CINCINNATI — At some point during Coldplay’s nearly two-hour show at the Riverbend Amphitheater last night, I had a dream, writes the MTV Newsroom today, in a review of the Riverbend show.

It went something like this: I was walking around the luxurious London flat that is home to singer Chris Martin and his wife, Gwyneth Paltrow, and while flipping through the various yoga journals, costume-fabric swatch samples and discarded baby-name books piled on the couple’s nightstands, I spotted a most unusual binder.

On the cover were the words “Rock Star Stage Materials Inc.,” and it was stuffed with page after page of every cool, whiz-bang thing a world-beating superstar could want for his band’s tour. And then I woke up and realized that, economic downturn be damned, Martin had totally folded down just about every page in the catalog for the Viva la Vida outing. Coldplay have never shied away from admitting they are going for the big brass rock ring owned by U2, and their live show on this tour is definitive proof.

While drummer Will Champion and bassist Guy Berryman appear to have mostly abandoned the album’s signature Civil War-meets-Sgt. Pepper’s ragbag uniforms, Martin and his “best friend” (he said it at least twice), guitarist Jonny Buckland, were still rocking the candy-colored striped jackets as the band marched out onstage waving giant sparklers to start the show.

And when Martin sat down at the piano to bang out the indelible lead line of “Clocks,” out came the red spinning laser lights and smoke. Two songs later, giant yellow balloons bounced around the pavilion, several of which Martin lanced with the headpiece of his acoustic guitar, sending a shower of confetti on the folks in the expensive seats down front.

During “Glass of Water,” five humongous orbs descended from the ceiling at different heights, with swirly psychedelic patterns dancing across their faces. Over the course of the next few songs, the orbs flashed alternately moody black-and-white and trippy blurred images of the band as they played the anthemic twofer of “Fix You” and “Strawberry Swing,” on which Buckland busted out his best Edge-like guitar tricks.

It was during the latter that one of the coolest custom light rigs I’ve ever seen descended from the rafters, an undulating pair of metal waves tricked out with high-end Intellibeam stage lights, which swept over Martin as he did his ragdoll stage dance.

What’s a big show without a satellite stage in the middle of the crowd? For a Peter Bjorn and John-meets-Depeche Mode techno-synth remix of “God Put a Smile Upon Your Face,” the quartet squeezed onto a tiny stage in the crowd. They soon ran back to the main floor and segued into a triumphant “Viva la Vida,” with Champion banging on a giant bell and kettle drum as that song, too, was turned into a techno-lite rave-up.

Martin donned a giant Chinese dragon costume for part of “Lost!,” and the band schlepped out to yet another satellite stage for a folky acoustic set on the edge of the lawn that included a strummy “Green Eyes,” a rare lead vocal from Champion on “Death Will Never Conquer” and an unplugged, spirited cover of the Monkees’ “I’m a Believer.”

Then it was back to the main stage again, where the wide-screen rocker “Lovers in Japan” was amped up about 50 notches thanks to several rain showers of tens of thousands of neon paper butterflies that fluttered down over the crowd with mesmerizing effect.

Yes, tickets for the show were pretty pricey, but between the free live CD, Left Right Left Right Left, that everyone got on the way out and the over-the-top spectacle, it didn’t sound like anyone was complaining.

Coldplay at Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, OH (4 June 2009):

Article: newsroom.mtv.com

Pictures: luscious mix of words and tricks

Coldplay is back on the road this summer on the final leg of its huge "Viva La Vida" tour. Just days before the group landed in America last month, singer Chris Martin gave the San Francisco Chronicle a call to talk confetti butterflies, stage fright and the totally bonkers idea to give everyone who attends the shows a free copy of a new live album, 'LeftRightLeftRightLeft'. The following article appears on page R - 14 of the Chronicle:

Q: You've been on the road quite a lot this year. Are you just trying to avoid the family?

A: I'm glad you started with an easy question. From the very beginning of my life, people have always enjoyed it when I was around for a couple of days at a time. So, I think, most people in touring bands are best in small doses. That's why we turn up in a town, play and then we leave before anyone can get sick of us.

Q: Shouldn't you have a bit of an ego at this point?

A: I have an ego. But it's being worked on today. I don't have it. It's in the shop.

Q: It's important to get it back before you get here and have to face 10,000 people.

A: Yes, you're right. I need to speed them up. I think when you're as talented as me or you, you don't need to have an ego. On a serious note, the people I most admire in the world in my field have never shown that much ego to me. So it makes me think, if Bruce Springsteen isn't acting like an a-, I shouldn't either. If someone can be that successful and still be as nice to the guy who gives him his dry cleaning, then anyone in Coldplay should be extra nice.

Q: How many confetti butterflies have you gone through on this tour?

A: Well, I've got to say it's up in the millions. It's a tough dilemma. We're not unaware that it's a little untidy, but we also think it looks incredible. I don't know. You can call me out on that if you like.

Q: Are they biodegradable?

A: Some of them definitely are, but then there are some nights where they're less so, which has not been a problem indoors.

Q: There are different varieties of confetti butterflies?

A: The world of confetti butterflies is a labyrinth. You could spend months learning about that stuff.

Q: Have you stopped wearing those ridiculous handmade Sgt. Pepper's outfits?

A: We have some new ones coming through. But back to the butterflies, we're just about to give this live album away to people who bought tickets and the cover of it is all to do with those butterflies.

Q: Right. Everyone who comes to the show gets a free live album. That's very generous of you.

A: On a purely business level, we're very blessed to be able to afford to do it. The reason we're able to give a record away for this tour is a lot of people have paid for tickets, so it's just a way of saying thank you. It's generous, but we wouldn't be able to do it unless we sold a lot of tickets.

Q: Do you still get stage fright?

A: Sometimes I get it within a concert if a particular person's expression catches me. For example, if I see a guy with his arms folded looking a bit bored, then I get nervous. Only for an instant and then it comes right back. The problem is it's often my dad.

Q: You need to start giving him the bleacher seats.

A: Right. Send him to the back.

Coldplay performs at 7:30 p.m. July 13 at Shoreline Amphitheatre, 1 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View. $35-$97.50. @ livenation.com.

Coldplay at Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, OH (4 June 2009):

Pictures: luscious mix of words and tricks

It had always made sense to think of Coldplay’s Chris Martin as a new-age Bono – both are skilled in crafting big, sweeping modern-rock anthems. As lyricists they differ. Martin goes for the sensitive-guy routine more than the U2 front man, writes cincinnati.com (for The Enquirer).

There’s a comparison that might work even better, and Martin himself, perhaps unaware of the connection, gave the clue during the British band’s Thursday-night show at Riverbend. When he and his band did a version of “I’m a Believer,” it was clear. No, not that Coldplay are the Monkees to Radiohead’s Beatles. Somebody crueler can say that. It’s that Martin is a modern-day version of the guy who wrote “I’m a Believer,” Neil Diamond. Each has his look (a jumpsuit for Neil, fake military jackets for Chris), each errs on the side of schmaltz as a songwriter, each has about 50 million female fans who swear by him.

And – most important as it pertains to a live performance – Martin, like Diamond, is all about being an entertainer. A big crowd, short of a sellout, was able to see Martin go all out. He was prancing on the stage. He collapsed at the end of a song in feigned exhaustion. He sat at his piano, getting all sensitive with it, hitting a final note in full throat, with a video shot right on cue zooming in on a bulging neck vein. Oh, the intensity. That sort of melodrama was balanced out with a few actual quality rock songs; lots of high-end production in terms of lights, lasers and sundries; and personalized “unplugged” moments.

The band – Martin and guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman and drummer Will Champion – left the main stage to play a pair of mini-sets, one on a stage that was roughly 12 feet by 8 feet on the “house-right” side of the pavilion, the other on an even smaller stage at the front-and-center position on the lawn. On the lawn stage Martin sang “I’m a Believer” and an impromptu blues song with the line “I don’t know but someone said, the Cardinals got beat by the Reds.” The crowd cheered, and St. Louis beat the Reds 3-1 Thursday night.

Source: news.cincinnati.com

Coldplay was all of four songs into its concert Tuesday night at the DTE Energy Music Theatre when frontman Chris Martin declared "It's gonna be a good one," writes the Oakland Press today.

And nothing that happened during the next 19 numbers undermined that prediction. Then again, good Coldplay shows are nothing new. Dipping into the playbooks of forebears such as Pink Floyd, Queen, nine inch nails and especially U2, the British quartet has been consistently adept at turning its mix of anthemtic and ambient rock into a visceral and visual treat when they hit the stage.

It's a testament to Coldplay's four-album career that the group can toss three of its biggest hits -- "Clocks," "In My Place" and "Yellow" -- into the first 25 minutes of the show and still have plenty of top-shelf material to carry the rest of the night, all accented by Martin's Muppet-like energy and earnestly grateful stage demeanor.

"I don't know much about the NHL," he said before playing "The Hardest Part on a night when the Red Wings were playing Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals in Pittsburgh. "I do understand how much you had to sacrifice to come to our concert...If this were in Britain nobody would be here...They would have just left us with an empty room, like we used to have."

Hockey or not, it's likely none of the nearly 15,000 at DTE would have wanted to be anywhere else on Tuesday. Nine months into a world tour Coldplay was still in solid, dynamic form, and its staging -- from the legion of yellow balloons bouncing around the pavilion during "Yellow" to an opulent lighting array and lasers -- added an aura of spectacle to the proceedings. The group's latest album, "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends," was still the star of the show -- with 10 of the album's 11 songs in the set list -- and the likes of "Violet Hill," "42," "Cemeteries of London" and "Strawberry Swing" sat nicely alongside the big hits. Martin made another nod to the locale by injecting a bit of Eminem's Academy Award-winning "Lose Yourself" -- whose co-writer, Luis Resto, sat in the crowd -- into the song "Viva La Vida."

Some of the show's best moments were literally off the stage -- the main one, at least. Coldplay did not let the outdoor amphitheater setting deter it from going into the crowd, playing a few songs -- including a medley of "God Put a Smile Upon Your Face" and "Talk" -- on a small platform on the far right side of the DTE pavilion, then trooped to another stage at foot of the lawn to play a three-song acoustic set that closed with the Monkees' "I'm a Believer" and a Martin-instituted "Mexican cell phone wave" that sent a wash of hand-held light throughout the venue.

This was Coldplay's second Detroit-area stop in the past seven months, and with the group working on a new album even as it continues to tour, there's every possibility it will return sooner than later. Given Tuesday's show, that can't happen too soon.

Source: theoaklandpress.com

Pictures: by ashleylouwho @ livejournal.com

Chris Martin is an extraordinarily talented and affable chap. Just don't ask the singer how Coldplay became the biggest band in the world, writes my SA entertainment. "It makes my brain melt," said Martin, who said he really doesn't agree with the premise. Not to mention that a recent Bruce Springsteen concert blew him away and reminded him pecking order is irrelevant. "It really doesn't matter who's biggest today."

Coldplay makes its first San Antonio appearance at AT&T Center on Wednesday. Snow Patrol opens. OK, so maybe the Grammy-winning band didn't start out wanting to rule the world, but how does one handle it when it happens? "I have a hard time believing it," Martin said. "Maybe it's because I'm British or because I'm too religious. I feel lucky."

But quite astute is Martin's reasoning on how it happened: "When Radiohead went less commercial."

Coldplay is known for epic-sounding albums and big hits "Yellow," "Clocks," "In My Place," "Speed of Sound," "Fix You," "The Hardest Part" and "Viva La Vida," as well as for Martin's marriage to Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow.

There was also that blip last year when rock guitarist Joe Satriani sued the band for copyright infringement, claiming that "Viva La Vida" was too close to his 2004 song "If I Could Fly." Coldplay has denied the charge. But Brian Eno's work on "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends" — this year's album of the year — elevated an already Grammy-winning band that includes guitarist Jon Buckland, drummer Will Champion and bassist Guy Berryman.

"It's like going back to school and tearing up all the rules," said Martin. "He guides you down the path. He doesn't care about 'Yellow.' "

Martin acknowledged Eno's ways took some getting used to. "He doesn't treat you like you're famous," he said. Martin's kept that angelic voice in shape for the last 10 years with the help of "a funny lady in England named Mary."

Onstage, Coldplay brings "a spectacle" that Martin says depends on a huge crew. "What worries me is that I don't know how to plug anything in anymore," said Martin. "I'm powerless." But he'll take the entourage over the old days. "I can play piano at home any time," he said.

One thing you can't do at home is getting to hang around with Jay-Z and Paul McCartney. "Jay-Z is one of my musical heroes. He's a personal hero the way he conducts himself," said Martin. About their musical association: "It's part of my education."

McCartney is another kettle of fish. They crossed paths at the Grammy Awards where the band performed in colorful outfits reminiscent of the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper"-era uniforms. "He's almost a saintly figure in England," said Martin. "It's hard to not think of him as a mythical figure."

Martin joked that Sir Paul is a little grudging with doling out praise. "He'll give you a nod and doesn't leave," said Martin. "He called us a 'good little band.' "

Hey, isn't that how McCartney describes the Beatles? "Yeah, I know," said Martin.

Join the discussion for the San Antonio show at the Coldplay Live forum here. The show takes place at the AT&T Center, East Houston Street at AT&T Center Parkway and also features Snow Patrol and Howling Bells.

Chris Martin at DTE Energy Music Theatre, Detroit, MI (2 June 2009):

Pictures: by ashleylouwho @ http://ashleylouwho.livejournal.com/

The silent tension inside the cavernous Staples Center built with every calculated pause, writes Derek Stahhl for the me.com website. "And the Grammy for Song of the Year goes to... Coldplay for 'Viva La Vida!'" The award, given for songwriting, was the English band's second of three wins that night for their album "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends."

But in another part of the city, 52-year-old guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani sat appalled - too upset to watch the show on television - as his manager described the scene. Coldplay was accepting the songwriting award for a song he believes the band copied from him. Satriani had already sued Coldplay for copyright infringement.

Satriani has been nominated for 15 Grammy awards over his 30-year career, but has never won. He is one nomination away from tying Brian McKnight for the most nominations without a win. "I felt like a dagger went right through my heart. It hurt so much," Satriani said of hearing Coldplay's song for the first time in an interview with musicradar.com. "The second I heard it, I knew it was [my own] If I Could Fly."

But Satriani faces a long, uphill battle to try to prove his case. Although experts point to the striking musical similarity between the pieces and the potential that Coldplay had access to his recording - two crucial elements in a copyright suit - previous cases show the difficulty in getting a court to determine infringement has occurred.

In the early 1980s, an amateur songwriter named Ronald Selle sued the Bee Gees, claiming the group used his song, "Let It End," to create the 1977 hit "How Deep Is Your Love."

Expert witnesses testified the pieces were so similar that they could not have been created without reference to each other. One of the Bee Gees even mistakenly identified Selle's melody as his own when it was played for him on the witness stand. Selle had submitted his song to the Bee Gees' publisher, suggesting the band had access.

But a judge ultimately ruled in favor of the Bee Gees - despite a jury verdict in favor of Selle. The group had videotaped themselves in the studio during the songwriting process, and the judge felt that was enough to prove the pieces were independently created. Coldplay has also cited independent creation as one of their defenses.

Satriani says he spent more than 10 years writing "If I Could Fly," an instrumental piece released on his April 2004 album, "Is There Love in Space?" Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" was released in June 2008. "It was a love letter to my wife, Rubina - a simple, direct expression of feeling," Satriani told musicradar.com. He declined through his manager to comment for this article.

"That's what really hurts about this whole thing. That I spent so long writing the song, thinking about it, loving it, nursing it, and then finally recording it and standing on stages the world over playing it - and then somebody comes along and plays the exact same song and calls it their own."

Coldplay has fired back. In court papers filed April 6, the band denies copying Satriani's tune and says that any similarity between the two works is coincidence. "Joe Satriani is a great musician, but he did not write or have any influence on the song Viva La Vida," Coldplay said in a statement on their website shortly after the suit was filed.

The lawsuit, which is in an early stage, demonstrates the difficulty an artist faces when trying to prove someone illegally apportioned a piece of music. The process takes years, and the high cost of legal fees forces the majority of artists to either give up or settle their case out of court before it reaches a jury. But there are also notable cases where courts have ruled against big-name artists, and awarded the plaintiffs massive amounts in damages.

In perhaps the most famous copyright infringement case, the Beatles' George Harrison was sued because his 1970 hit, "My Sweet Lord," was said to be appropriated, albeit unintentionally, from the Chiffons' 1963 single, "He's So Fine."

Because of distinct musical similarities and the fact that the Chiffons' tune was a hit both in the United States and England, the court found that Harrison "subconsciously plagiarized" the doo-wop classic. The judge slapped Harrison and his record label with $1,599,987 in damages. This is significant because it establishes that Coldplay can be held liable for infringement even if they did so unintentionally.

Side-by-side comparisons of Satriani and Coldplay's songs have sprouted up all over YouTube, and both average listeners and music experts are noticing significant similarities. "It's almost astonishing how similar these pieces are," said Andrew Wasson, founder of the Creative Guitar Studio in Winnipeg, Canada. He has released a number of in-depth theoretical analyses of the two works on YouTube. "There are three primary elements in music - rhythm, melody, and harmony - and they really share all three."

Wasson says the songs have nearly identical tempos, grooves, and melodic and harmonic curves. Both songs have a four-chord progression, and the last three chords are identical. The only difference is the first chord, which Wasson says shares 4 of 6 notes and is "practically equivalent" by a theoretical principle called diatonic chord substitution. "From a musical standpoint, it doesn't look very good for Coldplay," he said.

This is not the first time Coldplay has been accused of copying another song to create "Viva La Vida." The Creaky Boards, a relatively unknown indie-rock band from New York, accused Coldplay of stealing the melody of their ironically titled track, "The Songs I Didn't Write," in June 2008. The band claimed they saw Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin at one of their New York shows in October 2007. But according to court documents, Coldplay began recording the "Viva" album in November 2006. A spokesperson for the band told Rolling Stone that "Viva La Vida" was written and demoed in March 2007, a full six months before the Creaky Boards show. The spokesperson also said Martin was in England on the night in question.

The Creaky Boards never pursued a lawsuit, but their video claiming plagiarism was viewed well over a million times. Some legal experts say the worldwide connectivity of the Internet, and in particular sites like YouTube, is fueling the number of copyright infringement cases nationwide. That's because similarities between songs are easier to spot and more frequently pointed out, copyright lawyer Don Zachary says.

The Internet and the concept of digital distribution will play a major role in the Satriani-Coldplay case when it reaches the subject of access, he says. "In the digital age, I think there is sometimes a presumption of access because music is so readily available."

Satriani's lawyer, Howard King, would not comment on the specific evidence of access he has gathered. It is widely assumed that Satriani's legal team does not have concrete evidence of access and instead will rely on this presumption of access. "Satriani's lawyers will argue that his music is everywhere. It was distributed worldwide by Sony and it's on the Internet," Zachary said. "Coldplay will say, 'look we're busy, we're on tour 200 days a year. We know who [satriani] is but we weren't aware of [this piece of music].'"

Joe Satriani and Coldplay have never played a live concert together dating back to April 2000, well before "If I Could Fly" was released, according to data collected from pollstar.com. Zachary says Satriani's lawyers may try to subpoena Coldplay's hard drives and electronics to establish evidence of access, but if they aren't successful, should still be able to rely on the fact that his album was widely distributed. "I don't think Satriani will have any trouble on access."

But sometimes even the strongest evidence of access doesn't result in a win for the plaintiff. In 1983, a composer named Les Baxter filed suit against legendary film composer John Williams. Baxter claimed Williams had plagiarized one of his orchestral pieces to create the famous flying theme from the movie "E.T."

Williams admitted that he was not only familiar with Baxter's piece, but had performed it in concert. When the case proceeded to trial, a jury found that parts of Baxter's piece were substantially similar to Williams' . . . but that those portions were not original and therefore not protectable by copyright. Coldplay has also cited "no originality," and experts like Zachary say this could be one of their best defenses.

YouTube users have posted videos pointing out that a number of songs share a similar melodic figure to "Viva La Vida" and "If I Could Fly."

Folk singer Cat Stevens told Britain's The Sun he thinks the melody for "Viva La Vida" actually originated with his 1973 song "Foreigner Suite" (fast forward to 6:30). Stevens, who now goes by Yusef Islam, says he plans to wait to see how well Satriani does before he files his own suit against Coldplay.

Zachary says as more people point out similarities to Coldplay's music, it builds a stronger legal argument that the melody in question is a common one. He thinks this could make Coldplay's "no originality" defense stronger. But Andrew Wasson of Creative Guitar Studio says none of those tunes share the degree of similarity that Satriani and Coldplay's songs do. The Enanitos Verdes song "Frances Limon," for example, begins with a similar melody but has a "very different harmony," he said.

Wasson thinks part of the part of the problem is that the struggling music industry is afraid to try something truly new, and instead tends to cling to established musical concepts that have worked in the past. "It's kind of the state of the industry right now. Being a musician, sometimes I wonder if there's ever really going to be original music again," Wasson said. "It seems ludicrous to me that a band would sit down and just copy another piece of music. But who knows? Remember Milli Vanilli?"

The pop duo had their Grammy revoked in 1990 after it was discovered they were faking performances and had hired artists to sing for them on their debut album, an infamous example that honesty and the music business aren't always in tune.

Source: blogs.uscannenberg.org

The saga must rank as one of the longest-running, most inconclusive, takeovers in corporate history, writes The Telegraph today.

It has emerged that EMI-owner Terra Firma met with Edgar Bronfman, Warner's chief executive, several times last year, but talks on a deal ran aground yet again over price and the two have not met since. "There are £1.6bn in value terms of synergies out of any such merger but neither side could agree who should get the benefit of those synergies so that deal fell apart," said one source of what is at least the fifth time the pair have looked likely to link up only to fail to do so.

Mr Hands' EMI may have taken writedowns and amassed a large debt pile but Terra Firma is still the proud owner of the company behind Coldplay's Viva la Vida, last year's best-seller. You would be unlikely to see such passion in other less glamorous sectors, such as mining or chemicals.

While EMI has been under different ownerships in the past decade, the curse of running a music company – where passion often gets in the way of sense – has surely played a role in some of the failed marriage attempts.

The Terra Firma chief, Guy Hands, may be a shrewd businessman, but even the private equity player has been unable to dodge some of problems associated with owning a record label. As a music lover he is enjoying the experience. Watching him dancing and singing at a recent Lily Allen gig alongside colleagues and family provided some insight.

Mr Hands believes that Terra Firma's EMI under marketer Elio Leoni-Sceti has had clever ideas. In many ways, Terra Firma is right to have some faith. EMI did report a threefold increase in earnings to £163m in the year to March, boosted by the Coldplay album. And Mr Leoni-Sceti is undoubtedly having the right ideas – from deals with video-games makers and music websites Spotify and Muzu.tv, to selling the rights from lyrics of classic songs, including Radio Ga Ga and Somewhere Over the Rainbow, to Sainsbury's for a range of baby clothes.

However, there is only so much he can do. EMI – and Warner – would benefit greatly from increased scale. According to the latest Informa figures, EMI held the smallest recorded music market share of the major companies, with its slice of sales falling from 9.9pc in 2007 to 9.6pc in 2008. Universal increased its revenue market share to 28.7pc from 28.1pc in 2007, Sony BMG followed with 21.1pc and Warner Music's share was 14.9pc.

EMI Music Publishing also lost the top spot in music publishing, been beaten into second place by Universal with a share of 18.3pc.

Scale matters in the music industry. No more is it just a question of keeping up with Universal and Sony BMG, size is necessary to prove that, in the world of MySpace and YouTube, the record label model still works.

Scale would also give EMI and Warner Music greater strength in negotiations – particularly after Warner Music's recent scuffle with YouTube, where the label demanded that thousands of its videos from artists be taken down.

The financial pressures on EMI are clear. It emerged last week that a further £28m has been injected into Maltby Capital, EMI's holding company, to keep it within the terms of its debt agreement. Terra Firma acquired EMI in 2007 with £2.6bn of finance provided by Citigroup. The large debt load is no doubt one barrier to a tie-up. In March, Terra Firma's accounts showed it had taken a €1.3bn (£1.2bn) writedown on EMI – half of what it paid for the company.

Debt at Warner has also become less of an issue. It is raising $1.1bn (£670m) through a bond sale, which it plans to use along with cash reserves to pay off its bank debt. Some industry analysts believe that Mr Bronfman knows a deal makes sense and has been judiciously managing his label's balance sheet to move on EMI in anticipation of it eventually collapsing under its debt.

The financial complexities of any deal between the pair are clear – not to mention the challenges that would arise from the characters involved in negotiating on both sides. It is, after all, not clear who would buy who in a merger, or who would run the joint entity.

Nevertheless, EMI and Warner Music should try to find a way round their differences. It is no secret the music industry has changed. Regulation is unlikely to prove problematic this time around and the growing force of the internet means the record labels must band together to combat it. While the music industry does work together to some extent, another large player would create a much-needed force at a time when many are questioning the viability of labels.

Coldplay is not only one of the biggest bands in the world, sharing rarified air with bands like U2 and Radiohead, but it also may be the most likeable, writes The Detroit News.

The British foursome brought its massive show to DTE Energy Music Theatre Tuesday, playing to an adoring sold-out audience of more than 15,000 fans. The show set the bar quite high for the 2009 summer concert season and was one of the most thrilling concerts DTE has hosted in years.

After just four albums, Coldplay has amassed a catalog stacked with populist anthems, from the still-rousing "Clocks" and "In My Place," to newer smashes "Viva la Vida" and "Lost." And the band delivered them Tuesday in invigorating fashion, complete with a busy stage show that included laser beams, balloon drops and two mini-stages set up in the audience -- one in the pavilion seats and one at the foot of the lawn.

The band, which boasts an impressive cross-generational appeal, isn't too cool to play its first hit, "Yellow," and isn't afraid to go for cheap pops by inserting local references into songs such as "Violet Hill" or "Cemeteries of London." This is a hard-working band that gives its all -- and, as evidenced by the huge smiles on the band members' faces, loves every minute of it.

They were even apologetic about being scheduled opposite the Stanley Cup Finals. "I don't know much about the NHL," lead singer Chris Martin told the crowd halfway through the show. "I do understand how much you had to sacrifice to come to our concert. I just want you to know how much we appreciate that. If this was Britain, nobody would have come."

Pictures: by ashleylouwho @ http://ashleylouwho.livejournal.com/

Coldplay's Viva La Vida tour continued on last night as they played at the DTE Energy Music Theatre, Detroit, MI. Chris Martin apologized for the concert coinciding with Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals. The setlist was the same as previous nights.

[discussion] [photos] [videos] [wiki reviews/setlist] (updated over the next 24-48 hours)

Setlist:

Life In Technicolor

Violet Hill

Clocks

In My Place

Yellow

Glass Of Water

Cemeteries Of London

42

Fix You

Strawberry Swing

God Put A Smile Upon Your Face (techno version)

Talk (techno version)

The Hardest Part (Chris piano)

Postcards From Far Away (piano instrumental)

Viva La Vida

Lost!

Green Eyes (acoustic)

Death Will Never Conquer (acoustic - Will vocals)

I'm A Believer (Neil Diamond Cover - acoustic)

Viva La Vida (remix interlude)

------

Politik

Lovers In Japan

Death And All His Friends

-------

The Scientist

Life in Technicolor ii

The Escapist (outro)

Picture: Dana Ocker

It was so awesome!!! Loved every second except that I didn't get a single butterfly. The guy up in the rafters was only dumping them into the middle section and we were off to the side. But...AMAZING SHOW!!!!! They are just so great live! [thanks Grebbin]

Really really fun show. I hit one of the yellow balloons, and got some butterfly confetti. Also, my friends mom had sixth row tickets, and she let me switch for one song. So i got to see Fix You from the sixth row, which just made my skin tingle. I was on Jonny's side so i got to see him go to town on the guitar part. Also got a copy of LRLRL without a problem [thanks Zman54]

Just got back from DTE, wow what an amazing show!! This is the third time i've seen them and this was by far the best. The energy was astounding. Great song selection!! My seats were directly in front of the extended ramp on stage right, i think Chris' sweat was flying on us!! It wouldn't have mattered where you were sitting though, the whole crowd had a great time. Well worth every penny. [thanks triwizard24]

More on this concert including reviews, videos, pictures and tweets here onwards.

Tweets:

This morning's paps. R#42.

Pictures:

Pictures: by ashleylouwho @ http://ashleylouwho.livejournal.com/

Coldplay.com caught up with Coldplay's current support act, Pete Yorn. With the singer-songwriter nearing the end of his string of support dates with Coldplay, they called him up to find out how he's been getting on.

Hello Pete, how are you?

Hey man, I'm good.

So, you've been on the road with Coldplay for a couple of weeks now, how's it been going?

It's been great. They've been taking very good care of us. They provide wonderful meals for us and the fans have been great. And I've been getting to hang out with Howling Bells: I'd never met them before and they're good people. It's been a good experience.

Presumably you've supported bands before?

Oh yeah.

Do you approach support slots differently?

Well, you have a shorter period of time to play, so you try to cram things into a tighter window - I don't really talk too much because I just want to play songs! And I try to be respectful. Coldplay has given us a good opportunity and gotten us out to all these shows and I just wanna go out and put on a great show, but at the same time knowing that they're coming up next and it's their house. But the fans are really cool. A lot of times you'll do these opening slots and the place is not that full yet, but these have been pretty filled in by the time we go on, which is great.

Do you think a support slot can genuinely help an artist?

Well it's all about timing and where you're at. For me, right now, I have a record that's coming out in the third week of June and I haven't really toured in two and a half years, so this is just an amazing way to get out and work the material up. And I feel like we're definitely getting some new fans too.

Have you toured with a band of Coldplay's size before?

Yeah, I've toured with some pretty big acts like REM, the Dixie Chicks, Dave Matthews and the Foo Fighters.

How does Coldplay's catering compare to those bands'?

Well, this catering is definitely up there, but Dave Matthews' took some beating. The chef he had was ridiculously good. But I certainly can't complain about Coldplay's. It's been great.

So, you've got one album out in a few weeks, then another in September.

That's right.

What's the difference between them?

Oh, they're very different! Back And Fourth comes out on June 24th, I made it in Omaha, Nebraska and it's got a nice, organic sound to it. I recorded it with a bunch of friends of mine, pretty much live in a room, with a lot of acoustic instruments on it. The other one is a duets record with Scarlett Johansson which comes out September 8th and has a completely different sound. It's just kind of a quirky, fun production. They're two very distinct projects.

What role does Scarlett take?

She sings. We made it about three years ago. I had this idea in my head that I wanted to make like a kind of male/female duets record and I had this idea in my head about Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot: although more the dynamic than the sound. I thought maybe I could get Scarlett to do that and she agreed. I'd been sitting on it for a few years and all my friends were like, "Dude what are you doing with that, you gotta put it out?" So I found a home for it and it's coming out now.

Did you know Scarlett could sing?

I didn't actually. It was just a leap of faith, really. But then she came in and did all her parts in two afternoons and it sounded great.

What sort of voice has she got?

I think it's a kind of old time, smokey voice. She just naturally sounds like she's coming out of 1942 or something. I hadn't heard the record in a long time and when I first played it, I was like, "Did we put an effect on her voice?" But she just sounds like that naturally: like she's coming out of an old microphone.

It looks from your blog that you've been having some fun on this tour, including a ride on a roller coaster.

That's right! My bandmates went on a crazy roller coaster in Hershey Park in Hershey, Pennsylvania, but I wasn't going to do that. They were all complaining about neck pain afterwards. But I did go on three rides: the monorail, which was kind of a sightseeing thing; the choo choo train, which was just relaxing; and then I went on a Level 3 roller coaster which was very simple and just my speed. No loops, nothing crazy.

Do they really have official categories of roller coaster?

Yeah. Level 1 is the kiddie rides, then Level 2 is still really for kids, then Level 3 is the entry roller coaster. Then there's Level 4 which is the mild thrill rides then there's Level 5 which is the aggressive thrill rides. Fives are the really crazy ones.

But you're not prepared to go on a five?

You know, I might if the timing was right, but the timing was wrong in this particular instance.

What did you do with your unexpected day off after the show cancellation last week?

I checked back into the hotel that I'd checked out of the day before and I walked around Philly a lot just exploring. Then I ended up getting some of my favourite food from this Italian area in Philly: meatball sandwiches and all the other things that I rarely get to eat and I always love when I come through town. And then I hung out at my hotel and watched the basketball game - the Laker game vs the Denver Nuggets. It's play-off time.

Are you a Lakers fan?

No, I'm a New York Nicks fan. They're way out of it right now. I was actually rooting for Denver, but the Lakers won.

It looks like there's been a lot of rain on this tour.

Yeah, there were a few great nights with really nice weather, but then somewhere around Hershey Pennsylvania the downpours started. That was actually the first show without a covering and the stage was very slippery. I remember walking off hoping they dried it off or someone could've really hurt themselves - especially someone like Chris who moves around a lot. Then we had some nasty weather in Camden, New Jersey as well. But most of that venue was covered so it wasn't too bad.

Have you been watching Coldplay's shows?

Yeah, I've seen them a number of times over the tour and I've been just blown away.

Is this the first time you've seen them?

I hadn't seen them in a long while. We did some shows years ago - we did one in LA early on together and then one in London at the Royal Festival Hall. But they sound amazing every night on this tour. They're a band I'm definitely enjoying being able to watch repeatedly.

Do you know how you came to be on this tour?

I don't know if this is true or not, but I heard that they were able to get my latest CD to Chris and Chris obliged and invited us on tour.

Finally, what's your favourite Coldplay song?

Speed Of Sound. They haven't been playing it, but I love it. I also like The Scientist a lot. And Fix You.

Why is Speed Of Sound your favourite?

At the time, when it came out, I was like, "Yeah, that's a cool song". But then right before the tour started I was driving in my car in California and it came on the radio and I was like, "Man! I love this tune!" And maybe now it's even more my favourite because I haven't heard them play it - y'know, I can't have it and I want it!

When you're on stage, are Coldplay's set lists already taped to the stage?

No.

Hmm. So you can't just scribble Speed Of Sound on there.

Sadly not. Maybe I'll have to put in a formal request for it before the tour ends.

For more information on Pete Yorn, head over to peteyorn.com.

Add to Coldplay frontman Chris Martin’s talent that of tightrope walker. Monday, before what appeared to be a full house, the Coldplay singer deftly managed to be both arena-rock ringmaster and earnest songsmith. If you think that’s an easy wire to walk, well, then you’ve never tried to do it yourself, reports The Buffalo News.

Coldplay has been touring its Gram-my- winning, multi-platinum “Viva la Vida” album for more than a year, which means that the band should by now be both bushed and sick to death of the material they wrote and recorded with alternative music icon Brian Eno some three years-plus ago. Most bands just go out there and do their business, faking it qualifying as one of the many things the fans won’t notice at a big gig with bright lights and the rest.

Monday, Coldplay did something else. It proved itself to be a band worthy of the hype it has generated. And at the same time, it made a dazzling display of that fact that popular music might be at once accessible to those who only casually care and an object of extreme import to those who take such things quite seriously.

I’m not sure any back-story is needed here, but in case it is, we’ll keep it short. Coldplay is a British band formed in 1998, one that owes an incredible debt to the anthemic, incredibly melodic work done by U2, but one that is clearly seeking to do something with its own art that will last long after the past five and future 10 American Idol posers have wrapped up their careers and assumed their rightful positions as talk show hosts. (No offense.)

Monday’s show started with the band running onto the stage holding lit sparklers aloft as a prerecorded version of “Life in Technicolor” blasted through the PA. Then the band broke into “Violet Hill,” the first of many songs from “Viva la Vida” it would play throughout the evening. By the time the band tore into its second song, Martin already owned the crowd. It didn’t let up from there.

Most of the set revolved around the “Viva” material, which was fine with the crowd. In fact, that crowd greeted every Jonny Buckland guitar figure, every understated but beautiful pulse offered by the rhythm section of bassist Guy Berryman and drummer Will Champion, like the golden chord signifying the return of the gods to their proper place in the sky. Though the band itself, even while moving between satellite stages set up near the rear of the amphitheatre and out on the lawn, maintained a humble stance throughout, it was difficult to receive them as much less than conquering heroes.

Even after closing with what felt like the emotional peak of the evening in “Death and All His Friends,” the band returned for a torrid run through “The Scientist,” another song that rather vividly displays Coldplay’s ability to be both a pop band and a band that actually matters, musically speaking.

And, on the way out, every attendee was handed a copy of the band’s “LeftRightLeftRight,” a live album, gratis. That’s about as good as it gets.

Source: buffalonews.com

Pictures: Dalboz 17 @ Flickr

Big, glorious rock concerts are like magic shows. You don't want to look too hard for the invisible wires and trap doors. Just watch and listen. So it was Monday night at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center, with Coldplay and 12,000 people lustily cheering all of the tricks, as familiar as they may be, reports the Democrat and Chronicle.

There was the confetti-filled balloon drop, retina-searing lasers, beery sing-alongs by the audience and the entire band exiting and re-appearing on a tiny stage halfway up one of the pavilion aisles, on which all four guys could hardly fit, for an intimate set of songs amidst their fans.

It's all in the name of arena-rock fun. The band took the stage backlit behind a screen, Kabuki Coldplay, twirling sparklers for an opening instrumental, "Life in Technicolor," followed by "Violet Hill" and what remains Coldplay's best song, "Clocks." Front man Chris Martin is a kinetic clown, hippity-hopping and teetering about the stage, commanding attention, and even showing a sense of humor: Holding one long caterwauling note, he glanced at his watch.

They mixed booming arena-rock bass with charming acoustic numbers, including, no kidding, the Monkees' "I'm a Believer."

Coldplay has now reached the exalted level from which it can charge fans more than $100 for a ticket, although I find it harder to excuse asking $9 for a can of Bud Light. It's getting a lot harder to catch a buzz to go with that ringing in your ears. At that price, I'd expect to be served by Gwyneth Paltrow.

Speaking of which, and in answer to the most-asked question of the day, the actor-wife of Martin did not appear to be on the site, unless Paltrow was giving backstage yoga lesson to the roadies. She's been spotted elsewhere along this tour, so perhaps western New York doesn't rate.

The crowd hardly took note of the unbilled opener, the Howling Bells, and chatted socially through Pete Yorn, who introduced a new song, "Long Time," that sounded like Neil Young at his achingly beautiful best. Honest, rootsy rock, but no stage show to speak of. Just enough light to see their guitar strings.

Source: democratandchronicle.com

Pictures: Dalboz 17 @ Flickr

Once upon a time, Coldplay fans learned how to wait. Years would pass between releases by the big British band. Songs like "The Scientist" and "Speed of Sound" would be old classics by the time the next album rolled out.

Now it's an abundance of riches for fans of a quartet that's brimming with creative energy: Last summer's chart-topping "Vida La Vida" was promptly followed by the EP "Prospekt's March." And now there's "LeftRightLeftRightLeft" -- a live collection described by vocalist Chris Martin as a "free thank-you album." Concertgoers will receive the CD at the door; others can download the songs at Coldplay.com.

Work has already begun on the full-length follow-up to the anthemic "Vida La Vida." Martin connected with the Free Press shortly before the tour's May 15 kickoff, speaking from L.A., where he'd been holed up writing songs. Chris Martin talks to the Detroit Free Press about connecting to fans and Tuesday's DTE audience getting a free disc...

QUESTION: How did the band settle on the track list for the live disc?

ANSWER: The rest of the band hate to having to make lists. I love it. I love making lists. I'd forced them, on a flight from Hong Kong to Abu Dhabi, to each write a list of the nine songs they'd put on the live record. There were about six that we all agreed on, the rest of it we argued over for a couple of hours, before finally we arm-wrestled for the main decision. It’s a case of just thinking, “Oh, I remember Paris being a good show. Chicago too.” Then we have a very sweet sound guy called Dan upon whom we put that horrible responsibility of choosing the final ones.

Q: There's been such dramatic change in the music industry during the past decade. Would a gift album even have been in a band’s realm of thinking 10 years ago?

A: Well, 10 years ago, it wouldn’t have crossed our minds because we couldn't have afforded it. It costs quite a lot of money to do it. But it's because we've been very blessed over the last year or so that we can afford to do it. And I think it would have crossed our minds 10 years ago if we'd been in the same position. These kinds of things come from our secret fifth member (manager Phil Harvey), who's always thinking about how to reward people’s loyalty. We see it in grocery stores and banks, where if you're loyal to that business they give you something. (Laughs) So we thought, let's do the same.

Q: The whole fan connection has always been a big part of what Coldplay is. On the last round of dates, you were going into the crowd to do a song. I don’t know how much deeper you get than that -- literally standing with the audience, performing.

A: Being in a rock band, or a soft rock band, or whatever we are, it's very hard to be original. If Bono hasn't done it, Mick Jagger might have done it, and that means Madonna probably did it. So whenever we think of something we haven't seen done before, like going into the back of the audience and playing on one microphone and stuff, we immediately want to try it. And then once we do try it, if we love it -- which in that instance we do, where you get to break the barrier between audience and band -- then we keep it in. That's our favorite bit of the concert, you know, because it's very unusual to take away all the smoke and mirrors. I think we really enjoy that adrenaline rush. I always feel like the audience is very tolerant at that point, because we're so sweaty and musically shambolic, most of them would be excused for leaving. So we see it as a kind of test of their patience.

Q: Talk about the work on the upcoming studio album.

A: We all feel the limits of two things: One is that we feel like we're getting old. No, not really. We know we're playing well at the moment, so we're trying to capitalize on that. Two, (producer) Brian Eno's patience is very limited, so we're just trying to keep him around for as long as we can. When you're in the middle of the tour and you're in the studio, there's no pressure. It's a bit like a holiday camp, so you can just play without any worries or pressures or sales-figure concerns. I just feel really inspired at the moment. I think we all do. I feel incredibly blessed to be in the job I'm in, especially in this day and age. So whether it's things going on in my life, or our lives, or in the world -- I don't know what it is -- I just feel very tuned in at the moment.

Q: Where is the music headed? Is there anything that's starting to stand out musically?

A: I can tell you exactly where it comes from at the moment. I've been getting so into Bruce Springsteen. I was getting a bit depressed that I was 32, and I thought, "Aggh, maybe that makes me too old to be writing good songs." And then I was learning about Bruce. He didn’t do “Born in the USA” until he was 35. Then I went to see him play two weeks ago. And so I think the spirit of Bruce has been keeping me very joyous.

Q: Can you elaborate on European perceptions of Bruce?

A: I can break it down. I think a lot of people think he's, like, Mr. America, because of the cover of "Born in the USA," with the hat and the jeans and the American flag. And whilst I think that's true, it's a misconception. Especially if you learn all the music before and after that album, you realize that at the time he had that Mr. America image, in fact he was doing nothing but great things for the American image, because it isn't macho and small-minded, the stuff he's talking about. It's quite the opposite. It's very tender and all-inclusive, telling stories about people like you and then about people you’ve never thought about before. So I was not real sure about it until I really started listening. I think the cover throws a lot of people off.

Q: Isn't it reassuring to know there are still discoveries to be made in rock 'n' roll? Here you're 32, and you're starting to understand Bruce Springsteen. You mentioned earlier the idea of everything having been done already. But it's still this journey of discovery you get to be on.

A: It's incredible, and I'm sure it's the same for you. Only this morning I was listening to "Appetite for Destruction" (by Guns N’ Roses) for the first time really properly. Ever. So that's a new record to me. That's the great benefit of having this library of previous work, you know?

Source: freep.com

It's always a concern when a band cancels the two previous stops on the tour amid reports that the singer lost his voice. And it's not like Coldplay's Chris Martin doesn't need it, with all those high falsettos, reports the Post Gazzette.

Last night for the opening of the Post-Gazette Pavilion season, he didn't seem to be feeling any ill effects -- not if he could handle the sustained notes on "Cemeteries of London."

Martin and his mates marched on stage (after opening sets by Howling Bells and Pete Yorn) in those colorful quasi-military jackets, twirling sparklers, and then sparkled through a nearly two-hour set of anthemic British rock. Coldplay hasn't been around these parts for several years, during which time the band has swelled musically and visually to fill the big stage. With "Viva la Vida" in the set now, Coldplay even has a good soccer stadium chant to rile the adoring fans.

The show would have been entertaining even without the sound (and there are plenty of people who prefer Coldplay without the sound, but let's not get into that). Nearly every song came with a visual, from the red lasers on "Clocks" to the giant yellow balloons for "Yellow" to the blinding strobes on "Politik" as Martin urged us to "open up your eyes."

Coldplay also wasn't bound to the stage. Martin ventured off to auxiliary one for "The Hardest Part," allowing him to show off some of his piano training. Soon after, the foursome grabbed acoustic instruments and marched up to lawn stage for a loose mini-set that included "Green Eyes," a "Let's Go Pens" chant and a cover of The Monkees' "I'm a Believer," with drummer Will Champion taking charge on acoustic guitar. And who says Coldplay isn't innovative? Have you ever seen a choreographed "cellphone wave" across an amphitheatre lawn?

Martin, who clung to his piano back on that first visit to Pittsburgh, proved to be a lively, smiling frontman shaking the rafters with rockers like "In My Place," "Glass of Water" and "Politik" while also connecting emotionally with tender songs like "Fix You" and "The Scientist," part of the second encore.

Even the dudes in the Penguins jerseys, who may or may not have been dragged there by their girlfriends or wives, seemed to be drawn in by Coldplay's shimmering art-pop.

Source: post-gazette.com/

When you walk into Darien Lake’s Performing Arts Center on Monday evening for the highly anticipated Coldplay concert, you’ll be handed a free copy of the band’s live album, “LeftRightLeftRight", reports Buffalo News today, in an exclusive new interview with Jonny Buckland. Here's their article:

Of course, you might already have the album; the band has been offering it for free download via its Web site for the past few weeks. At a time when the mantra in the music business seems to be “Get what you can while you can, then get out,” why is one of the most commercially successful rock bands on the planet giving its music away, in a move mirroring the model created by one of its biggest influences, Radiohead?

“It really is not meant to be some radical gesture or anything,” says guitarist Jonny Buckland, speaking to The News by phone as he prepared to embark on the final leg of Coldplay’s “Viva la Vida” tour.

“It was as simple as, ‘Let’s record the shows right now as a document,’ because we all feel that the band has been playing better than ever, and that the audiences have been fantastic in terms of interaction, singing along, really seeming to be completely involved in the show. We wanted to capture that, and then it just seemed like it would be a nice gesture to give it away, as a way of saying ‘Thanks, guys.’ Maybe subconsciously we were thinking of what Radiohead did with ‘In Rainbows,’ but we really just wanted to capture the band at a peak, and offer something to our fans. It really was as simple as that.”

It’s not surprising that Buckland and his bandmates are reeling from the collective energy they’ve been channeling on stage. The band has been touring behind it’s Grammy-winning, multiplatinum “Viva la Vida” album for more than a year, during which time the occasional controversy — allegations of plagiarism that have come to naught, the recent cancellation of shows due to illness, on-stage mishaps involving pyrotechnics — have done little to slow the runaway train of the band’s success.

When this new leg of the tour wraps up in the fall, the band will have performed the “Viva la Vida”-based set hundreds of times over the course of more than two years. So how has the group managed to maintain an emotional connection with the music?

“We do switch things up a bit — change some arrangements, introduce some different songs and so forth,” says Buckland. “Happily, we really love what we’re doing. If we didn’t, it would be torture to get out there and do it over and over again! (laughs) The energy the crowd brings is really what keeps it fresh. It’s pretty difficult to go on autopilot and feel at all bored when 25,000 people are going nuts and singing along.”

Buckland’s role in Coldplay is much like the position occupied by the Edge in U2. He seems like the quiet one in the outfit, but his subtle approach to what is clearly a deep musicality is a big part of what makes Coldplay’s grandiose, emotional, broadly melodic and anthemic rock resonate. As a guitarist, Buckland is more concerned with adding texture, color and depth to the music than he is with showing off..

“I’m glad you mention the Edge, because, yeah, in terms of an approach to finding something important to say within the music, without trying to draw too much attention to yourself — he’s kind of the king of that,” Buckland says. “I also really love Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine — that music was hugely important to me growing up. It had a big effect on the way I play, certainly.”

In the thick of the abundant success granted “Viva la Vida,” when life in Coldplay must have already felt like attempting to have a nice, quiet cup of tea in the middle of a hurricane, Buckland’s life became even more complex — he and his longtime girlfriend welcomed a daughter, their first child, into the world.

“You’d think it would’ve made life even crazier, but in fact, it’s really grounded me,” says Buckland of fatherhood. “Really, what it does is grant you perspective — you realize how insignificant the things that used to obsess you are, you know? So in that sense, it’s like a huge unburdening, a big sigh of relief.”

Simultaneous with the current tour, Buckland and the band are working on new material, and planning to reconvene with the legendary Brian Eno, who produced “Viva la Vida,” once the tour wraps.

“That’s the thing — we’re looking to the future already,” says Buckland. “We’re really grateful for the success, obviously, but the thing that keeps us going is the music. I really do feel that we have so much more to discover, so many new places to go, musically. And that’s incredibly exciting.”

Concert Preview:

Coldplay, with guest Pete Yorn

7 p. m. Monday, Darien Lake Performing Arts Center

Source: buffalonews.com

When Prince played the Arena a few years ago, people walking in were delighted to be handed a copy of his new album, "Musicology." Coldplay isn't going that far, but the band will be passing out free copies of a nine-track live album that it very well could have been selling at Wal-Mart, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette today in a preview to Saturday's show at the Post-Gazette Pavilion. Here is their article:

Why the gift? "This last year we enjoyed playing live more than we ever have," says guitarist Jonny Buckland. "It was the most fun and we were feeling like we've been playing better than we ever have. We feel like the crowds have been better than ever as well, in terms of how much people sing along and how much energy they bring. So we felt that we wanted to record that and we thought, well, 'Let's make a record of that and give it away.' It seems like the right thing to do. It was no more considered than that."

The tour that brings Coldplay to Pittsburgh for the opener of the Post-Gazette Pavilion season is an extension of the Viva La Vida tour that started last June and already has thrilled fans across the United States, Europe and Australia.

"Viva," the band's fourth album, was another bona fide success for Coldplay, debuting at No. 1 on the charts and winning the Grammy for Best Rock Album. It even won acclaim from critics, something for which Coldplay has had mixed results. Most were on board with "Parachutes" and "A Rush of Blood to the Head," but Coldplay started to lose people with the paler "X&Y." Imagine the critic for The New York Times declaring you "the most insufferable band of the decade."

"You read some of it," Buckland says of the criticism. "You try not to read it but somehow you're drawn to it like a moth to the flame. I think you try to take positive things out of the bad press. I think it's good in a way to examine what's good and what isn't. I think sometimes critics have a really good point about what you're doing, and whether it could be better. Sometimes you feel like they're wrong. Other times, they're really right and that's probably when it hurts the most. You have to change it, so it's probably useful. As far as good press goes, I think you almost don't register it. It's the bad press that sticks with you, unfortunately."

Coldplay has had to get used to comparisons to either Radiohead or U2 or a combination of both in every story about the band. "I really don't mind them at all," Buckland says. "At first, we felt a bit limited by [the comparisons] maybe. I don't really get that upset about them. I can see their influence in some of our songs, but not everything. They haven't accused us of plagiarism," he adds with a nervous laugh.

Buckland refers to charges by guitar wiz Joe Satriani that the song "Viva La Vida" copped a melody from his instrumental "If I Could Fly."

"There isn't a lot I can say, other than, these things take an interminably long time to deal with," Buckland notes. On the morning of the interview, a new wrinkle develops with folk-rocker Cat Stevens saying he actually used the melody before that, during his epic "Foreigner Suite."

"I just did an interview about 20 minutes ago and that was the first someone told me about it," Buckland says. "But I don't know anything about it.

"Are we being sued?" he says sheepishly. Then he adds, "Well, we can't have copied both of them."

When it's pointed out that this happens quite often, usually behind the scenes, when bands get this successful, Buckland says, "Yeah, it's perhaps no coincidence that it is our most played song."

On the bright side, Coldplay surely has money to burn after the popularity of "Viva La Vida" and a tour of venues much bigger than the Palumbo Center, where it first played in Pittsburgh. Back then, singer Chris Martin would hang close to his keyboard. Now the shows are more animated to play to the last row.

"The bigger the place you play the bigger you have to make it," Buckland says. "Now we try to play all around the arena, play out to the audience to try to make it feel a bit more intimate. If you sit in the back of a giant venue, you feel like you haven't been to anything."

One of the byproducts of amping up the live show for bigger venues is the tendency for acts, such as U2 or Bruce Springsteen, to write bigger songs, sometimes losing the intimacy. "I suppose it can happen," Buckland says. "I think often when you come straight off tour and go into the studio, it takes a few months for it to get out of your system. I think you stop purely thinking about playing live in large places. At first when you get in the studio you feel like everything you do should get a round of applause. You go in with a big ego. It takes a while for that to get displaced."

Coldplay won't be going back into the studio until after the tour, but to hold people over until the next record, it did release an EP called "Prospekt's March," which contains a few songs, like the rocker "Glass of Water," that might turn up in concert.

"There were a lot of arguments about why that didn't make the record," he says. "The EP itself is made up of songs from the 'Viva' sessions, but for some reason or another we didn't feel like they fit. We really did like the songs, but we wanted to keep it short and make it a complete thing, so some things had to go. I think we felt with 'X&Y,' we probably made a slightly too long record. We didn't want to make that mistake again and we were willing to sacrifice those songs we thought were good to make the album better."

Writing and recording a new album these days is a bit more complicated than it was back when the band formed as students in 1998, as the members have moved on to family life. Buckland says it has changed the band dynamic, in some good ways.

"I'd say we're a lot more kind to each other. At times when we were a lot younger we could be quite cruel to each other -- you know, demanding -- whereas now we're a bit more accepting of people's little foibles and idiosyncrasies. We're more accepting of each other, a bit nicer."

With: Pete Yorn.

Where: Post-Gazette Pavilion.

When: 8 p.m. Saturday.

Tickets: $35-$97.50; 877-598-8703.

Source: post-gazette.com

Performing in Coldplay — performing in the world's biggest band — could get comfy. Too comfy, even, reports the Times Union. For bassist Guy Berryman, though, the nightly thrill is intact. Even after all the massive stadium shows, all the mega festivals, stepping on stage still brings a tingle — that rush of blood, you might call it.

"I don't get nervous anymore. But I still get that great sense of excitement," he says. "I love that moment right before we go on, that anticipation of the lights coming down. It never tires for me."

Earlier this year, Coldplay launched a global tour, supporting "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends," the British band's fourth album of moody, edge-of-artsy piano rock. The band will hit the Saratoga Performing Arts Center on Wednesday night, the first Live Nation show at the pastoral venue in Saratoga Springs.

In a year of music industry struggles, the album is a big-time standout, having enjoyed the biggest debut yet for Berryman, vocalist-pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckman and drummer Will Champion: In the United States alone, the album sold 720,000 copies its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan — more than 300,000 of them on the first day.

"We've got four records now, so we have to get the balance right between the new album and the old songs people want to hear," Berryman says. "We try to make it as dynamic as possible from beginning to end. It took us awhile — it took most of the first American tour to knock that into shape. The show pretty much runs in the same order now because it's working."

A revamped production team has brought a new visual look to Coldplay's stage production, and even introduced what Berryman describes as "a few things people haven't seen before at other concerts."

For the decade-old band, life on the road is low-key these days. Berryman says he has learned to pace himself to endure the rigors of touring, eschewing the high life in favor of stints in the gym and daily jogs. Hopping from hotel to hotel, spending long stretches in air-conditioned spaces, it's too easy to get ill. And "it's not fun having a cold on tour — you can't call in sick."

"We destroyed ourselves a few times by not looking after ourselves — partying every night, staying up late," he says, recalling the band's early days. "Certainly, for me in particular, we're really just trying to keep healthy. It's that age-old thing: healthy body, healthy mind. I'd have laughed at myself a few years ago if I could hear myself saying that. But it's true."

The band will also regroup in the studio to begin cutting material for a fifth album. "The plan, in an ideal world, is to have something finished by the end of 2009," says Berryman.

That would mark a notably fast turnaround for a band that's been known to take its time between records, including three-year gaps between each of the band's past three albums. Fans even got a treat in the interim: the release of "Prospekt's March," an eight-song EP featuring material left over from the "Vida" sessions and a new version of the single "Lost," remixed by fellow A-lister Jay-Z.

Coldplay has been quick to stress that these aren't throwaway tracks. Indeed, says Berryman, much of the material could have fit seamlessly on "Vida."

"We didn't want to make the album too long. We thought the third record was too long, and we didn't want to make that mistake again. But these songs were too good just to be B-sides on singles," he says. "It's kind of meant to be an amendment to 'Viva La Vida.' We wanted people to hear that record as a standalone first, and not bombard them. We're really proud of it."

Where: Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Route 50, Saratoga Springs

When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday

Tickets: $85.50, $103.50; lawn $41

Contact: (877) 598-8694; http://www.spac.org

Source: timesunion.com

Guy Berryman at Cruzan Amphitheatre, West Palm Beach:

Pictures: SPIN

The "Mexican Cell Phone Wave," as invented by Coldplay frontman Chris Martin on Sunday night at Hersheypark Stadium, might have been a flop. But as to the British quartet's quest for big-venue rock domination, these guys may be on to something, reports Lancaster Online.

Martin and company made their debut in Chocolate Town an overwhelming success, performing 23 songs in 90 minutes — pausing only for short breaks between two encore sets.

Borrowing a few live-show tricks from their elders, U2, the guys in Coldplay quickly made the thunderstorm that delayed their debut here a passing memory. Martin's early-show gripes about being burned while coming on stage also dissolved among the dazzling light displays and large yellow beach balls that tumbled atop the crowd of 12,000.

Martin, with his too-cute-to-be-cocky mannerisms, sprinted and gyrated through the set like a confused ballet dancer with a top-class falsetto, belting out what he and his bandmates call "very heavy soft rock." Martin's conversations with the crowd and mid-song ad-libs — staples at U2 shows — kept the audience hanging on his every word and move.

The band leaned heavily on its newest material, pulling nine songs from the Grammy-winning 2008 release "Viva la Vida," and two more tracks recorded during those sessions. "I took my love down to Hershey, Pennsylvania," Martin crooned during stomping show-opener "Violet Hill." Whether he'll be telling hordes in Detroit and Vancouver the same thing next month didn't really matter.

After all, it's Martin's ability to make you think it's your personal serenade, despite the thousands at your side, that makes him so appealing. Surely, Bono would be proud — if this band didn't rival his Irish quartet for arena rock supremacy.

The band played singles from its three prior albums, including "Yellow," the ambiguously titled love song that brought them international prominence after its release in 2000. The oversized beach balls seemed to bounce along with the song's poppy beat, as Martin told his sea of fans how the stars "shine for you, and all the things that you do."

Clearly, the days when an illuminated globe was the extent of the onstage "effects" are long gone for this foursome. "Fix You," from 2005's bloated attempt at rock mega-stardom, "X&Y," also was a highlight, with its soaring crescendo and sugar-sweet coda as only Martin can deliver, "lights will guide you home, and ignite your bones."

The band seems to have a firm grasp on what its fans want to hear. The group played only three songs from that 2005 release — the band's closest brush with commercial failure — and only the color-themed anthem from Coldplay's stripped-down debut, "Parachutes."

But Martin and company performed nearly the entire track listing from "Viva" and more than half the cuts from 2002's "A Rush of Blood to the Head," also a commercial success. If the crowd sank a bit during piano ballad "The Hardest Part," it was re-ignited with "Viva la Vida," during which Martin strutted the stage's two sprawling catwalks — a stage design Bono often uses to cozy up to those not paying as much for their seats. No one could resist snapping smudgy cell phone shots as Martin "collapsed" at song's end.

The group played three acoustic tracks on top of a stadium concourse, when Martin patented his "Wave." The crowd didn't have quite as much rhythm as the headliner, though, waving their cell-phone lights in anything but unison. No matter. When the group sprinted backstage for the first encore break, their guests made it clear they wanted more.

They returned with the thrashing piano stomp, "Politick." Next, paper butterflies were spewed over the crowd as couples cuddled up to "Lovers in Japan," a marching pop track from "Viva."

"Lovers" provided the last real peak, as two piano-laced tracks followed before a mash-up of the show opener served as a recessional for the thousands who streamed out the exits.

Source: articles.lancasteronline.com

Pictures: by sanschw

The potentially enormous plagiarism case involving Coldplay and guitar twiddler Joe Satriani has taken another twist, with lawyers admitting that YouTube evidence could be used, reports Clash Music.

Coldplay released their new album 'Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends' last year. An enormous hit, it was buoyed by the title track which was a huge anthem upon its release as a single. However some were not pleased by the group's success. Epic rock guitarist Joe Satriani claims that the album's titanic title track borrows sections of his 2004 song 'If I Could Fly'. A legal tussle ensued, with Coldplay vehemently denying any wrong doing on their part.

Satriani in turn grew increasingly bullish. Threatening to deliver the legal papers personally at the Grammy Awards, the guitarist eventually shied away from the ceremony which saw Coldplay scoop a much coveted trophy.

In recent weeks the guitarist has soothed his tone, telling American newspaper The New York Post that he is content to let the case work its way through the legal system. "You know, it's one of those things that is annoying to talk about, because I can't talk about it," he said.

"But I can tell you that the legal system is going through its paces, the protocols are all being met, and it's making its way between various law offices and the courts, and it's just one of those things. I'm pretty confident that there will be an equitable solution reached at some point."

In a new twist, it appears that YouTube comparisons of the two songs could be Coldplay's undoing. An article in the April issue of Entertainment Law & Finance contains a claim from three copyright lawyers who noted the "surprisingly detailed" analyses of the songs that have been posted online. "Within days of the suit's initiation, YouTube was inundated with postings in which fans freely offered their opinions concerning the merits of Satriani's claims (or absence thereof). Some of these submissions were supported by surprisingly detailed analyses of the works."

However some videos could even strengthen Coldplay's claim, with some pointing out similarities between Satriani's song and even older works. Another musician who has pointed out similarities between the song and his own work is Cat Stevens. Now named Yusuf Islam, the one time songwriter claimed in a recent interview that 'Viva La Vida' bears more than a passing resemblance to his song 'Foreigner Suite' - written way back in the 70s.

Yusuf Islam stated that he has not intentions of suing Coldplay. The case between Joe Satriani and Coldplay is ongoing.

He's performed to tens of thousands at stadium shows and he sings for one of the biggest bands in the world, but Chris Martin says if one woman can make him feel like a little boy again, it's singer Lily Allen.

The Coldplay frontman has met the outspoken pop star before, but he always feels intimidated, as he tells the Mirror. "Lily Allen is fantastic. She's one of those people who is so cool that whenever I meet her I feel like I'm back at school and none of the girls like me anymore. She has the ability to make any boy feel like a tosser."

Coldplay are currently being sued for allegedly nicking the idea for Viva La Vida - the song which won them the gong. The trauma is proving both depressing and inspiring for Coldplay. Chris, 32, says: "Now we've got more to prove than ever. You think, well, if everyone is trying to take away our best song, then we'd better make 25 better ones."

Chris Martin at Comcast Theater, Hartford, CT (23rd May 2009)

Pictures: John Packer

Coldplay has plenty of reasons to be pompous. The London-based rock band has won seven Grammy awards, and is currently one of the biggest acts in the world. Still, in its Saturday night performance at the Comcast Theatre in Hartford, the group displayed humility and appreciation, genuinely thanking its fans for its current success.

Early on, lead singer Chris Martin promised to give "eight-million percent" effort, because he appraised his last Hartford performance as "less than fantastic." Coldplay redeemed itself through a nearly two-hour set of nonstop energy.

"Speed of Sound" grew from ethereal piano to a swirl of thrashing guitar and drums, backed by cryptic lyrics of questions and answers. Martin yelped in falsetto behind a piano draped with a flag for "Viva La Vida," the band's latest album, as multicolored laser lights rushed across the stage.

Coldplay started "Yellow" with electric fervor before calming for its emotional lyrics and then rebuilding an attack on the chorus, accompanied by two dozen large, confetti-filled yellow beach balls bouncing through the packed arena.

"42" began as a piano-driven ballad, with black-and-white footage of the band playing projected on a screen, creating the feel of a mysterious film noir. The drums and bass picked up midway to craft a pounding, U2-like rock sound backed by flashing red and black images of the band, before closing with a return to the dramatic style of the song's opening.

After "Strawberry Swing," a rootsy tune with a jig-like feel, band members journeyed into the first tier of seats beyond the pit, where they tore through "Talk" atop a platform equipped with guitars and an upright piano. The rest of the band returned to the stage to allow Martin a spotlighted performance of "The Hardest Part," showcasing his nimble fingers and adroitness on the piano. After returning to the stage, Martin theatrically collapsed on his back, exhausted.

The band later ventured out onto the lawn, leading the crowd in a cellphone light wave throughout the theater, and improvising a song about the importance of playing for the people in the back of the arena. The band returned for an encore that included the simple, driving piano lines of "The Scientist."

Singer-songwriter Pete Yorn's pop with sensitive lyrics and a rough edge opened the show, mixing sentimental ballads and up-tempo, rock-tinged tunes, including some from his forthcoming record, "Back and Forth," to be released June 23.

Source: courant.com

Pictures: John Packer

Chris Martin is the most well-mannered of rock stars. When the Coldplay front man calls from Los Angeles because his band is playing the Philadelphia area for the third time since last June's release of Viva La Vida, he's like a job candidate intent on asking as many questions as he's asked, writes Philly (dot com).

The leader of the world's biggest soft-rock band (and husband to actress Gwyneth Paltrow) was eager to talk about Kanye West and Woody Allen, as well as to defend himself from allegations he plagiarized parts of Coldplay's No. 1 hit, "Viva La Vida." (The band Creaky Boards, singer Cat Stevens - now known as Yusuf Islam - and guitarist Joe Satriani have all claimed similarities between the song and their own work; Satriani has sued in Los Angeles.)

Tonight, Coldplay will perform at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, and on Tuesday the foursome will be at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden. What follows is a Q&A with the 32-year-old English songwriter and musician, with some A's and Q's reversed.

Answer (Martin): So what's the news in Philadelphia?

Question (DeLuca): Well, I saw Leonard Cohen last night.

A: Wasn't it amazing? I saw it in Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago. I mean, kind of phenomenal.

Q: Did you desperately care about him growing up?

A: Yeah, very much so. There's something about him that we're sometimes seen to suffer from - taking yourself too seriously. I always thought that Leonard Cohen was Mr. Serious. Or Mr. Miserable. But I love his music. Then I saw him in concert, and I thought: This guy's like a stand-up comedian. It's funny, because my favorite comedians, like Woody Allen, actually turn out to be miserable. So it's nice to know that misery and comedy go so well together.

Q: Are there funny jokes in Coldplay songs people just aren't getting?

A: They're coming. We're not as lyrically mature as all that yet. We're still dealing with teenage angst. We're working our way up to witticisms.

Q: Speaking of Woody Allen, you did a Rolling Stone interview last year, and the writer brought up a review Jon Pareles wrote in the New York Times savaging your album X&Y. But when you were supposed to say, "All critics are scum," you agreed with a lot of his accusations. Aren't you taking the Woody Allen self-deprecation too far?

A: I was just thinking that with each album, a challenge arises which makes the fire burn even hotter to write good music. So in some respects these big challenges turn out to be huge blessings, because it stops me ever becoming complacent or lazy. The last album, X&Y, it was the New York Times thing which made me say, "OK, I've got to work harder and get better." This album, it's that we're being sued, and wrongly. We're being accused of not writing our own music. So it's like, "Well, I'll just write better music." So these things that seem to be quite worrying, within a couple of weeks we're blessed that we've managed to see the positives in them.

Q: People are coming out of the woodwork to sue you, or at least to accuse you of stealing.

A: I know. And all for the same six notes. . . . We've never had a hit that big before. So I don't know if it's to do with it's the only song that's been that famous. Or that there's a musical phrase within it that does pop up in a lot of other things, we've now heard. But on my grandfather's life, I promise that I didn't mean to do anything wrong. . . . If there was any basis in truth, I wouldn't be offended at all. But on this one, it just makes me feel, "OK, I'll have to prove that it's not true by writing better songs."

Q: Back in October, when you came through Philadelphia for the second time on this tour . . .

A: We can't stay away. . . .

Q: So it seems.

A: The second show was a lot better, by the way.

Q: I missed that one. But during that show, you held up a copy of what I think was this newspaper, and said words to the effect of: "It says here that the best place in the world to live is Philadelphia."

A: I believe it was The Philadelphia Inquirer. It was the day after you won the . . . what's it called?

Q: The World Series.

A: Right, thank you very much. It was the day after the World Series. As a front man, you dream of those things happening. You dream of being told, "You're playing Philadelphia tonight, and they just won the World Series." You're like, well, that's enough fodder for the whole concert. You guys are getting a lot of attention. I just saw Marley & Me on the flight. I was going to ask you: Is that really true, that you go straight to the mansion when you get a job there?

Q: The rock-star route is a little more reliable. . . . Viva La Vida came out last June. You guys have been out on the road for a while. . . .

A: Which means that we're extremely - [pause] - good. This concert has gotten to the point where we can really just enjoy it.

Q: Do you ever get tired of playing the same songs?

A: No. Never. That's why we try to make sure we like the songs when we do them. And anyway, the adrenaline buzz is so addictive on stage that it's hard to stop.

Q: Bands used to spend a lot more time creating, less time touring. Ever feel you've got the balance wrong?

A: Well, we spend an awful lot of time creating. . . . Maybe it's because we're about to turn 33, but I just feel hungry to write all the time. I think at the end of this tour, we may not tour for a while. We may put out a record without quite so much fanfare. I think the next one will be quite stripped down and based upon this story idea which I can't talk about because it might be bad. . . . Ever watch The Wire?

Q: Yes. Why?

A: 'Cause they're always popping up to Philadelphia. The main thing I do on tour is write, and then go watch The Wire.

Q: How do you write on the road? Do you keep a keyboard with you?

A: There has to be some spark that takes you by surprise. . . . Some word will just send your mind going. Like falafel. That hasn't happened yet. But then I would probably go to the guitar, and since it's falafel, I would probably start with an F chord, and then I probably would try to link it to the breakdown of a relationship.

Q: Naturally. That's always a safe place to go, isn't it?

A: Yes, it is. . . . It's hard to create something out of thin air these days. All of us envy the Beatles. They were the first people to use the mellotron, or the backwards guitar. So when you do find something out of thin air, it's extra magical.

Q: Fifty years of rock has preceded you.

A: So we're trying to work out, "OK, what can we do that's good?" That's what I really admire about Kanye. Because for all the flak he gets, I feel so inspired by his confidence. He knows that there's been all this history of music, but he still believes he can do something that no one else has done. That, for me, is a liberating idea.

Q: Along with the self-deprecation, you've obviously got your share of self confidence.

A: There's a lot of self-doubt. Between 12 and 2, I'm very confident. Then I sink into a depression. . . . You got me at a good point. But whoever I'm talking to next is going to have a hell of a time.

Q: What have you been listening to?

A: Basically, the Kanye record, and the first R.E.M. album, Murmur. I'm really fascinated by the chemistry of bands, and what makes a great band as opposed to a good band. There's some magical combination of people you couldn't create. Look at the Clash, or U2, or R.E.M., or Fleetwood Mac. For some reason, that group of people does something. If you take one person away, they don't do it anymore.

Q: What's special about the Coldplay chemistry?

A: All I know is we don't want to mess with it. 'Cause I think if you keep that chemistry, you get better.

Q: So no Chris Martin solo record?

A: Hell would have to not only freeze over, but be skated over and completely closed up. The pope would have to declare that it didn't even exist. I can't think of anything worse. And I'm sure most of your readers would agree.

Q: So if there is a Chris Martin solo album, I can really call you a liar.

A: It would probably mean that I've been dumped by my wife and I desperately need the money.

Source: philly.com

When Peter Frampton stepped onto the stage of the Marin County Civic Center in June of 1975, he was a niche taste, a pink-haired, baby-faced guitarist writing mellow songs after his stint with the noisier Humble Pie. He'd released three solo albums, none of which could be called a commercial smash; most casual music fans had never heard of him.

But he toured ardently and frequently, and the executives at his record label, A&M, knew that audiences responded to Frampton more passionately than record buyers. So they recorded that show and a few others throughout the year and then, in January 1976, released Frampton Comes Alive!, a double album that would end up going platinum six times.

In a matter of months, millions of people knew Frampton's songs; the record sold 16 million copies worldwide, and it took more than 30 years for someone (and not even a rock star, but Garth Brooks) to release a more popular live album.

The live rock and roll album was once a prized way to break a little-known musical act into the spotlight; it worked for Cheap Trick and Talking Heads, too. These days, though, live albums are never breakthroughs, and almost always released by already established bands. Last week, Coldplay announced that it won't even bother to sell its new live album, LeftRightLeftRightLeft. Instead, it will be offered as a free download on the weepy British rock band's Web site.

Coldplay's LeftRightLeftRightLeft free live album CD

So who killed the live album as a cultural, musical, and commercial tour de force? One of the primary culprits has to be Web video. Once upon a time, even Grateful Dead fans had to sneak their recording devices into the Hartford Civic Center. Today, all it takes is an iPhone, Flip video camera, or even the cheapest of cell phones to record a show and, with a few clicks, send it to friends, upload it to YouTube, and share it with the entire world.

We are all bootleggers now.

Not convinced? Then go to YouTube and type in the name of a concert you've recently seen. If you've not been to a show recently—preferably one with lots of people under the age of, say, 35—try typing in "Yeah Yeah Yeahs at Coachella" and see what turns up: 262 clips from the rock band's afternoon show at the hip music festival held in the California desert last month. True, the audio isn't soundboard quality. But some clips aren't so bad-and many certainly compare favorably with the cassettes Deadheads used to barter for with tie-dyes, mushrooms, and other miracles.

(Or you can take a look at this video I made on my Flip from Coachella of fans videoing various acts, including Antony and the Johnsons, the Cure, My Bloody Valentine, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.)

So why would any hardworking band bother putting great and costly efforts into creating a live album? Well, they wouldn't, really. That's not to say bands can slack onstage. Far from it: The dwindling economics of the recording industry make it imperative for artists to generate the bulk of their money touring. With record labels on the ropes and CD sales falling, the only way a rock star can keep the Maserati doing 185 is by selling lots of concert tickets and merchandise. That's why Ticketmaster (TKTM)—the monopolistic Sauron of the concert business—is hoping to merge with promoter Live Nation (LYV).

But the reason to catalog those efforts nowadays in a live recording is almost purely commercial, rather than artistic. Who cares, then? If bands are still working their balls off in concert and giving away music to fans, everything's hunky-dory, right? Wasn't the live rock album just a commercial product that appeared with industrial predictability and record-label efficiency somewhere between the launch of the third and fifth albums of a band's career as a way for musicians to fulfill their label commitments, keep fans warm while they worked on their next studio release, or kick a drug habit in rehab?

In many cases, yes. But on more than a few occasions, the live album transcended its purpose as a scripted, commercial event. Sometimes, it acted as a fulcrum—turning sort-of popular musicians into megastars and cementing their careers as big-arena performers, not merely as recording artists or purveyors of barroom ambience. Frampton would be little more than a balding footnote in the rock history books without the 14-minute electric soliloquy "Do You Feel Like We Do" from Frampton Comes Alive. And it's hard to imagine the Allman Brothers annually selling out the Beacon Theater in New York-including 15 engagements just this March—without Live at Fillmore East and its 23-minute version of "Whipping Post."

But it's not just ponytailed, Viagra-popping baby boomers who may lament the live album's former role as a musical tour de force rather than—as in Coldplay's example—an inducement to pay Ticketmaster's fees for a concert ticket. The Name of this Band Is Talking Heads is one of only two live rock albums to make it into the top 10 of Metacritic.com's best-reviewed albums ever. The other is Led Zeppelin's How the West Was Won. A few years later, Talking Heads got even bigger with the release of Stop Making Sense, the live recording of the Jonathan Demme film of the same name.

Jane's Addiction debuted with a 1987 live performance from the Los Angeles Roxy. The band broke through when it took one of those live tracks, "Jane Says," into the studio for the Nothing's Shocking album. And when he swapped his left-handed Fender for an acoustic Martin D-18 and played "About a Girl" for the 1993 MTV Unplugged session, Kurt Cobain went from angsty grungeball to tortured artist. Covering obscure Meat Puppets and Vaselines songs showed his deep respect for, and knowledge of, the rock canon.

Then the music fades. It's not that live rock albums disappeared. Coldplay's release had servers melting around the world this weekend as fans downloaded the album, which captured a few nice moments from last year's Viva la Vida tour. But it's arguably been years since the live album exhibited the power to vault a band to the next level.

So is this a story worthy of a teary Coldplay-like ballad? Not quite. As I type this, I've been listening to more than a dozen bootlegged clips of that Yeah Yeah Yeahs show from Coachella off of YouTube. Having witnessed the show live, I am now able to relive it, albeit from the slightly disjointed perspective of someone else's handheld gadget. And guess what? It makes me want to see the band again—and buy their music.

Source: Reuters / The Big Money

Playing in huge arenas before thousands of people has been known to alienate musicians seeking to establish a connection with their audiences, but Coldplay has taken steps to keep things on a human scale.

"Our relationship with the audience is really quite intimate at the moment, because if you bought a ticket way in the back, we'll be coming out to you," bass player Guy Berryman says from home in London, before starting the U.S. leg of a tour that stops in Hartford Saturday.

Indeed, shows on the English quartet's tour last year included a segment where the band raced to some distant section of the venue to perform a couple of acoustic songs. Coldplay plans to reprise the feature this summer, provided the group figures out a way to modify it for the amphitheaters it's visiting. "I'm sure we're going to be running to the back of the amphitheaters if we can," Berryman says. "We're kind of trying to break down the barriers of a conventional rock performance, with the band at one end of the venue and the audience all the way to the back."

Keeping that sense of intimacy with the audience is important for a band whose members regard each other as family. It shows in the way Coldplay has evolved over 11 years and four full-length studio albums together. The most recent, last year's "Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends," was the top-selling album in the world in 2008 and won the Grammy for best rock album in February. It was also the first album on which Coldplay collaborated with producer Brian Eno, who has also worked with Roxy Music, Talking Heads and U2.

"Working with Brian Eno has really helped us quite a lot, and everyone is contributing ideas more and everyone is singing more," Berryman says. "We've spent so much time living together and traveling together, we just know each other better than ever, and we all have a good relationship and are very open-minded to everyone's ideas."

Each of the four members — Berryman, singer/pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland and drummer Will Champion — contributes to the songwriting, which has become a free-flowing process that adheres to no set formula.

"Sometimes a song will be something that Chris has written one night on his own on piano, and he brings it in, and we all try and work out some parts to play on top of it, or it could be a studio-based session where Will is playing a certain drumbeat or Jonny is playing a riff on his guitar, and we kind of build things up from that side," Berryman says. "There's no specific way it functions anymore, which is really quite exciting, because it means everything is coming from a slightly different place."

In some ways, writing "Viva la Vida" was a reaction to stinging criticism from New York Times music critic Jon Pareles, who described Coldplay as "the most insufferable band of the decade" in a blistering review of the band's 2005 album "X&Y."

"It was a big deal. It's the first real attack on your band, and from a publication we all respect," Martin told Rolling Stone last year. "I agreed with a lot of the points. It was like, 'Yeah, I do sometimes go for the obvious, and I do sometimes fall back on old tricks.' So, in a way, it was liberating to see that someone else realized that also."

Berryman says he doesn't remember any specific talk about the Times' review while recording "Viva la Vida," but allows that criticism can be a motivating force.

"Sometimes somebody has decided they don't like you for no other reason than that you're popular, but then sometimes, if there's negative comments, you can read them and go, 'Do you know what? I agree with that,' and you kind of use what people have written about you in a positive way to make constructive changes," he says.

All the same, it doesn't take outside criticism to make the members of Coldplay self-conscious.

"We're a band that's riddled with insecurities anyway, so it doesn't really help us that much to be written about in a negative way," Berryman says. "We just never believe that we've done anything good, and whenever we set out to make a record, we always have it in our heads that it has to be better than the last one. It's those insecurities that drive us to keep going back into the studio and to keep trying to improve our live show and to try and become better musicians and better writers. It's the driving force behind why we're still here doing what we do."

•COLDPLAY performs Saturday at the Comcast Theatre (formerly the Meadows) with Pete Yorn and Howling Bells. Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. show are $97.50 and $79.50 for reserved seats and $35 for the lawn. Information: 860-548-7370.

Source: courant.com

Guy Berryman at Cruzan Amphitheatre, West Palm Beach:

Pictures: SPIN

Despite being the adored, much analyzed and fantasized about lead singer of one of the planet's biggest rock bands, Chris Martin of Coldplay is practical, even humble about his role.

Sitting on the floor of a rented house in Los Angeles, enjoying the California sunshine and the taste of the strawberry he's just finished, Martin is deliberately and charmingly low-key. "It just comes from pure gratitude at being given this job, particularly in a period of time when music is hard to be employed by," Martin says of the free CDs that Coldplay is giving to concert-goers on their current U.S. tour. "We wanted to give something to the people who have paid money to come see us or buy the album," he adds, referring to "Viva La Vida," the best-selling album in the world in 2008. "It's like a reward system in a grocery store."

Material sustenance is not what most fans think of when it comes to Coldplay's music or its live shows, which are known for the passionate connection that Martin makes with audiences. The free CD, "LeftRightLeftRightLeft," with nine live songs culled from the band's last tour, is partly an attempt to capture that link.

"It is like a snapshot of where we're at at the moment as a band," Martin says. "Hopefully nine little morsels of where we are at the moment. It's supposed to give an overview of how we sound now and mostly how our audience is with that."

Given that Coldplay is returning to the United States so soon after finishing another North American tour last November, audiences seem to like whatever the band does. The combination of Martin's charisma and emotionally introspective, obliquely poetic lyrics, and Coldplay's darkly anthemic, lushly melodic music has proved to be potent. The group has grown steadily in stature and sales since debuting in 2000 with "Parachutes," quickly shooting from indie darlings to the top of the U.S. and global charts. Their third album, 2005's "X&Y," sold eight million copies in the first year, while "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends" sold 6.7 million physical and downloaded copies - stellar figures in an age of free downloads and splintering audiences.

The press, however, has been divided on Coldplay and on Martin himself.

The band's music has been criticized as indulgent and repetitive, while Martin, who is married to actor Gwyneth Paltrow (the couple have two children, Apple, 5 and Moses, 3) is sometimes faulted for being arrogant, a vegetarian, righteously well-behaved, and generally avoiding the classically entertaining rock star behavior of excessive drugs, drinking and screwing around. (Although he has been known to wrestle with paparazzi and appear in comedies like the movie "Shaun of the Dead.")

Positive influence

Martin is, in fact, unabashedly middle class. The oldest son of five children of an accountant father and a music-teacher mother, he met his Coldplay bandmates in 1996, while all were earning degrees at London University (they refused to tour or release their first record until they'd taken final exams, and vowed to kick out anyone who used hard drugs). He has campaigned on issues of fair trade and global poverty, and spoken out against the Iraq war. While social themes don't inspire Coldplay's songs, Martin says he feels a responsibility to try and affect the world in a positive way.

"It appeases the guilt I sometimes feel for being given such an incredible job," he says. "I think when you are contributing to or talking about something that you know is important on an activist level, it somehow feels better than if you're just sitting back taking coke." As well as assuaging his own anxieties. "I don't really like to stop and feel comfortable," Martin says. "So I guess social activism is part of that."

But he is realistic about how much effect he can have on the world, beyond making people feel better for the length of a song or a show. "If I'm a bit down and worried about something then if I listen to 'I'm On Fire' by Bruce Springsteen I feel better," Martin says. "We can only influence our little world in our little bubble."

Source: etaiwannews.com

Chris Martin at Cruzan Amphitheatre, West Palm Beach:

Pictures: xroxyichickx