'n' roll sounds were a bit out of place on a bill that featured bands that play atmospheric pop rock, but it was refreshing nonetheless, especially their covers of Bill Monroe's "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" and Canned Heat's "Goin' Up The Country."

Elbow's Coldplay soundalike mopey pop was a jarring contrast. On record, Elbow are positively snoozeworthy, but live they're more explosive. Their set was entirely comprised of songs from last year's Mercury Music Prize-winning The Seldom Seen Kid. Then again, anything can sound explosive in a stadium with a sound system that's designed for 50,000 people. Oh, Manchester, so much to answer for…

When Coldplay took the stage, it seemed as if the audience was in for a repeat of last year's gig at the Air Canada Centre. The band began their set behind the same translucent black screen and played the exact same four songs they began with at that gig. An "uh-oh" moment was had when Chris Martin seemed to be having trouble hitting the notes on "Violet Hill" and had to sing much lower than he does on record.

Calling Coldplay competent performers is a moot point — it's a tired cliché, but they're the world's biggest band now, so performing has become pretty effortless for them. The songs from Viva La Vida sounded much better than last time they were here, and they've clearly have become accustomed to performing them.

But there's often the danger of becoming a little too comfortable. Martin at times seemed a caricature of himself, and even flew through the air behind guitarist Jonny Buckland on one of the stage's wings during "In My Place" — just as he had last time. Fortunately, Martin and company are so damn earnest that it will never come across as completely disingenuous or rehearsed, even if it kind of looks that way.

Thankfully, the setlist became different when the first chords of "Yellow" rang out. "Glass Of Water" from the Prospekt's March EP also helped change things up.

By "42" it became very clear that Coldplay's attempts at "experimentation" on Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends don't exactly translate the best live. Martin attempted three times to get the crowd to sing along to the chorus, and they weren't having it. Hilariously, the roof nearly came off the Rogers Centre when Coldplay launched into "Fix You" next.

Luckily, Coldplay knew enough to leave "Yes," the dreadful, seven-minute Velvet Underground and My Bloody Valentine soundalike (half of it is a hidden track dubbed "Chinese Sleep Chant") out of the mix this time. Unfortunately, they once again ruined "God Put A Smile Upon Your Face" by changing the key and adding horrible electronic drums and distorted, tremoloed guitar onto it, just as they did last year. The crowd's response wasn't all that enthusiastic.

From there, it was onto "Viva La Vida." It's also probably telling that this track, Coldplay's biggest hit to date, and their most straightforward song on the album, got the loudest singalong of the night.

This handily demonstrated that Coldplay are at their best when they don't try to play at being something they're not and stick to what they're known for: writing anthemic pop songs and arena rock with great hooks. The Joe Satriani business aside, "Viva La Vida" is a truly great song because it keeps things simple: the hook is one word — "Waaaa-ohhhh" — and it doesn't try and sound like a poor version of Radiohead, The Velvet Underground, My Bloody Valentine or anything else the guys drool over in their record collections.

Martin went on record last year as saying Coldplay purposely attempted to write songs that sounded like the aforementioned bands. Experimentation is all well and good, but it should come naturally. When you attempt to sound like someone else, it comes across as stilted. Maybe that's why "Viva La Vida" will always get a bigger singalong than "42."

Martin repeatedly stated throughout the rest of the set this would be Coldplay's last show in Toronto for "a few years." Presumably, they'll take some time off and then begin working on their fifth album.

At this point, Coldplay are like the child in second grade that tries really hard to be like the cool kid and always falls short and gets mocked because they're a little bit different. Hopefully Martin and company will realize that their fans don't need — or want — them to be U2, Radiohead or anyone else.

Source: Chart Attack

Pictures of Coldplay at Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON (30th July 2009):

Pictures by Christopher Liando @ flickr

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If they aren’t officially the “biggest band on the planet,” Coldplay are undoubtedly the most eager to please. This hyper-earnest shtick is at once Coldplay’s greatest blessing and curse. Chris Martin and company are the victims of endless snide remarks by elitist critics, but they never fail when it comes to their prime objective: keeping their massive fan base satisfied, writes EyeWeekly.

This has been the mission statement ever since this quartet of once desperately shy English boys hit it big on the strength of a simple song like “Yellow.” As the Viva La Vida tour enters its second year, they’re at it again, holding up their carefully constructed reputation as down-to-earth, socially responsible do-gooders, with Oxfam volunteers filling up petitions with thousands of signatures, and Rogers Centre security guards handing out a free live album to every fan.

Jon Pareles’ famous New York Times article that essentially labeled 2005’s X and Y a cold, calculated moneymaking venture still rings true. No matter that Martin is self-deprecating to a fault, poking fun at his own haircut one minute before describing his band as “one idiot and three very shy men,” there’s no escaping the feeling that this is a rock 'n’ roll band packaged for ideal mass consumption.

In fact, the opening acts suggest this could well have been named The Inoffensive Music Tour. Kitty, Daisy, and Lewis began the proceedings with a largely forgettable set of swinging, bluesy numbers. They were followed by unlikely Mercury Prize winners Elbow, whose brand of adult-contempo Britpop would have made for uplifting background music, had the lighting not been so impressive.

Yet not unlike Santa Claus, Coldplay are a fantasy that nearly every kind soul longs to believe in, especially those with a weakness for melody. The sold-out SkyDome (doesn’t everyone still call it the SkyDome?) crowd was made up of a predictable demographic: an even split of swooning women and dudes who probably won’t admit to their buddies that they bellowed “Fix You” at the top of their lungs.

Debate the honesty of the emotions if you will, but the bottom line is that the hits stand up. Whether bounding across the stage, sprinkling sweat on his fans during “In My Place,” or settling down for a moving solo piano version of “The Hardest Part,” Martin had the crowd right where perfect lighting and his effervescent antics made sure to put them — the palm of his hand. The sheer power of “Vida La Vida” is enough to make you forget that everyone from Cat Stevens to Joe Satriani to some douchebag from Brooklyn claims to have written it first.

The string of anthems and dizzying production values are overwhelming enough, but Coldplay are wise enough to always go the extra mile. Witness the oversize, confetti-filled balloons released during “Yellow,” and the hurricane of neon butterflies that whirled down from the retractable roof amid Martin’s dizzy piano line on the glorious “Lovers In Japan.”

As if the protruding side stages for increased fan interaction weren’t enough, they run, Beatlemania-style, to the back of the stadium for a three-song acoustic set. During which we get the evening’s only true misstep, an ill-advised cover of “Billie Jean” that’s really fucking cliché, even by Coldplay standards.

Emerging alone for the encore, Martin took a moment to address his adoring public before breaking into a mournful rendition of “The Scientist,” thanking us profusely and suggesting they’ll be back in a couple of years, maybe more. Next time around, here’s hoping Martin bucks his incredibly annoying trend of trumpeting the virtues of the new material after explaining all the reasons his previous multi-platinum effort was nothing more than a piece of shit.

But perhaps this is precisely why Martin and his mates aren’t ashamed to keep their faults (lack of personality, clunky lyrics, ersatz Sgt. Pepper stage outfits) on full display — Coldplay admit they’re far from perfect, and no one seems to mind. In fact, they’re the kind of international rock stars who present a birthday cake to their drummer and get 40,000 delighted Canadians to sing Happy Birthday.

They’ve completed and perhaps even perfected the transition from mawkish Britpop outfit to stadium-packing megastars, whose glossy performances come with a hefty price tag. If a Coldplay show is expensive enough to qualify as an investment, two hours of sparkling anthems are a worthwhile return. And the complimentary live album is a sweet dividend.

Source: Eye Weekly

More new pictures of Coldplay at Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON (30th July 2009):

Pictures by Christopher Liando @ flickr

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TORONTO - Exactly a year after Coldplay played the first of two sold-out shows at the Air Canada Centre, the Brit pop-rock outfit returned to Toronto for a show at Rogers Centre on Thursday night in front of over 45,000 fans, writes Jam! Showbiz.

On a stage dominated by glowing orb lights, the band - frontman Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman and drummer Will Champion - appeared in shadows initially as they kicked off the concert with the stirring instrumental, Life In Technicolor, the first song from their multi-platinum, Grammy winning fourth album, 2008's Viva La Vida. "Everybody okay?" asked the always charming Martin mid-song, before finishing Violet Hill with: "If you love me, let me play Tor-on-to!"

Frankly, it was hard to see the four musicians, even during the next song, Clocks, despite Martin rocking back and forth on his piano stool, the presence of four large video screens, two on each side of the stage, and green laser lights.

Thankfully, that problem was corrected as the two-hour-and-15-minute show progressed. "Let's turn the lights on - that's a lot of people," said Martin as he hopped around the stage during the opening of In My Place and ran between two catwalks stretched out into the audience for the duration of the song before collapsing on his back.

From there, the show improved visually as dozens of yellow balloons were released onto the floor heralding the beginning of the band's 2000 breakthrough hit, Yellow, which saw the crowd singing along, especially at Martin's request. "Consider this your Canadian Idol audition ... Even if you're in row 706 and you're only here because of your girlfriend," he joked. Those orb-like lights finally fully lit-up during Glass Of Water, from the band's post-Viva EP, Prospekt's March, and the Viva tracks, Cemeteries Of London and 42.

"Let's do that last note together - try to take the roof off," said Martin as 42 wound down. Just think of him as democratic Pied Piper of Rock. Otherwise, Buckland's guitar playing added the much needed harder edge to songs like In My Place, Yellow, Fix You, Lost!, Death And All His Friends, while Champion's thundering drums held down the bottom end nicely, particularly during crowd favourites Viva La Vida, Lost!, Politik, Lovers In Japan (complete with multi-coloured, butterfly-shaped confetti) and The Scientist.

Less successful was when the band gathered together at the end of one of the catwalks for a sped-up version of God Put A Smile Upon Your Face that never really quite worked. Much better was when the group wandered through the crowd to a smaller b-stage on the floor to perform effective acoustic versions of Green Eyes, Death Will Never Conquer (with Champion - who turned 28 on Friday - on lead vocals), and a cover of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean. "I don't know what else is happening on a Thursday night in Toronto but thanks for giving us your Thursday night," said Martin, as he settled in to play a piano version of The Hardest Part, on the catwalk earlier in the show. "All the garbage, all the stuff you have to get through, to get to us."

He then mocked his own long haircut saying after a year and a half on the road, he'd forgotten to cut it. "It's only when you see it on four 50-foot screens, in front of 50,000 people," said Martin adding: "Even the hairdressers are on strike in Toronto."

Source: Jam! Showbiz

More new pictures of Coldplay at Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON (30th July 2009):

Pictures by pink_elephant @ Coldplaying

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Over the years, [i've] realized that any review of a Coldplay show I do boils down to this: I head in not wanting to like the band, and then nearly everything the band does makes me like it, writes the Toronto Star.

So, for expediency's sake, at the Rogers Centre Thursday night - where the de facto "biggest band in the world" of the moment played its biggest Toronto show to date before upwards of 40,000 people - I only took notes whenever Chris Martin and the rest of the lads did something to endear themselves to me. Here's the rundown.

1. I know they've agonized over the pre-show mixtape, because we're steered toward Coldplay's emergence by U2 (very "meta," lads), Martin pal Jay-Z's "Give It To Me" and ..... er ..... Strauss's "Blue Danube Waltz" - which is a modest way of referencing 2001 without piping "Also Sprach Zarathustra" over the P.A.

2. Everyone comes onstage waving sparklers.

3. "Clocks" is still massive, isn't it?

4. During "Yellow," dozens of enormous yellow balloons descend from the rafters in slow-motion free fall. Momentarily, everyone in the stadium is 3 years old. Martin stops the song to ask everyone to sing along because "it's in my script" (very "meta" again, lads) "even if you're in Row 706 and you're only here because of your girlfriend." Damn him, he's taken all my best lines.

5. "42." Douglas Adams is introduced to Radiohead. Very earnest in its artiness, but the noisy part is still aces.

6. "Fix You." I'd usually be leery of saying "I'm such a chick for liking this song." But since every single woman I know all but faints every time they hear this ballad and every single woman around me is currently on the verge of collapse, I think I'm safe.

7. Martin makes a joke of our garbage strike and his increasingly uncool hairdo ("Even the hairdressers are on strike in Toronto") to mollify a crowd restless with ballads and promises that, after "The Hardest Part" "we'll do 'Viva La Vida.'." They do. Uproar.

8. A mini-acoustic set conducted from the floor deep in the concert bowl contains a freestyle "rap" introduction to drummer Will Champion, a lovely version of "Green Eyes" that I videotape to suck up to my girlfriend and a cover of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean."

9. On the way out midway through a predictably boffo greatest-hits coda, I'm handed a free CD of live tracks entitled Left Right Left Right Left. I still rather like CDs and, I must admit, I understand completely why Coldplay still sells millions of them.

Source: Toronto Star

More new pictures of Coldplay at Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON (30th July 2009):

Pictures by pink_elephant @ Coldplaying

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A comprehensive review of Coldplay's concert at SPAC, Saratoga Springs, NY (27th July 2009) has emerged online, courtesy of Killing Myself To Live @ Blogspot. Here is the review:

“Uhm, so we’re two months late,” Chris Martin said last night. “Sorry we had to cancel before. We’re fuckers.” It's okay Chris. I forgive you. Coldplay was supposed to play on May 27 in Saratoga but it got postponed due to a “band emergency.” I was heartbroken at the time, but after FINALLY seeing the show last night, it was worth the wait...and the $41 lawn ticket. Actually, it was so great that I regretted not spending the $80-$100 for an inside seat...but if I did that I would have missed Chris Martin singing “Billie Jean” on a stage ON THE LAWN A MERE INCHES FROM ME. In the words of Perez Hilton, it was “amazeballs.” Amazeballs times 100.

How can I even begin to explain the Coldplay concert? I feel like words would fail. I mean, Coldplay is by no means the greatest band when they record, but man are they fantastic live. The entire show was amazing. Their albums are good, "Viva La Vida" was pretty awesome, but if they just released live albums, they could be the next Zeppelin, well maybe not, but close. Chirs Martin, for being so media-shy and reserved in interviews has this stage presence that you wouldn’t expect.

When he talks to magazines or online blogs the quirky white guy from England has about as much flavor as a rice cake, but when he’s on stage, he flails, jumps around, throws himself on the ground. He’s got personality out the ass and it’s entertaining to watch, to say the least. Oh, and in case you were wondering, yes, Chris Martin can hit those high notes (like in “Fix You” and “The Scientist”) in real life and outside of a recording studio.

The band played through all the hits and all of their newest album. The only song they played off “X&Y” was “Fix You” which made me cry, as per usual. There was butterfly confetti during “Lovers in Japan”, yellow balloons floating around during “Yellow,” and really awesome pink lights during “Strawberry Swing.” In fact, the lights were pretty awesome too. Coldplay didn’t hold back for this tour and it paid off. It was probably the best concert I’ve been to all summer...the best concert I’ve been to since Radiohead in Montreal last August (Sorry Bob Dylan, I love you, but your live show’s got nothing on these funky white boys from England.)

Show highlight: Chris’ “dancing” (Read: having a seizure with rhythm) to “Clocks.”

I’ve never seen so much energy from a crowd and from an entire band. Usually it’s just the frontman that dances around and gets people off, but Coldplay have this dynamic on stage. It’s not just the Chirs Martin show, it’s a real band. You go to see COLDPLAY, not the lead singer. Drummer Will Champion, guitarist Jonny Buckland and bassist Guy Berryman played tightly and crisply, proving their range from atmospheric numbers such as the hit “Clocks” into harder rockers such as “42” and “Politik,” with its slamming rhythms juxtaposing gentle crooned portions from Martin.

They all play off one another and just make fantastic music. After this tour I can’t wait for a new album, especially if they keep this vibe up. It was mind blowing the way they can translate their studio albums perfectly into live rock anthems. I had a dream last night that Chirs Martin and I went jet skiing. Now, I do not jet ski and I can’t imagine Chris on one either but, usually, when I have a dream about a band after a concert it’s because the show had a profound effect on me. Which this one did.

I went in really liking Coldplay and I left loving them. I went in expecting a mediocre show from a good band, I left with my head buzzing from a fantastic show by a great band. I was always reluctant to “LOVE” Coldplay because honestly, most of their fans are dicks. They scream about Coldplay as rock Gods and better than Radiohead, etc, etc... (Sorry Chris, you were awesome but no one beats a Thom Yorke performance)

This show converted me to the church of Coldplay. I even think that they may be highly underrated. If you don’t like Coldplay and you’re solely basing your opinion on the studio albums, I urge you to see them live. Not only will you have a great time, but it will change your mind about Coldplay all together. They are a legitimate force to be reckoned with. World, get ready: British invasion Part Deux.

Source: Killing Myself To Live @ Blogspot

Coldplay at SPAC, Saratoga Springs, NY (27th July 2009):

Pictures by maggieroseee @Flickr (xmonstermaggie @ Coldplaying)

World tours tend to have a way of draining even the most vivacious of bands. Between buses, airplanes, groupies, booze and constant ass-kissing, the energy can dissipate—leaving us with robotic, by-the-numbers performances, writes Time Out Chicago.

Entering Saturday’s show at Alpine Valley, Coldplay, known for its anthemic arena rock and distinct falsetto tones courtesy of lead singer Chris Martin, had played 137 shows on its Viva La Vida world tour. With a show practically every other day since the tour began, it would be safe to assume the boys from London were a wee bit tired.

Yet, from their animated performance before a less than sold-out crowd (the Live Nation ticket prices, $115 for a pavilion seat, may have kept some fans away) at Alpine, either Martin and co. drank a hell of a lot of Red Bull before prancing onstage, or these guys are truly enjoying every minute of their success.

With a thin veil of a curtain shielding the stage from the crowd, Coldplay tiptoed onstage with sparklers in hand. A perfect half moon cut the sky above, which only hours earlier had been enveloped with rain clouds. Having never witnessed a Coldplay show, I assumed it would be in the vein of U2— a spotty performance intermixed with a grand spectacle of lights and lasers to overcompensate the music. Surprisingly, as Martin, donning a black army-style patched jacket, with the British flag adorning his right tricep, belted into a throaty version of “Violet Hill” off 2008’s Viva La Vida, it began to become crystal clear that these boys could rock. After the tension of the opening song subsided, the melodic piano notes of “Clocks,” the band’s signature song, danced atop the amphitheater.

In the vein of Mick Jagger, Martin seems to play every show as if it’s his last. Running like a fleeing prisoner from one side of the stage to the other, the mop-top vocalist/pianist churned out a charged rendition of “In My Place,” (off 2002’s A Rush of Blood to the Head) ending the song laying on his back, mike in hand, head draped in theatrical sorrow. Moments later, Martin was trying his hand at comedy during a melancholy rendition of the band’s first smash-hit “Yellow,” demanding that the crowd “create the largest band of all time, the four of us and the 34,000 of you. That makes us have more members than the Dave Matthews Band,” Martin said while giggling. When a weak choral performance ensued by the audience, Marin chuckled and muffled into the mike, “I just asked you to join the fuckin’ band…that was shit!”

While starry-eyed teenage girls may have enjoyed when Martin and his bandmates ventured up into the lawn area for a few acoustic numbers, including a soothing cover of “Billie Jean” sounding eerily reminiscent of Chris Cornell’s take on the MJ classic, the stunt felt like a group going Hollywood in an attempt to be one with its audience. Martin claimed the Alpine audience was in his “top one” of the tour, but it’s hard to believe that the band could actually feel an intimate connection after 137 previous shows.

Running back onstage for spirited versions of its recent hit singles “Viva La Vida” and “Lost!,” Coldplay ended the show as paper butterflies simultaneously drenched the audience in rainbow-like color. Album-style versions of “The Scientist” and “Life in Technicolor II” made up the band’s encore—closing out a show that clocked (no pun intended) in at just under two hours. Coldplay’s 138th this tour wasn’t just another number, it rocked.

Source: Time Out Chicago

Pictures of Coldplay at Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, WI (25th July 2009)

Pictures by TheAngie

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SARATOGA SPRINGS — How did Coldplay make up for being two months late for its performance at Saratoga Performing Arts Center Monday night? Well, for starters, the British adult pop band apologized profusely throughout the evening — it was the first thing frontman Chris Martin mentioned from the stage, shortly after burning through “Life in Technicolor,” writes the Daily Gazette.

But perhaps more to the point, the band simply rocked the packed audience into submission, with one of the more elaborate stage shows on the touring circuit today, no doubt.

Take, for example, “Yellow,” the band’s first big hit from their 2000 debut “Parachutes,” early on in the set, when giant yellow balloons filled with confetti fell from the ceiling in the amphitheater. Or towards the end of the set, during “Lovers in Japan,” when the first 10 to 20 rows were showered with paper butterflies throughout the song. Or the multiple stages the band used throughout its set, including one out towards the front of the lawn that the band used to great effect during a three-song acoustic set.

The show wasn’t all bells and whistles. Drummer Will Champion, guitarist Jonny Buckland and bassist Guy Berryman played tightly and crisply, proving their range from atmospheric numbers such as the hit “Clocks” into harder rockers such as “42” and “Politik,” with its slamming rhythms juxtaposing gentle crooned portions from Martin.

Speaking of Martin, the man was a live wire throughout the set, running, slipping, sliding and bouncing all over the stage when he wasn’t tinkling the keys of his piano on such standout numbers as “Fix You.” Even then, his energy could barely be contained — towards the end of “Clocks,” he fell back on his stool in melodramatic fashion; through other numbers such as the gentle “The Hardest Part,” he swayed and swooned passionately, eyes closed in a grimace. His energy and charm made the performance and perpetuated the unifying atmosphere the band was surely going for.

The openers Elbow, of Manchester, England, took the stage a little before 8 p.m. to a rapidly filling amphitheater. Dreamy atmospherics were the order of the day for most of this band’s set, with opener “Starlings” introducing the crowd to vocalist Guy Garvey’s powerful stage presence and even more powerful, dynamic vocal. The set pulled mostly from the band’s most recent album, 2008’s “The Seldom Seen Kid.”

But the band also knew how to rock, as evidenced by “Grounds for Divorce,” which was laden with fuzz tones from bassist Pete Turner and lead guitarist Mark Potter. Garvey, who led the audience through a sing-a-long of the song’s main melody before the performance, banged on a snare during the heavy parts, accentuating the driving rhythm.

North London’s Kitty, Daisy & Lewis opened everything up at 7 p.m. with a strong set of original material that sounded as if it were from an era older than the trio’s combined ages. The Durham siblings, backed by their father Graeme on acoustic guitar and mother Ingrid Weiss (interestingly enough, the former drummer of noise punkers The Raincoats), took turns on electric guitar, piano and drums, with the youngest Kitty in particular shining on harmonica.

Source: Daily Gazette

Photos to follow...

New photos of Coldplay at Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, WI (25th July 2009)

Pictures by TheAngie

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East Troy — A rock show in an arena setting can be a depersonalizing experience only a few levels below that of taking off one's shoes before passing through an airport security checkpoint. The beer costs too much in both cases. Saturday night at Alpine Valley Music Theatre, Coldplay tried to re-personalize the experience, writes JS Online.

The quartet drew more than 30,000 people, and its music had the grandeur-embracing sincerity of early U2. Lead singer and pianist Chris Martin exhibited the characteristics of an intelligent frontman: a voice to make the heart swoon, energy to burn and self-deprecating charisma. Guitarist Jon Buckland owed some of his serrated clarity to The Edge (U2's axman, natch), but he took it toward English countrysides ("Strawberry Swing") and funereal bleakness ("Cemeteries of London").

Drummer Will Champion provided a strong backing voice plus some extra charisma. With bassist Guy Berryman - who was, typically for that position, a nearly silent type - he nailed rhythms ranging from the modern syncopation of "Lost!" to the orchestral majesty of "Viva La Vida."

Those two songs, from the 2008 album also called "Viva La Vida," demonstrated Coldplay's expansion of its musical ambitions. If an earlier song like "Clocks" was accessible for sheer drive and tunefulness, then a more recent number like "42" spread its accessibility across a massive shift from ruminative, fragile ballad to a rocker that brandished riffs like buzz-saws sparking off silver. The show had plenty of big visual sparks to match the electricity of the music: Screens displayed kinetic, stylized transmissions of the performance, while during "Lovers in Japan," confetti actually shot out from the sides of the stage as if KISS had been consulted.

But even there, Coldplay paid attention to the fine details: Those pieces of confetti were shaped like leaves, and for a brisk version of the sweet hit "Yellow," assistants floated large yellow balloons into the crowd until the reserved section was a happy chaos of "follow the bouncing ball(s)."

Best of all, though, were those moments when Coldplay hiked to a pair of mini-stages - and they really were tiny - closer to the middle of the crowd. Huddled together on those platforms like an indie-rock band in a dive bar, the members of Coldplay personalized not just the arena experience but also themselves.

Source: JS Online

New photos of Coldplay at Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, WI (25th July 2009)

Pictures by joannahanner @ Flickr

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Before the encore to Coldplay's two-hour show at Alpine Valley on Saturday night, lead singer Chris Martin came out onstage with a clipboard and announced officiously that he was holding the results from the band's audience ranking. Of the 138 shows so far in Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" tour, the Alpine crowd ranked "in the top one," writes 77 Square.

Even if he tells that to all the other girls, Saturday night's show did buzz with an electricity that probably only comes a few times on a good tour. It spanned more than 20 songs, including an acoustic tribute to Michael Jackson with "Billie Jean." The band's presence onstage was loose and energetic. Martin skipped, rolled and bolted across the stage like a dancer, ending "In My Place" flat on the floor in a backbend (those yoga classes with Gwyneth are paying off).

He nailed Coldplay's trademark soaring melodies, but played with the lyrics as if he was goofing off in rehearsal and ad-libbed references to Alpine. He self-effacingly excused any mistakes he made during the show: "If you had a 50-ft. screen of your head behind you, you'd be distracted, too. You'd feel like a bad Justin Timberlake impersonator."

Martin's colorful, futuristic Civil War hobo/soldier suit fit well with Coldplay's overall stage theme, which included spinning orbs above the stage, shots of confetti and several screens of gorgeous live footage edited with all the quick-fingers flashiness and creativity of a DJ mixing beats. During "Yellow," dozens of large yellow balloons appeared like magic above the audience and bounced lanquidly -- less like beach balls and more like bubbles in a lava lamp. Just as quickly as they appeared, the crew made them disappear. (Somewhere in Coldplay's rider, there must be a stagehand position entitled "balloon wrangler.")

As the last chorus of "Yellow" lifted up over the crowd, Martin asked "the 34,000 of you" to join the four-member band for the song's last line, joking that only together would they equal the Dave Matthew's Band in number. The sky had been moody all evening and finally burst into showers during the tour's namesake song, "Viva La Vida." A rustle spread across the hill of hoodies flipping up and blankets getting wrapped around shoulders. Far from being an annoyance, the rain brought the crowd together and matched the song's expansive melody and jagged, pumping beat. As well as Coldplay's music is suited to big arenas like Alpine Valley, some of the best parts of the show came when the band ditched the electric instruments and played two sets in the lawn seats, one on each side of the hill. It was here that they performed "Billie Jean" in the style of a pub jug band, and led the entire crowd in a cell phone wave.

Read the full review online at 77 Square now.

New photos of Coldplay at Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, WI (25th July 2009)

Pictures by joannahanner @ Flickr

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Coldplay.com have interviewed the makers of the new Strawberry Swing video explain how they worked their magic. They asked Kenny, one of the Shynola team, to tell us how they made it. Here is the interview...

Hello Kenny, how are you?

Great, thank you. I'm eating a yogurt.

How did you come to be involved with the Strawberry Swing video?

We were approached one day, with what was an unusual, but rather intriguing brief - namely, make a video for a song that wasn't really going to be released, and at film resolution so it could be shown in cinemas. More of a short-film than a typically commercial piece.

Could you tell us some of the other music videos you guys have worked on?

We've made videos for Beck, Unkle, The Rapture, a load of stuff for Radiohead, a video with David Shrigley for Blur, and my favourite one - Queens of the Stone Age.

Are you fans of Coldplay?

Who?

Had you had this idea up your sleeves for a while, or was it a direct response to the Strawberry Swing song?

No, we always pitch specifically for the song. That has meant on previous occasions that we have stared at a blank wall for a week and found no inspiration at all. We've then had to pass on those projects. But we'd still rather work that way. The work is pointless agony if you're not inspired. Our hope is that when the video is finished and you've watched it, that afterwards when you hear the song you can't help but think of the video.

So, how did you go about planning this video?

We sat around throwing ideas back and forth, silly details or camera moves, and then started to sketch these as stills. We then cut these stills into a timeline, alongside the song, to get a sense of pacing and how it would all marry with the music. It was deliberately spontaneous at that stage to try and keep the video playful. That's a hard thing to hold on to when you are being meticulous.

What's the inspiration behind the story in the video?

First and foremost we really wanted it to be nonsensical and almost dream-like. We also knew that the technique itself would also be a lot for the eye to take in. So when we had the idea of a day with a superhero on some weird adventure we chose to frame the journey with a very simple, easy-to-understand narrative: superhero saves girl from baddy. So it's pretty weird, but makes some sort of sense. I saw the video referred to as "ten-steps-left-of-centre" which we take as a great compliment. I might even get that as a tattoo.

Have any of Shynola had a bad experience with squirrels?

Our lawyers inform us that if we talk about it now it may jeopardise the court case.

It looks like you must have had a very detailed plan before Chris came into the studio?

Once we got confirmation that it was happening we all made a swift visit to the toilet. As you can imagine this took a LOT of organisation and planning. We were going "what have we promised here?" We ended up making a fully animated "pre-vis" version of the video beforehand, with a CG Chris. You can watch it in its own right. This served as a microscopic, frame-by-frame guide for us on the shoot. Which meant that when we actually came to start shooting, in a way, the video was already edited and finished.

How much did you try to tie the plot in with the Strawberry Swing lyrics and the music?

We never see the point in following lyrics literally. We would be adding nothing. We do however try and capture the feel of the song - what the music suggests to us.

How long were you with Chris (and where)?

We were in Los Angeles for around a week or so. I think the band were on a little break mid-tour.

How did you communicate to him what he had to?

We broke the video down into shots and tackled them chronologically, having a much needed rest between each. We would show Chris the animated version and then try to recreate it as precisely as possible. "Start here. Move 52 increments. Finish in this position. On frame 38, look behind you." He was unflappable, he memorised it all instantly. Just outside of shot we had a huge grid drawn out to help us find his position and we would yell at him "North east, one foot!".

Was he a good real-life-superhero-in-an-animated world?

It wasn't really until we started filming that it dawned on us just how vital his ability was to the whole show. If he hadn't got it, and got in to it, we would have been scuppered. Luckily he was even better than we could have anticipated. He's also incredibly fit. We filmed some tests in our London studio with myself on the floor and after 10 minutes I needed a hip replacement.

Did you have to do a lot of takes?

There really wasn't time to to redo shots, so everything you see is the first attempt. We did have a false start when we checked the first shot and found that you could clearly see the grid we were using and had to start again.

How long was Chris in the studio?

We met briefly a couple of times for his costume fitting and then when we were setting up the day prior to filming. He put the costume on and started rolling around on the floor giddily while we looked through the lens. That was perhaps the happiest moment of the project. We thought "Damn, this might just work".

Was the "chalk-drawing" actually done on the floor?

No one seems to want to believe that we drew it on the floor. Which is particularly galling, seeing how long the video took us.

So how did you do it?

Again we had pretty much all of the animation roughly blocked-out beforehand using computers. It was just a matter of taking one frame at a time with our grid for reference. Luckily, you only need to draw or rub out the bits that have moved since the last frame. We also had this cool portable monitor while filming, which showed you a live feed from the camera, blended with the previous take and our pre-vis.

Was that the most time consuming part of the process?

It was all pretty gruelling. The thing that sticks in my mind was when Chris is falling with the umbrella. If you look closely he is lying on a tiny square skateboard we had made. For each frame we had to drag him an inch this way or that to make him swing. There was a lot of sore backs after the shoot. Always bend at the knee. And back up your hard-drive.

Did you have many technical problems while you were making it?

We did have the occasional problem with the cape getting snarled up - oh, the perils of superhero life! - but we had a brilliant art department team who very capably waggled his cape for the whole shoot.

How long were you working on it in all?

Far too long. My therapist says I should draw a line under it.

Presumably you're pleased with the final video?

We always hate our videos when we've just finished them. If they are not full of mistakes, meddling or compromises, then we are always sick to the back-teeth of looking at them. There's always a discrepancy between what's in your mind and the end product. Astonishingly, considering how difficult it was, this one worked out really, really well. Largely this was due to the amount of trust the band and the management put in us.

Have you seen it on a cinema screen yet?

I went to a special test-screening in London to check the transfer. You really need to see it huge to take in all the detail. For a while we wondered: will anyone even know it's Chris Martin? But when you see it in the cinema he is life size. It's weird. It's like he's rolling around in front of you.

What do you hope viewers will take from the video?

The best technique for blowing up a squirrel.

And finally, tell us a bit about the dog at the end. What role did he/she have in the production?

The dog's name is Phil. He's often credited in Coldplay's sleevenotes as the fifth member.

Where did the name Shynola come from?

Shynola are a group of friends who met at Art College, then somehow fell into the music video world. The name comes from an expression that we encountered in the Steve Martin film ‘The Jerk’: "you don't know shit from Shinola," (Shinola being a widely used brown shoe polish in pre war USA). In our youthful naivety, we imagined that we were Shinola, and everyone else was shit. Now, of course, we know that Michel Gondry is Shinola and that we're shit.

How did you come up with the concept for the video?

The concept evolved from a quite different idea. In our first revision, we pitched an idea based on stories nested within stories. We gradually whittled away all the other bits and were left with the little fairytale in the middle.

Talk us through how you created the video.

We shot it in sunny LA. It was great to get away from London and be in the sunshine for a while. The drawing was incredibly laborious. By the end, the tips of my fingers were all numb and I had worn a weird dent into one finger. They still feel a little odd now, weeks later. However, our discomfort was nothing compared to the uncomfortable poses we made Chris Martin hold for long tortuous minutes. He has pretty good core body strength - imagine having to stay straight as an arrow, balanced on a small skateboard at your waist... It was all pretty nerve-wracking. Shynola has always been 4 people, but late last year our friend and colleague Gideon died suddenly after contracting a virus. So now we are 3 and not so sure of ourselves anymore. On top of that, we hadn't made a music video in 4 years. So here we were, rusty, plunging into a technically difficult shoot, one man down, and it's for the biggest band on the planet! Luckily, we had a great producer, and the label seemed more confident than us that everything would be great. And, as it happened, it was.

Is the princess based upon anyone in particular?

The princess is inspired by characters from Winsor McCay's Little Nemo. Originally I designed the girl to look 6yrs old - about Nemo's age, but it was pointed out to me that it might seem a bit strange for Chris Martin to be kissing a child. So she grew up a little.

Why the evil squirrel?

We've placed bad squirrels in several of our previous music videos. I wish I knew what was behind it. Maybe one of us has a terrible squirrel incident buried in our subconscious.

Have you interesting stories from the shoot to relay to fans?

Chris Martin didn't seem to pay attention to our little instructional films showing him his movements for the next shot. Nervous glances would pass between us as he blithely said "yep, yep, got it." He didn't want to rehearse either. Absurdly though, he was perfect first time, every time. He has a great memory for movement and good body control. The lengthy handstand he did for one of the shots was unrehearsed and unscripted. We hadn't dared to think that kind of shot was possible (especially in the beginning of the pitching process when we were considering Jack Black for the acting part). On the day we did our wardrobe fitting, Chris nervously came out of the dressing room wearing the superhero costume and told us that he was out of his comfort zone and couldn't really judge how he looked. He looked at us for reassurance and all I can remember thinking was: "Oh my god, we've dressed him like a clown." Luckily, it looked great on camera, and he made the costume look amazing.

Click here to watch the video for Coldplay's new single 'Strawberry Swing'... you can discuss the single release and review the video at the Coldplay forum here onwards. Please also rate this video in our new here as well! [thanks iPsy & svenky]

Single artwork

Here are some stills from the video...

Coldplay made their anticipated video return this month and unveil the ground-breaking new video to blissful summer lament, ‘Strawberry Swing’, exclusively on Babelgum. The Shynola-directed video sees Chris Martin play an animated superhero in a larger-than-life world drawn entirely in chalk.

Fans had the opportunity to see the video for the first time ever on Babelgum and on the iPhone application (featuring this video plus Coldplay’s video back catalogue, a news feed and game), on July 20th.

‘Strawberry Swing’ will be released on Parlophone as a digital download on September 14th. The video, commercially available from August 3rd, will also be given a theatrical premiere in front of 'Brüno' and 'The Proposal' at ODEON cinemas across the UK from July 22nd.

Jason Groves from Shynola gave Babelgum an insightful interview as he talks us through the video...

Where did the name Shynola come from?

Shynola are a group of friends who met at Art College, then somehow fell into the music video world. The name comes from an expression that we encountered in the Steve Martin film ‘The Jerk’: "you don't know shit from Shinola," (Shinola being a widely used brown shoe polish in pre war USA). In our youthful naivety, we imagined that we were Shinola, and everyone else was shit. Now, of course, we know that Michel Gondry is Shinola and that we're shit.

How did you come up with the concept for the video?

The concept evolved from a quite different idea. In our first revision, we pitched an idea based on stories nested within stories. We gradually whittled away all the other bits and were left with the little fairytale in the middle.

Talk us through how you created the video.

We shot it in sunny LA. It was great to get away from London and be in the sunshine for a while. The drawing was incredibly laborious. By the end, the tips of my fingers were all numb and I had worn a weird dent into one finger. They still feel a little odd now, weeks later. However, our discomfort was nothing compared to the uncomfortable poses we made Chris Martin hold for long tortuous minutes. He has pretty good core body strength - imagine having to stay straight as an arrow, balanced on a small skateboard at your waist... It was all pretty nerve-wracking. Shynola has always been 4 people, but late last year our friend and colleague Gideon died suddenly after contracting a virus. So now we are 3 and not so sure of ourselves anymore. On top of that, we hadn't made a music video in 4 years. So here we were, rusty, plunging into a technically difficult shoot, one man down, and it's for the biggest band on the planet! Luckily, we had a great producer, and the label seemed more confident than us that everything would be great. And, as it happened, it was.

Is the princess based upon anyone in particular?

The princess is inspired by characters from Winsor McCay's Little Nemo. Originally I designed the girl to look 6yrs old - about Nemo's age, but it was pointed out to me that it might seem a bit strange for Chris Martin to be kissing a child. So she grew up a little.

Why the evil squirrel?

We've placed bad squirrels in several of our previous music videos. I wish I knew what was behind it. Maybe one of us has a terrible squirrel incident buried in our subconscious.

Have you interesting stories from the shoot to relay to fans?

Chris Martin didn't seem to pay attention to our little instructional films showing him his movements for the next shot. Nervous glances would pass between us as he blithely said "yep, yep, got it." He didn't want to rehearse either. Absurdly though, he was perfect first time, every time. He has a great memory for movement and good body control. The lengthy handstand he did for one of the shots was unrehearsed and unscripted. We hadn't dared to think that kind of shot was possible (especially in the beginning of the pitching process when we were considering Jack Black for the acting part). On the day we did our wardrobe fitting, Chris nervously came out of the dressing room wearing the superhero costume and told us that he was out of his comfort zone and couldn't really judge how he looked. He looked at us for reassurance and all I can remember thinking was: "Oh my god, we've dressed him like a clown." Luckily, it looked great on camera, and he made the costume look amazing.

Click here to watch the video for Coldplay's new single 'Strawberry Swing'... you can discuss the single release and review the video at the Coldplay forum here onwards. Please also rate this video in our new here as well! [thanks iPsy & svenky]

Single artwork

Here are some stills from the video...

Midway through a roaring take on the song "Viva la Vida" on Sunday, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin looked up at the packed amphitheater in Irvine and urged the crowd to give just a little bit more, writes US Official Tabloid Gossip blog.

"For the last time in California for a few years, so let's turn it up!" Martin shouted as he invited, or actually demanded, that we all sing along with just as much passion and power as the band itself delivered all night at Verizon Wireless. And of course, the full house did just as he'd asked, belting out the "oh, oh, oh's" of the chorus as Martin sang and skipped across the stage, guitarist Jonny Buckland and bass player Guy Berryman crisply played their parts, and drummer Will Champion hammered at a large metal bell so violently that he shattered his mallet.

The song, as did the entire night, offered the sound and sight of a band at its peak, road-tested after 134 concerts on a tour that started over a year ago, but still as fresh and enthusiastic as a band just heading out.

Yet "Viva la Vida," the tour name and title track off Coldplay's most recent album, was just one high point among many in a concert that delivered 22 songs in just under two hours. Coldplay arrived on stage as the last notes of the final piece of warm-up music ended. (Johann Strauss' "The Blue Danube," if you're curious, to which everyone in the amphitheater waved their arms from side to side as the waltz played on).

Twirling fireworks sparklers behind a backlit screen, Martin, Buckland, Berryman and Champion cast dancing silhouettes as they opened the show with the chiming chords of "Life in Technicolor," the mostly instrumental track that opens the most recent album.

Fans were up and on their feet from the start of the show, most of them never sitting back done as the band played through a set filled with new songs – "Violet Hill," a slower number followed the opener – and older hits: the opening piano riff of "Clocks," which came next, drew a huge roar from the stands. "This is the song that first brought us to Orange County, and it's going to keep bringing us back," Martin said a song or two later, introducing "Yellow," the first Coldplay single to hit in the United States. The band first performed the song at Verizon while playing in a humble opening slot at KROQ Weenie Roast in 2001.

As the band played, dozens of huge yellow balloons were released throughout the venue, making for a lovely visual accompaniment even if it did serve to distract a little from the song as you gawked at the sight or checked that you weren't about to get bonked on the head.

New songs that on "Viva la Vida" can seem a little subdued in concert arrived with a much greater blast of power and emotion, with "Cemeteries of London" a rallying cry song, segueing neatly into "42," a song with greatly enhanced dynamics as a live number.

In it, Martin started softly solo at the piano, then joined the rest of the band with a guitar during the hard-hitting midsection before dashing back to the piano to resume the more somber finish. With Martin's frequent encouragement, fans joined in to sing along on choruses. During "Fix You," another older song that drew huge cheers and much singing, a random shot of the crowd singing at the front of the stage offered a glimpse of Mrs. Martin – actress Gwyneth Paltrow – watching from the pit.

And despite the hugeness of the venue, the band on several occasions visited fans in the upper reaches, first playing a miniset from a platform between the orchestra and loge sections ("God Put a Smile Upon Your Face," "The Hardest Part") and later from even further up between the loge and the terrace. "Geez, that was a long way!" Martin joked – huffed? – after he and the band ran up to that second spot, a location from which they performed an acoustic set of "Green Eyes," "Death Will Never Conquer" and a cover of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" complete with a very nice falsetto bit.

Back on the main stage, after a rousing, heavy take on "Politik," one of the loveliest moments of the night arrived. As the band played "Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love," confetti cannons blasted tens of thousands of tissue paper butterflies over the arena, a first wave in primary colors, a second in neon DayGlo hues, both leaving spectators smiling in delight.

Martin, the charismatic frontman, seemed in a happy, talkative mood, making fun of himself when he missed an occasional chord or key, and joking with the crowd at one point that they'd almost rescheduled the show because of its conflict with a new episode of HBO's "Entourage."

The rest of the band said hardly a word – though Champion sang lead on "Death Will Not Conquer" – but they played brilliantly, with Champion's drumming a much more powerful presence than on record and Buckland adding all manner of subtle guitar colors to the palette. For the encore, the band played "The Scientist" before bringing the night full circle with "Life in Technicolor II," sending the crowd home humming that final melody.

The show also featured two opening acts, starting with Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, a British retro-rockabilly group that offered short fun set, and then Amadou & Mariam, a blind couple from Mali whose band played a terrific set of what might best be described as Afro-funk. Their band included two drummers and two backup singers who danced nonstop. While Mariam sang, Amadou played guitar, every few songs shouting out, "Do you feel alive?!?" The answer by the end of this whole night of music was an absolute yes.

Source: gossipslander.blogspot.com

Coldplay at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Irvine, CA (19th July 2009)

Pictures by OC Register

More excellent reviews of Coldplay's concert at the Home Depot Center, Carson, CA (18th July 2009) have been posted at the Coldplay Live forum, that didn't quite make the main review article in time this morning. Here are just some of the many:

Okay the show last night was incredible. It beat my experience at the Honda Center last year. I couldn't see sometimes because i'm only 5'5 but when I started looking around heads i could(plus the Bigscreens). Anyways it was so much fun, Chris was his usual self, very energetic and funny. The crowd was okay in my section. I tried to start a chant a couple of times but no one else joined around me.

At the end of Yellow the singalong didn't work out that well, even Chris noticed because he said something along the lines "We need to work on those lyrics". I sang along to every song and jumped around. They sang Billie Jean incredibly well, I was standing on my chair when they went to the C stage and so were a whole bunch of people but the security made us all get down when they left that stage. Chris, Guy, Jonny, and Will all looked very good.

I don't care if some people don't like Chris with his long curly hair, but I love it. Chris kept saying a couple of times how we were all here to see David Beckham but I was like "No I'm here to see you and Guy's HOTTER!" When they came back for their final encore Chris said something about how LA was their home away from home and that they have played in LA more times than anywhere else besides London.

I'm so glad they do because I love seeing them perform live and plan to see them again on their next tour. At the end of the show I experienced a bittersweet feeling. I was so happy because I had just had the best time of my life but I was sad that it was over, until next time I guess. I filled my Viva bag with butterflies and I got my LRLRL cd on my way out. I almost didn't get it because they ran out in the exit I was getting out from but I ran back inside and a security almost didn't let me through but I was like I am not leaving without my CD and ran through her, I got it though from the main exit where they still had a lot left.

I took videos and pictures but I can't upload them because my laptop is down but I will soon. I got home around 1:30 am and went straight to bed but I slept with a smile on my face because that was the best day ever! Viva La Vida and Viva Coldplay! [thanks iduran20]

Five months of anticipation had all built up to this. My friend and I had left Ventura early in anticipation of potential traffic. Yet it was less brutal than expected, and as a result, we arrived at 4:30 PM, which was two hours before gates opened. Only a few folks were waiting at the gate, but we joined them after purchasing our obligatory expensive merchandise. We chatted with a few fans, but impatience was growing as the gate opening was delayed by a full half-hour. But when we entered, the view of the still-empty stadium was breathtaking. After bolting to the nearest bathroom, we quickly hopped down to our center-floor seats.

The stadium filled up slowly, and still was at minimal capacity by the time the first support act - Kitty, Daisy, & Lewis - showed up. The crowd was only mildly receptive to this act, but was slightly more open to the follow-up act, Amadou & Mariam. By the time they finished, the seats began filling up quickly. The delay in gate opening had caused a delay in Coldplay's entrance, and tensions were running high. But a screech of excitement blared across the stadium as the speakers turned up and began blaring "Magnificent" by U2, followed by a breakdancing roadie who really got the crowd going. Suddenly, the Blue Danube Waltz began, and people rose to their feet (I, as much as I tried, was not able to get the remainder of my section to stand).

Lights out.

Coldplay took to the stage to the roaring sound of crazed fans, and you'd better believe that I was in the upper tier of screaming loons. The screams would hit their apex as the band concluded "Violet Hill", as Chris repeatedly urged the crowd to yell as loud as they could. While most of my immediate area didn't even know the lyrics to "Clocks", I had an utterly fantastic time belting out song after song, even though I can't help but feel I annoyed the hell out of the less-enthusiastic people around me with my frantic glowstick action. For the most part, Chris was not as talkative as in the past, most letting out brief references to David Beckham or dropping profanities whenever he fudged up a note (I counted three instances of the word "fuck" during the night). I suppose nearly 150 shows on a tour will tire you out like that.

But the moment that got the crowd roaring the most was, as usual, the C-stage entrance. As they walk down the side of the stadium, I bolted to the edge of my row to get a close-up glimpse. My camera phone's picture quality disappointed me there, and I doubt the band members could hear me shouting their names as they passed, but all was still fun. The floor stood on their seats while the band was on the C-stage (I almost fell off a couple times), with big cheers as the band started a brief imporvisation about Los Angeles. But the highlight for me began minutes later, as glorious butterfly confetti rained down on me and I began plucking them one-by-one out of the air.

As the gig ended, the folks in front of me were apparently aloof to the concept of an encore and left immediately after "Death and All His Friends" ended, giving me as much space as I needed to jam out to the final two songs, glowstick in hand. When the band finally left, I felt gleeful, yet upset that it may be the last time I see them for a few years. My friend helped me scoop up any remaining paper butterflies in our area. We nabbed LeftRightLeftRightLeft on our way out as people were humming the infamous Viva la Vida chant in the parking lot. After struggling to find the freeway onramp, we were on our way back from an experience that will live on in our memories. [thanks Corkus]

The show was incredible! This was my first Coldplay show and it didn't disappoint. I was one of the people 12 miles back Chris was talking about . It didn't matter, I was at the very front, very near the middle. My mom and I arrived around 4:50 pm and there wasn't a lot of people. I expected a lot more. We sat until around 6 when people around us started getting ready to go in. Unfortunately, we had to wait till around 6:20 to get in. Once we were in we hurried to the Grass Berm area. We were probably one of the first 15 people up there.

Once there we settled in the very front, near the middle. My mom and I took turns to go to the bathroom. Bought nachos and pretzels. It was a long wait till the first opening act. The opening act came in at around 7:30. I thought there weren't going to be a lot of people since almost half is still not in their seats by then. My mom wanted me to buy from the merch already but I hesitated, wanting not to miss anything.(Bad idea) The second act came in.

Then Coldplay came in around 8:20 or so. The crowd went nuts. In the very back, I can attest that people weren't very enthusiastic. I was one of the few people cheering them on. During the not so known songs, I was one of the few singing along with them and some was chatting through it I took very few pictures since I only had a 5 megapixel camera with 2.4 optical zoom. This didn't result on me enjoying the concert more. I don't know why but people didn't seem loud in between songs. People in the back did start going nuts when Coldplay went to the back to do acoustic songs.

During the wait for the encore, I saw people leaving. I couldn't believe it! There were also people walking in the walkway right below the berm in between songs. All in all, it didn't affect my experience because I'm not the one that missed out on Coldplay, it's them. After the concert, I went down to the merch to get a shirt, they sold out on tour book and bracelets though I also went and picked up a couple of butterflies and exited with LRLRL. My mom told me that it's pretty sweet of them to give out free cds. Thinking about it, they probably have to give more than 1 million cd's by the end of their tour. She also said they don't have a break in between their sets; like a first and second act in a play.

It took us 10 mins or so to get out of the parking lot. We did go through the side street to avoid the traffic. After entering the freeway, we had a 30 min drive home. *As I am writing this I hear Lovers In Japan playing loudly from my neighbor. I don't know if he/she went to the concert but either way good of him/her. [thanks y3110w]

My wife, stepdaughter and I began our evening eating at Fatburger in Carson off of Avalon around 4:30 or so. We finished up and headed over to the Home Depot Center around 5:30. I parked close to an exit thinking it would help on the way out (no, it didn't) and we hit the Merchandise stand outside of the Northeast gate. I got the "glow in the dark" poster with the date and location of our show, my wife got some bracelets to support child day care efforts in Senegal and our daughter got the bracelets and a blouse.

We went back to the car so our daughter could change her blouse and I put my poster safely back in the car. We next stood in line for about 40 minutes as the gates didn't open until 6:30ish. We sat on the grass berm area and let our daughter pick out our spot. She chose a good one. A little left of the stage and a little into the grass berms incline. We laid out our blankets and got ready to enjoy the opening acts. I actually enjoyed the music from KD&L. Their sound was lively, varied and fun. I appreciated the energy of Amadou & Mariam.

Then, U2's "Magnificent" was played and my (as well as the crowd's) anticipation level grew. There was another "hip-hop" tune before "The Blue Danube" was played. That was fun as we waved our arms and clapped along with the tune. At the end of the "Danube" the lights went dark and I nearly lost it! Let me preface the rest of my review by stating that Viva la Vida is not my favorite Coldplay album. This was my third Coldplay concert and the setlist was understandably Viva heavy. As usual the boys didn't disapoint. They sounded great, Chris' voice was angelic and his piano play was mesmerizing, Jonny's guitar play soared and was flawless. Will's energetic drum playing provided the backbone of the band's performance and then Guy's cool, calm and collected performance provided just the right amount of serenity to balance everything out.

My favorite performances of the evening were Light in Technicolor II, Strawberry Swing and In My Place, but the real highlight for me was watching my 13 year old stepdaughter rock her little heart out. This was just the 2nd concert I've been to with her. She was just six when I took her to see No Doubt with Garbage back in 2002. I've raised her well and just had so much fun watching her and her mom rock out. That really made the night unforgettable for me. We sang together, we danced together, we laughed together and cheered together. She thanked me multiple times after the show was over.

On the way out my wife treated herself to a shirt and got our daughter a Viva la Vida cap. Special thanks to Coldplay for another great performance and for their generous gift of a free CD! Until the next time, folks, it's been fun and I look forward to their next album and tour. Take care everyone. [thanks mostang65]

Coldplay at Home Depot Center, Carson, CA (18th July 2009):

Pictures by u2soul @Flickr

A comprehensive review of Coldplay's concert at the Home Depot Center, Carson, CA (18th July 2009) has emerged online at the Coldplay Live forum, courtesy of DaveLev:

Getting to the event was a snap. Left our home at 5:30, got some fast food, pulled up to Home Depot Center at 6 PM, paid $20 to park, and was only one of about 100 cars in the whole place. Walked up to Northeast gate, and waited another 20 minutes or so. The gates did NOT open at 6 PM due to 'production' issues. I later found out it was because the first band did not do their sound check earlier in the after noon (unverified).

Once gates opened, people were scanned through metal detectors. This is Compton, so makes sense. Logistics were not so good for getting into the pit area. You showed your ticket to walk down the stairs (but only in a designated area - there were two walkways for GA ticket users). You then showed your ticket at the bottom of the stairs. Then you walked along the field sidelines through another 3 sets of guards, showing each one your ticket. At the third, they hole-punched your ticket in order to get a wristband. Once you had a wristband, you could enter the GA area, which, by the way was ENORMOUS.

There was a metal barracade surrounding the stage and the rest of the field. It had seats on it, but you weren't allowed to sit. I was in the pit by 6:30 PM, and it was maybe 5 people deep to the stage.

Once in the pit area - or anywhere else - you had to wait for the first band a long time. They only appeared to have one roadie - this cowboy-looking guy doing all the work. 7:30 or so they started, also late. Kitty, Daisy, & Lewis was the band name, I believe. They rocked out hard - very eclectic pop-rock-ska-reggee-polynesian band. Attractive group of younger folks - except one guitarist and the gal on double-bass. They needed to at least smile, which they didn't do often, but they rocked out hard. They looked stress - presumably for starting late, missing their soundcheck, or ?? They had a collection of cool instruments. I would estimate that there were only 3,000 people in the stadium by the time they were done. The croud stunk - I was the only one dancing or clapping in the pit area that I could see - gotta show your support, even if they suck. This is an LA croud, though - everyone with cell phones, video devices, or cameras standing around, not clapping, etc. I feel compassion towards them - they had a stinky croud to perform for, which probably contributed to their overall stressed-out look. They played for at least 30 minutes. Their roadies cleared them out. The pit was still relatively empty, all things considered.

Next up was Amadou & Mariam. They had a full set of roadies, and lighting effects were used during their act. Amadou & Mariam are blind, and they were escorted out by their band and a roadie. They were a funky reggee-rock-hop band from Jamaica or something. They had 2 drummers, a bassist, Amadou playing guitar, & Mariam singing vocals. They also had a pair of backup singers/dancers that performed for the whole show, which added to the excitement. They were vibrant and energetic. The bassist was a semi-cheerleader for the band. Their songs were long - over 5 minutes each. They naturally got a lot more applause just from having two attractive female dancers during their entire act. They were a lot of fun, but again, LA audiences suck - most people stood with their video/camera devices out, holding them in front of other peoples' faces, not applausing, not clapping along, not dancing, and showing the band little to no support. Many near us in the front were just standing around, looking down at their blackberries texting. They got an occassional 'woohoo', most likely for the backup dancers. They rocked out hard. The lighting was good, and added to the thrill. They had some sound problems - minor - the bass was hitting too hard and flushing out the vocals. The sun was finally going down, and it was beginning to get dark in the stadium. The audience grew to probably 5,000 at the most during their set, which I would say was about 45 minutes long. When finished, they cleared out quickly, and the roadies went to work for coldplay. The pit was still relatively empty, maybe 10 people deep front and center.

Side note: I was surprised to see so many petite 5 foot tall women and numerous children (12-15 years old max) in the pit area. They wouldn't be able to see. I stood behind a guy who was 6' 4" or so, and I'm 6' 2", so it worked out for me. We appeared to be the only really tall people in the pit.

There was about a 30 minute delay until Coldplay came on. There was a guy sweeping the stage that started to breakdance to the background music that was playing...that was cool. Next a classical music song came on, and a gal let us swaying our arms left and right. That was fun...audience was growing at that point, as people began arriving. The only seats I could see that appeared empty were the ones behind the stage, behind the speaker towers in the back, and some of the 'vip' seats. Most of the VIP suites were empty. In one of them, though, they had the television on during the show - was funny to see. Someone was watching TV during a live show! Then the lights went out, which caused the pit to swell. People dropped their beers and ran towards the stage from wherever they were in the pit area. We moved 10 feet closer to the stage, elbow to elbow instantly.

Coldplay started. They rocked it hard. Again, most of the 'fans' in the pit area were holding cell phones or video cameras up in your face the whole show, not clapping, singing along, or dancing. One could not tell if they were having a good time at all. There were a few of us couples there in the pit having a great time with our spouses. The rest looked like they won the tickets, but didn't really care to be there. Several people were trying to shove others out of their way to 'get to their friends at the front'. Combine that with holding bright cell phones in your face, and when they're not holding it in front of you, they're texting their friends, checking email, posting to blogs, etc...but not smiling or looking like they're having a good time whatsoever.

I was at the LA show last year at the Forum. Compared to that, this show was more polished, however, last year they had more energy, which translates to a happier audience, and the pace/speed was faster last year. I think there were 3-5 more songs last year, too. Like last year, Chris screwed up on two-three songs (he admitted this). He praised the LA crowds numerous times, and made references to those sitting in the back during Fix You '12 miles from the band...at a coldplay show'. I felt sorry for them in the back - they looked like ants they were so small. The band felt sorry two, and headed back there to do a set. While there, they did a cell-phone 'wave' - too hard to explain. Looked cool, but further encouraged the use of mobile devices during their show.

Lighting was great - the digital orbs/balls, the upper truss of lights bobbing up and down, the lasers, smoke, digital displays, and projectors all in top order. Spotlights had some problems - not sure why. Chris said the 'f' word, aka "f-bomb" numerous times during the show, usually after his mistakes. There were a lot of kids there - we saw families in line with blankets for the grass, plus those we saw in the pit.

Sound was very good, with the bass hitting a little too hard. Here's what I mean: when you strike a note on the bass guitar, it sounds great. When they were strung back to back, the speakers didn't have time to relax, so it sounded washed-out. Microphone volumes were best for coldplay compared to the others - you could clearly hear him. They had trouble with Will's mike twice.

The bassist seldom smiled - looked like he was concentraiting or this had come routine. He did wave to us in the pit a few times as they walked off three times. It was a killer show. Obliviously, I wish the audience didn't suck as bad as they did, but, this is Los Angeles, and respect for others is not taught to the youth.

Again, compared to last year's show at the forum, this one seemed more 'canned' or 'routine'. They have been touring for over a year now, so that's justifiable. I really enjoyed their set - was terrific, even if I was one of the few who were chanting, clapping, and dancing. The confettii was a big hit, as always. During the break between encores, they came out with leaf blowers to attempt to clear them off. Didn't work so well, except on keyboard and drums. The breeze was to the south - right towards the stage.

Once the lights came up, you could see the audience scramble for their cars. Took us 10 minutes to get from pit to car. They gave away free LeftRightLeftRight CDs on the way out, which was nice. Once to my car, it took 50 minutes to get out of the parking lot. That sucked. Logistics were terrible - rent-a-cops, campus police, and sheriff's office all trying to help get people out. Mad house.

Once out, I took a side street to the 91 west (which was empty at 12:30 - 85 MPH easy), and shot down artesia blvd to Denny's. While there, we ate, and on our way out, saw a group of folks with wristbands from the show. They were just arriving, and they said they were in the parking lot trying to get out for over an hour and a half. That's terrible. Lessons learned: arrive even earlier, and park on the street. Side streets were blocked off and guarded - you couldn't park there.

We had a very good time. I wish LA crouds did not suck the way they do, both for the sake of those attending, and more importantly, for the band themselves. Kind of hard to clap and dance when you're afraid of ruining your YouTube video.

See you in a few years, Coldplay!

Coldplay at Home Depot Center, Carson, CA (18th July 2009):

Pictures by u2soul @Flickr

British alt-pop band Coldplay thrilled a packed house at Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre Thursday night, performing their decreasingly-unique brand of melancholic piano jams to the thousands in attendance, writes the San Diego News Network.

Playing mostly cuts off of their 2008 release “Viva La Vida,” frontman Chris Martin and Co., used an array of dazzling lights and lasers and clever camera angles to enhance the visual experience.

In addition, in typical Coldplay fashion, they had fan interactivity as well, including releasing giant yellow balloons which spectators bounced around like beach balls, during the band’s signature single “Yellow.” Martin also urged fans to start a “cell phone lights wave,” and eager concertgoers obliged, holding up their phones and doing the wave from left to right, in a unique dazzling display.

But the highlight of the night (at least for those in the nosebleeds) was the band’s mini-set performed smack dab in the middle of the lawn seats. Joined by guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman and drummer Will Champion, Martin performed “Green Eyes,” “Death Will Never Conquer,” and a special cover version of the late Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.”

It was a real treat for those close enough to shoot pictures or video of the worldwide sensation. Upon leaving after Billie Jean, my friend whose name is coincidentally enough Michael Jackson (no joke), shouted “One more for the peons!,” followed by “We paid the least amount to see you!” Unfortunately, neither of these were enough to keep the boys there for additional songs.

Whether you like Coldplay or not, there’s no denying their global appeal. Undoubtedly, one of the most popular bands in the world, shows like the one Thursday night are the reason why.

Pictures of Coldplay at Shoreline Amphitheater, Mountain View, CA (13th July 2009):

More pictures at JamBase / T Van Nunnery

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