(February 13, 2007) The world famous British rock band Coldplay is now in Chile, but the three scheduled concerts in Santiago on February 14, 15, and 16 will largely be a privilege for Chile’s rich. The tickets, which start at US$80 for general admission and go up to US$160, remain out of reach for most Chileans in a country where the average monthly salary is only US$500 a month.
Arriving in Chile on Monday directly from London, Coldplay band members were quickly rushed into seclusion at Santiago’s Hyatt Hotel with their support staff of over 25 people. It is unknown if Gwyneth Paltrow, the Oscar-winning actress and wife of Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin, accompanied the band on their trip.
The band’s arrival received widespread press in Chile. Fans gathered outside of the Hyatt to catch a glimpse of the band, and journalists did their best to get interviews from the hotel lobby. As Coldplay has not toured since July of last year, the band’s announcement that they will debut songs from their forthcoming album in Santiago only added to the frenzy.
“We don’t know much about Chile, other than its pretty and the quickest way to get to Antarctica,” said Martin, adding that his band was happy to be in the country.
Martin did say that he was a bit embarrassed about the high ticket prices. “We just found out how expensive they are and would like to say we are sorry. We didn’t know beforehand,” he said. “The tickets of course could not have been extremely cheap because we are playing smaller venues here, but the price is a little embarrassing. When you are a famous band, a lot of things happen that you don’t know about.”
When asked what Coldplay would play at the concert, Martin told Chile’s El Mercurio daily that the set list was still up in the air. “It will be good material, whether it is old or new,” he said. “We don’t want to get too excited about the new songs, but rather play Yellow or Clocks (two of the band’s most famous songs). The fans that have tickets will have a great time, it will be familiar material.”
When asked about the new disc, Martin said the topic was a bit premature. "We are going work with Brian Eno, but we’ll talk about that very soon," he said. “Maybe there won’t even be another disc, we might just stay in Chile getting fat and drinking wine.”
While the band mostly stayed in the hotel, a sound check was expected for Tuesday afternoon. The band was also reportedly at the famous Liguria restaurant in Providencia Monday night until 11 o’clock and said they were planning to visit Valparaiso on Tuesday. “We want to try to see the sea, take in a much history as possible, and get drunk,” added Martin.
Coldplay had been expected to meet with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet as ambassadors for the NGO Oxfam, but no visit had been confirmed as of Tuesday afternoon. Bachelet previously met with U2 and Shakira when they were in town, but is currently in the south of Chile on vacation.
Press access to the band has been remarkably restricted. DG Medios, the company in charge of Coldplay’s Santiago concerts, repeatedly ignored The Santiago Times’ requests for information.
Coldplay shot to fame in 2000 with the single “Yellow” and subsequent debut album “Parachutes.” Since then, the Brit band has emerged as one of the hottest groups in the world with their albums “A Rush of Blood to the Head” and “X&Y.”
Coldplay has frequently supported international NGOs including Amnesty International and Oxfam. Martin said he had saved five tickets so that Oxfam members could pass out postcards at the three concerts in Santiago.
The Latin American tour will also take the band to Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico.
Tickets for the Santiago concert still remain, but only those priced US$120 and US$160. The “cheap” seats quickly sold out. The three concerts are taking places at Santiago’s Espacio Riesco, and tickets can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.cl.
SOURCE: EL MERCURIO, LA SEGUNDA
By Nathan Crooks ([email protected])
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