Coldplay sell out European stadiums and launch major U.S. tour
Coldplay are no strangers to huge crowds -- the band's last tour, in 2003, ended with a sold-out show at New York's Madison Square Garden. But Coldplay's new album, X&Y, has sent the band into the top echelon of touring rock stars; two shows at London's Crystal Palace drew 80,000 people, and two concerts at Glasgow's Bellahouston Park had 50,000.
"The gigs have got really big," says guitarist Jonny Buckland. "Almost too big. The temptation is to put in all the cheesy moves and run around and get down on your knees and shit. We try to do what we do -- but just slightly bigger."After hitting Number One on the U.S. charts for three straight weeks with X&Y (and Number One its first week in twenty-seven other countries) and selling out eighteen shows in Europe, Coldplay head for North America on August 2nd. They sold 400,000 tickets for their thirty-eight-show North American tour in one early-June weekend, including sellouts in Los Angeles, New York, Toronto and the other big markets. X&Y made its debut in mid-June with first-week sales of 737,000 copies in the U.S. and broke the million mark in just three weeks.
The quartet will play mostly amphitheaters in the 15,000-to-35,000-fan range per city. Though the Rolling Stones, U2 and Paul McCartney are expected to be blockbuster tours, Alex Hodges, executive vice president of House of Blues Concerts, says Coldplay rank right behind them, along with Green Day, Jimmy Buffett and Tom Petty.
"As far as being the biggest band in the world, who's to say?" says Dave Holmes, Coldplay's manager. "Like any artist, they just want to have a long career." Says Buckland, "It really is as cheesy as this -- we aspire to be good. Wherever that takes us, we'll go, if it takes us to stadiums or back to clubs or playing toilets."
Coldplay North American tour dates:
8/2: Toronto, Air Canada Centre
8/3: Montreal, Bell Centre
8/4: Hartford, CT, Meadows Music Theater
8/6: Mansfield, MA, Tweeter Center
8/8: Camden, NJ, Tweeter Center
8/9: Cincinnati, Riverbend Music Center
8/11: Burgettstown, PA, Post Gazette Pavilion
8/12: Noblesville, IN, Verizon Wireless Music Center
8/13: East Troy, WI, Alpine Valley Music Theatre
8/16: Auburn, WA, White River Amphitheatre
8/17: Ridgefield, WA, Amphitheatre at Clark County
8/19: Mountain View, CA, Shoreline Amphitheatre
8/20: Irvine, CA, Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
8/24: Albuquerque, NM, Journal Pavilion
8/25: Phoenix, Cricket Pavilion
8/26: San Diego, Coors Amphitheatre
8/30: Clarkston, MI, DTE Energy Music Theatre
8/31: Columbus, OH, Germain Amphitheater
9/1: Darien Center, NY, Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
9/3: Holmdel, NJ, PNC Bank Arts Center
9/6: New York, Madison Square Garden
9/7: New York, Madison Square Garden
9/9: Charlotte, NC, Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
9/10: Raleigh, NC, Alltel Pavilion
9/13: West Palm Beach, FL, Sound Advice Amphitheatre
9/14: Tampa, FL, Ford Amphitheatre
9/16: Pelham, AL, Verizon Wireless Music Center
9/17: Maryland Heights, MO, UMB Bank Pavilion
9/18: Antioch, TN, Starwood Amphitheatre
9/20: Minneapolis, Target Center
9/21: Bonner Springs, KS, Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
9/23: Dallas, Smirnoff Music Center
9/24: The Woodlands, TX, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
9/25: Austin, Austin City Limits Music Festival
9/28: Atlanta, Philips Arena
9/29: Virginia Beach, VA, Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater
9/30: Bristow, VA, Nissan Pavilion at Stone Ridge
Source: Rolling Stone
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