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The problem with Chris Martin isn’t the fact that the Coldplay frontman writes lyrics that resemble something that might come from the diary of a seventh grader who sniffs magic markers (snow, it turns out, is white after all). No, it’s the fact that he almost forces people to take him so goddamn seriously. And the reason is simple: He is a a) rock star; b) a celebrity (or at least married to one); and c) a social activist.   People often compare Martin’s motives to those of Bono, but that’s no

No matter who may be the top selling act this year, alternative rock band Coldplay puts on the best show. On Sunday, Nov. 16. the band played at a sold-out Ford Stadium in Oklahoma City. Tonight they play in Dallas at the American Airlines Center.   Coldplay's concert bombards the senses with visual effects, incredible music and even massive amounts of confetti that pour from the ceiling. More importantly, the band is entertaining, especially when front man Chris Martin uses his humility for com

Performing in Coldplay — one of the world’s biggest bands — could get comfy. Too comfy, even. For bassist Guy Berryman, though, the nightly thrill is intact. After all the massive stadium shows and festivals, stepping on stage still brings that rush of blood.   “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.”   Coldplay is on a global tour support

The modern world, eh? Time was when you’d get an album, preceded and followed by a couple of singles, and that’d be that.   Now, with labels desperately trying to figure out how to keep their clients’ wares afloat, you get ‘leaks’ (some deliberate, some not), streams, downloads, covermounted singles, bonus discs, download-only singles, singles, albums, special edition albums, albums and singles. ‘Prospekts March’ — billed as “an EP of eight previously unreleased tracks” — comes hot on the heels

Coldplay performed to an arena packed with enthused fans Nov. 13 at Kansas City's Sprint Center in the Power and Light District.   The globe-trotting, British soft-rock group took the stage a little after 9 p.m., following two opening acts - a country-tinged alt-rock group from Texas, and a DJ who laid down beats in sync with an acid-trip-esque cartoon video.   Fans rose from their seats and cheered as the first chords of "Life in Technicolor," the opening track on the band's most recent release

A Tiny Scots company has been picked by Coldplay to help spice up the band’s world tour. Edinburgh-based Pufferfish - set up by two entrepreneurial students - specialise in the 3-D spherical TV screen globes called PufferSpheres.   Founders Will Cavendish and Ollie Collier came up with the idea for the inflatable display system while studying at Edinburgh University five years ago. Since they started up their business - which employs just seven staff - their PufferSphere has been used at functio

It’s hard to know what to love best about Coldplay — the music, of course, every rock ballad a smashing crowd favorite, but there’s also the high-energy stage presence of the band and its evangelical, marching-band leader, reports NewsOK.   Then there’s the colorful retro grunge clothing reminiscent of the ’80s, the painted guitars and piano; and the pulsing laser light show complete with drop-down balloons that alternately change colors, go psychedelic or show images of the band in full symphon

Coldplay played the Ford Center in Oklahoma City last night.   Unconfirmed setlist:   Life In Technicolor Violet Hill Clocks In My Place Glass Of Water Speed Of Sound Cemeteries Of London Chinese Sleep Chant 42 Fix You Strawberry Swing God Put A Smile Upon Your Face (techno version) Talk (techno version) The Hardest Part (Chris - piano instrumental) Postcards From Far Away (Chris - piano instrumental) Viva La Vida Lost! The Scientist (acoustic) Death Will Never Conquer (acoustic - W

Crowd: Estimated 20,000.   Top highlight: In an evening full of highlights, "Viva la Vida” was one of the crowd’s favorites, reports NewsOK. Lead singer Chris Martin was almost evangelical, dancing and twirling around the stage, conducting the crowd and his fans, ending the song lying on the stage as the crowd sang his final notes.   Reviewer’s take: Coldplay impressed and energized its Oklahoma City audience playing many favorites from its long career, including "Clocks,” "Fix You,” and many fr

Coldplay's Chris Martin recently wrote about Björk as one of 100 Greatest Singers in a Rolling Stone article. Here's what he had to say:   When you land in Iceland, you feel like you're somewhere a bit magical. Maybe it's the volcanic activity, maybe it's the dried fish, but something's going on: Everyone seems to be extraordinarily beautiful, and everyone appears to be able to sing. Their singers are so far ahead of everyone else — especially Björk. Her voice is so specific and such a new color

Performing in Coldplay — performing in the world’s biggest band — could get comfy. Too comfy, even.   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 ti

Originally scheduled to perform in Oklahoma City on July 10, Coldplay finally roll their “Viva La Vida” North American Tour into the Ford Center on Sunday, Nov. 16, with special guests John Hopkins and Sleepercar in tow. Due to production delays, Coldplay had to postpone several summer shows on the tour. Tickets already purchased for the July 10 date will be honored on Nov. 16.   Meanwhile, the British hitmakers' fourth album, “Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends,” has sold more than 5 mi

It is cold. My hands are feeling all crinkly. I went outside in a t-shirt earlier and regretted it. We are a long way from the Florida sun that shone on our tour buses a few days ago. The confetti canons have just blown butterflies over a crowd of 14’500.. From where I’m sitting, at the Oxfam stall, I can see a few of them fluttering down, when someone opens the curtain to go through to their seat. When it’s closed, I just see the glow of the lights, in time with Will Champion’s kick pedal foot.

Had British foursome Coldplay performed at the Xcel Energy Center in July as originally scheduled, we would have witnessed the band at the beginning stages of a world tour, fueled by nervous energy and excitement, reports Twin Cities.   Instead, the band postponed that July show to allow more time for pre-tour production and stopped by the X on Friday night for a confident and competent performance for a crowd of 16,153. Ever-affable lead singer Chris Martin apologized for skipping out this sum

Coldplay still hasn’t found what it’s looking for. The biggest rock band of the ’00s, the British quartet aspires to be as big as U2, reports Star Tribune.   But the group’s sold-out concert Friday at Xcel Energy Center was like one step forward and two steps back. The show wasn’t as consistently exciting as Coldplay’s first Twin Cities arena concert in 2003 nor as visually dazzling as the group’s 2005 effort.   Friday’s 95-minute concert lacked momentum, urgency and depth. The key culprit was t

The biggest post-1990s band from Britain that doesn't give away its music came to Sprint Center on Thursday. And a large crowd was on hand with a loud, long and warm greeting, reports Back To Rockville.   And though it may not know its U.S. geography ("Thank you, Kansas"), Coldplay knows its own history: That's the first time we've played this in the U.S., said lead singer Chris Martin after singing "Glass of Water." That one will have its place of prominence in Coldplay trivia and lore; Thursda

To the question at hand: is Coldplay cool? Cool enough, that is, for a discerning, punk-bred, 45-collecting, uncomfortable-shoes-wearing music blog reader such as you?   Well, if you’re reading this review at all, most likely you already love Coldplay and you’re just waiting for me to (a) report on awesomeness of band and give the setlist so you can feel affirmed, or (b) dis Coldplay for being loved by squares so that you can eviscerate me in the comments, report The Pitch, Kansas City.   But on

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin has said that the band would be happy to open for Take That - but only after some extensive working out.   Chris revealed on the Coldplay website that the band, who are in the middle of a world tour, randomly started singing the Take That song Back For Good, while in their dressing room waiting to go on stage.   "We sang the whole thing, word for word, with all the right chords on our piano, without having to learn it or anything. It was great. So I'd like to use

Coldplay.com caught up with Chris Martin in Atlanta and posted a new interview. In it, Chris talks about the upcoming Prospekt's March EP, Barack Obama, Oasis and Exeter City FC, as well as dropping some sizeable hints about Coldplay's 2009 touring plans. Here is their interview:   Hello Chris, how are you? I'm good man, I'm in Atlanta. I just had my ears looked at and my mouth washed out.   What's wrong with your ears and your mouth? Well nothing as it transpires. But in every city I go to, I l

Two of the world's hottest rock bands, Coldplay and Kings of Leon, will play in Melbourne in March with sharply different ticket prices, report the Herald Sun.   Brit band Coldplay and American rockers Kings of Leon will strut their stuff at Rod Laver Arena. Kings of Leon have refused costly tiered pricing, instead setting all tickets at a credit-crunch-friendly $92.   Coldplay have a March 2 show on hold, with final confirmation due shortly. Coldplay's ever-increasing asking price saw a string

Destination Kansas City. We rolled up at the Sprint Center, Kansas City today. Some of these arenas have quite grand and strange designs. This one struck me that if you shone some flashlights on it, it would become a crystal ball. At the moment though, it just looks a bit like a glittering fruit bowl you might find in a certain Swedish megastore..   It was another mammoth drive yesterday. I sympathise for the truck and bus drivers when we do long-hauls like that. It’s an incredible country to to

Hotpress.com got a sneak preview of Coldplay's musically adventurous new EP, which is due for release from November 19th. Read on for the full verdict...   For a long time Coldplay seemed determined to live up to Alan McGee’s snide “bedwetters music” jibe, making a succession of albums that affirmed their reputation as the go-to guys for tear-stained indie-rock introspection. On occasion they’ve flirted with change, but really it has been little more than a subtle batting of the eyelids, gestur

Performing in Coldplay — performing in one of the world’s biggest bands — could get comfy. Too comfy, even, reports kansascity.com.   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

Chris Martin, Coldplay frontman, husband of Gwyneth Paltrow, father of Moses and Apple, is letting other members do interviews these days. This summer, around the time “Vida la Vida” was released, he did tell the Los Angeles Times some secrets to his success, reports kansascity.com.   “Like millions of people in the world, I can’t listen to Coldplay,” Martin said with a daft wink. “But my reason is professional. You see, I’m always thinking about the next thing. I’m also always looking for somet

With Viva La Vida collaborator Jon Hopkins about to start another run of shows supporting Coldplay, the official site thought it was time to find out a bit more about him...   Hello Jon, how are you? Hi, I am well, though a bit jetlagged. Currently in Miami, I arrived in the US in time to DJ at the Atlanta show last night and have my first live support in Kansas tomorrow night.   You've already played some dates with the band on this tour, have you enjoyed them? It's been amazing, I think I've