More questions answered by The Oracle... (submit yours now!)

September 4, 2009 - submitted by Heide, United States of America

Q. Oracle, you don't answer much questions about Will so hopefully you answer this: I recently saw a video on youtube of the boys performing "Billie Jean" in Munich, Germany. In the video Chris gave the mic to Will to sing but he would not until Chris begged him. I have to ask why? Is he shy or does he not like singing? It can't be since he's in the band! Thank you Oracle :)

The Oracle replies:

Will sings backing vocals on many tracks and has had a solo spot during the acoustic part of the show but on this particular occasion, it was the fact that Chris was asking him to sing the falsetto part of the song as reported by Roadie #42.

September 4, 2009 - submitted by Kevin, United States of America

Q. Hello great and wise Oracle! I know there's an alternate Trouble video that was rejected in the States for being "too dark". Now that Coldplay is as big as they are, do you think this video will see the light of day again??

The Oracle replies:

That video was the original not the alternative so it hasn't been hidden away; should be easy to find online given that it wasn't banned or anything.

September 4, 2009 - submitted by Robin, Germany

Q. Dear O, who is travelling with the Coldplay-shaped puppets? I mean, somebody has to take the photos, right? Bye!

The Oracle replies:

It's more a question of who are the puppets travelling with; they travel with the band of course. It's Dan "the Man" Portanier who is looking after their day to day touring. Given their current state I'm sure you think he's not doing a great job looking after their welfare but travelling all over the world when you're around 10 inches tall is no easy feat. (FYI: That was the puppets height, not Dan's!)

September 4, 2009 - submitted by Evelien, Belgium

Q. Dear Oracle, We know who the fifth band member of Coldplay is, but who do you think was the fifth member of the Beatles? Was it Brian Epstein, George Martin, Stuart Sutcliffe, or who was that fifth Beatle? Thanks Oracle!

The Oracle replies:

Although Stuart Sutcliffe is referred to as the fifth Beatle, he was technically one of the four members so I am ruling him out. If we're looking for the equivalent of what Phil Harvey is to Coldplay then I'd have to go for Brian Epstein given that he managed the band, as of course Phil once did for our boys. George Martin is a wonderful thread running through both bands as those of you have seen The Nappies' video will know!

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New pictures of Coldplay at Stade de Suisse, Bern, Switzerland (2nd September 2009):

Pictures by kusito @ Flickr

Coldplay's Viva La Vida stadium tour arrived in Spain as they played at the Estadi Olimpic in Barcelona. No major changes to the usual setlist, except for the addition of a 'rhyming song to the acoustic set which acted as an intro to Death Will Never Conquer. There were media interviews with fans in the queues as well as a Spanish review - you can watch the video here at the Lavanguardia.es website. Several twitters and Spanish media articles complained of bad sound problems, although our Coldplayers returning home said they were nothing more than a few one second electrical cuts in Life In Technicolor and Violet Hill. If there was going to be a DVD of this show, there won't be now.

[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)

Rhyming Song (intro to DWNC)

Death Will Never Conquer (Acoustic, sung by Will)

Billie Jean

Viva La Vida (remix interlude)

------

Politik

Lovers In Japan

Death And All His Friends

-------

The Scientist

Life in Technicolor ii

The Escapist (outro)

Foto: elpais.com

I've just arrived home from the concert. First of all, the sound problems: at Life in Technicolor and Violet Hill there were some problems with the speakers (like little electricity cuts of 1 second), but after that they didn't appear again, maybe later in Strawberry Swing, I don't remember very well. In my place (not the song, more or less 50 meters away the stage) the rest of the concert the sound was OK (at least all you can expect in a big stadium). But it seems that in other parts of the stadium the sound was worse, a lot of people complained about that. Before the encore Chris apologised about that. The setlist, the same as previous days. Only after Green Eyes, on stage C, they played a song I can't identify. It seemed a traditional song, but I don't know... Maybe someone upload it to youtube and you could find out. For me the sound was correct almost all the time, but it's true that in other parts of the stadium it wasn't, I heard people saying that when we were leaving it. The setlist would be a loong discussion. 24 songs may sound fine but you shouldn't count as "normal" songs: God put a smile, Talk, that weird one, The escapist... And another ones are pretty short: Postcards, Death will never conquer ... I think they already have enough material for a concert of 2:15 - 2:30. But don't misunderstand me! I'm pretty happy with the show tonight! Near us there was a big crane with a camera moving above us and filming the stage and the crowd. [thanks ellis]

I'M BAAACK! awesome show, im fucking tired. sound problems, just little cuts in violet hill, that was all. crowd was IN-CRE-DI-BLE, everybody standing up from damn beggining to damn end (i was in the seating zone), they knew a lot of songs (only Glass of Water failed a little in crowd response) and singing along veeeeeery loud. the cellphone wave was really cool, and the amount of people there was just INSANE! the pit was crowded, i'd never seen something like that. oh well, good night. [thanks strawberryswinger]

I willl look for the positives in my review..... Will has learnt spanish.... he speaks better spanish than chris I think I am sure he is like me, and has seen the perfect one but she does not speak english... only spanish.. The sound issues where I was seemed very apearant, nad highlighted they were playing a Cd in the background. 75 euros is a lot of money, and its bad that ,was the average price to go in.. why ?? they need to play more music from parachuets... there are some great songs for the fans on there, but something tells me, coldplay can not be botherd, as the other songs from the other albums are way to easy to play... [thanks bart]

Hello, I was standing, near the left catwalk. They experienced strong problems at the beginning of the concert, that happened when strong light where used => sound problems (no sound and a CRSSSCRCRCR!! sound each time that big lights shined), imagine glass of water with that problem. Suddenly the music volume was lowered in a few songs (I suppose while they where searching where the problem came from), and for more or less two song it was hard to listen Chris, But then all began to go perfect. I enjoyed this concert a lot although I was very worry for them at the beginning. After this problems all began to sound great. Don't believe people saying that or this was a shit. I was in the middle of morons (some of that commentaries must come from there, sure ) That didn't move or sing. But I could hear and see the stadium singing loud, dancing and enjoying this concert. My husband and me didn't stop dancing and singing. Good night to everybody (please, forgive me for my bad english) [thanks mygdalom]

I think that Coldplay has not lived up to the expectations. The concert was supposed to be about listening to music. It is alright with the balloons, paper butterflies, fireworks and "eccentricity". Billie Jean was shit.... the concert should have lasted longer than Coldplay actually were on stage - referring to the wave created by mobile phones (Mexican Wave) and other issues, 2 hours (it was rather 1 hour, 50 min) was not much. Take the money and run. [from Lavanguardia.es / nancyk58]

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

Picture by Francisco961 @ Flickr

Picture by Francisco961 @ Flickr

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Coldplay are apparently filming tonight's Barcelona concert for a live DVD, Spanish media newspapers are widely reporting this morning. 63,500 tickets for tonight's concert at Barcelona's Olimpic Stadium have been sold since April and the venue is now a total sell out.

According to the sources, the filming process will take place with a sophisticated camera system that includes a very high crane installed outside the stadium to capture aerial views of the show.

It is as yet unknown whether this news will be officially confirmed or if the DVD will also include footage from other stadium shows, including Paris and Wembley. More on this exclusive news is at the Coldplay forum here onwards. If you want to see the latest Tweets, pictures, videos and setlist news from tonight's concert in Barcelona then this is the place to go. [thanks Juanma8]

Meanwhile, Coldplay live article is featured in October edition of Q Magazine: [thanks mimixxx & kspillers2]

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Will Champion sat down with Swiss website tagesanzeiger.ch before the show at Bern's Stade de Suisse on Wednesday and talked about the rehearsals before a big tour and the relationship to his band's multi record label EMI. Here is the online interview. Thanks to Larry for the translation.

"Bund: Do you have diligently practiced before your big tour or is a band like Coldplay not in the need of doing that anymore?

Will Champion: We find out how a song should sound in order to let it work live, but we don’t spend months with rehearsals before a tour. This happens before we go into the studio. During this time, we rehearse the songs, discarding ideas and work meticulously on details. The same thing happens again when we are in the studio working with producers.

For the last album one of these producers was Brian Eno, a man who has already helped bands such as U2 and David Bowie to fame and honour. Please describe a normal day in the studio.

In the morning we often began with a musical exercise program. We should play what just came to our mind, without being focused on a goal - which at times degenerated into almost free jazz. In the afternoon we worked focused on individual songs, but when we got stuck, Brian Eno broke the thing off quickly, immediately moved to the next song. He doesn’t like it when things go round in circles.

I've heard that you also dealed with magic cards.

Yes. When we didn’t know what to do, he came up with these cards that we had to draw. In a random process pattern of thoughts and routines should be broken.Then on the cards were things like "play it backwards," or "allow a simplification of structures”. Sometimes this has actually brought us to do things that we hadn’t done in our normal operating procedures.

Why does a band like Coldplay need a producer at all?

Otherwise it would take an eternity for us to record an album. A producer can give an idea a form, he keeps track of things and distance.

Is there a boss at Coldplay?

We have found a way to function as a band. Chris Martin writes all the songs, but when he submits us with ideas that wouldn’t leave some leeway for the band or where not everyone of us can stand behind, we have to reach a consensus on it.

The record company EMI seems to be plenty depending on Coldplay – if an album delays the stock market values will break in. How do you deal with such a relationship?

It shouldn’t simply worry us. And it ultimately doesn’t change our attitude to music. We don’t write a better album, because we want to help EMI, as we would never make a bad album to annoy EMI. We are still in the fortunate position that we can publish our music with the help of a larger group.As long as this works so well, there is no reason to be worried about it.

There’s a little problem with Coldplay for quite some time: One listen to your songs, possibly in love with them, and when you see the band live later on, one must share this love with 20,000 others. Has Coldplay accepted being a stadium band?

If I love a song or a band, I never think that I'd like to have it for myself. Far from it! I want to inspire as many people as possible for it. Music deals with that finally: It connects people. And obviously we are padded in a general sense of being with our music. I don’t have any problems with it. We have started as a musician with this ambition, and so we want to continue. I've read several times: "This song sounds as if it had been written for a stadium." This is ridiculous. Nobody does it deliberately. If a song doesn’t sound good when you play it alone in a small room at the piano, then it won’t sound good in a stadium either. It needs that intimacy in a song in order that it becomes something big. One can mix up everything in the studio with guitars, reverb and electronics. But when a song doesn’t have a soul and emotion in its core, it will never sound great. Coldplay has always focused on this core.

New pictures of Coldplay at Stade de Suisse, Bern, Switzerland (2nd September 2009):

Fotos: bernerzeitung.ch [thanks mimixxx]

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More questions answered by The Oracle... (submit yours now!)

September 2, 2009 - submitted by Jaclyn, United States of America

Q. Dearest Oracle, Were any of the members of Coldplay's children in the Life in Technicolor ii video?

The Oracle replies:

No, all the little people (and big people apart from Phil Harvey) in that

September 2, 2009 - submitted by Jordan, Australia

Q. Is the Oracle gay?

The Oracle replies:

At Manchester's Pride festival on Sunday just after seeing

Q. What do you (/the band) think of the Oasis' break up yesterday night at the Rock en Seine Festival? I am really shocked and disappointed. I understand that they have a right to do it (of course) but the way they did it is very disrespectful for the fans. I think Coldplay could never do that this way. right? Please answer this question my dear Oracle!

The Oracle replies:

To be honest it wasn't a shock but it was a sad situation. The brothers haven't been getting along well for some time and although the timing wasn't great for the fans, sometimes you just have to do what you have to do. Clearly in Noel's heart he couldn't go on and it's probably best for them to have time apart; it's a shame when family members don't get along. Coldplay aren't joined by blood but do thankfully travel together, work together and remain solid friends. It's a well-known fact that they are fans of Oasis and have been influenced by the band.

Ironically brothers who still remain close in and out of work replaced Oasis at their cancelled Milan appearance.

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September 3, 2009 - submitted by Caitlin, United States of America

Q. Dearest Oracle, The fans of Coldplay who read #42's blog have no clue as to what he/she looks like. Have any of the boys, crew, or even you met him face-to-face? Sincerely, Caitlin

The Oracle replies:

Yes, yes and yes; some fans will have seen him also without realizing...

September 3, 2009 - submitted by Michelle, Canada

Q. Hi Oracle, Following up from yesterday's LIT ii question, do the "crew" puppets represent actual crew members, and if so,who? Thanks

The Oracle replies:

No they don't and so to Randi from the States this is why the crew puppets aren't travelling around the world with the Coldplay-shaped ones.

September 3, 2009 - submitted by Harry, United Kingdom

Q. Dear Oracle, Coldplay will be appearing on Radio 1's live lounge on Fri 18th. I was really excited to hear this, but then realised I won't be able to listen to it live!!! Please can you advise me if there will be a recorded version I can get hold of or another time Radio 1 will play the session? PLEASE HELP!

The Oracle replies:

Don't worry, it's standard for Radio 1 to feature their shows online for the following 7 days after so you can listen via their website.

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Coldplay's Viva La Vida stadium tour arrived in Switzerland as they played at the Stade de Suisse in Bern. No major changes to the usual setlist. Coldplay had a few friends present at the show - rain, thunder and lightning. The Coldplay-shaped puppets were last seen saying "hooray for Udine" and "going for the Bern" - see those pictures after the jump.

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

Setlist: (unconfirmed)

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

Death Will Never Conquer (Acoustic, sung by Will)

Billie Jean

Viva La Vida (remix interlude)

------

Politik

Lovers In Japan

Death And All His Friends

-------

The Scientist

Life in Technicolor ii

The Escapist (outro)

Picture by by cyberyann41 @ Flickr

Once again, a great concert! (Except for the weather maybe..) I really hope someone recorded it! Oh, I just discovered that the picture in the 2009 tour programme below the text "the greatest fans in the known universe" was taken from last year's show in the Hallenstadion, recognized a few faces there. Damn, just a little bit more to the left... oh well. [thanks parabel]

Almost one year ago Coldplay played in Zürich at the stadium "Zürcher Hallenstadion" and made their fans enthusiastic. On Wednesday 2 September, 2009 the four British Coldplay members visited Switzerland again - this time they played at the stadium "Stade de Suisse" in the Swiss capital Bern. In spite of the expensive tickets, the stadium was sold-out – and who was ready to spend the money on the expensive tickets was rewarded - in spite of the pouring rain.

Already at the beginning of the concert Coldplay played some of their anthems - hits such as «Violet Hill», «Clocks» and «Yellow». Leadsinger Chris Martin's infectious and like-able way of acting spread fast to the audience. An electronical dub version of «God Put a Smile Upon Your Face» and Martin's solo performance at the piano playing «The Hardest Part» followed. A little past 9.30 pm the concert was interrupted due to the pouring rain – to compensate for this Martin played the next song in the middle of the audience. Coldplay on their side appeared to be impressed by their Swiss opening band Pegasus: After their gig they found five bottles of champagne in their dressing room – including a "thank you" note by Coldplay. [thanks nancyk58 / 20min.ch]

Hey, I have been to this concert! We were able to buy tickets at the black market... for less than half the regular price. I also filmed a few parts of the concert, but wasn't able to upload the vids to YouTube yet. Have to say, I didn't mind the rain at all, it was great fun, hehe. Chris sadly didn't talk so much, but for welcoming he shortly spoke in Swiss German: "Grüezi, alle zämme." Or something like this. [thanks Gya]

40,000 worried looks towards the sky: Is the sky going to keep its promise / is it trustworthy? A clear and dry night. The rain has eased off during the afternoon, the clouds have disappeared as the opening bands are playing and the plastic rain coats distributed at the gates are not used. Everything is fine, because, as soon as it gets dark, the stars, the mobile phone cameras and, of course, Coldplay are going to shine in Stade de Suisse. Coldplay, they enter the stage running with sparklers while striking up the instrumental song «Life in Technicolor», it goes fast, the fans in the audience are screaming enthusiastically, thousand hands are now clapping along. And then finally, there it is: Chris Martin's unmistakable VOICE. And there HE is. He wears a light blue scarf around his neck what is quite fashionable nowadays, and a motorcycle jacket that seems a little bit old-fashioned, he takes off both the scarf and the jacket later on.

Chris Martin jumps around like a teenager: «Grüezi, hoi zäme», he says, that is sufficient to make the audience go crazy, because the audience sings along to the two greatest catchy Coldplay songs, «Clocks» in the red light, «In My Place» in the blue light. At the time of singing the chorus, noone can be stopped, Chris Martin jumps around like a teenager, standing on a catwalk he allows the audience to get near him, and this incidence is repeated a few times more during the almost two-hour-long concert. Spell-binding. Who can, sings along, who cannot, kisses his girlfriend. Everybody can do something, at least scream. Coldplay can do much more than that, what they prove once again in Bern. Their atmospheric songs sound professional - immediately like when pushing the button (to switch on the light) in the living room - with the difference that in the living room, there is no charismatic Chris Martin, no perfect choreography and not this brilliantly devised light show. The light which was previously red and blue turns yellow when the song «Yellow» is played, gigantic balloons are floating over the audience, Chris Martin is quite sweaty.

«Billie Jean» Later the light turns violet, a flashing red light – and Coldplay is playing somewhat more rock and less catchy songs such as «42» off the latest album «Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends». Coldplay have become more versatile and all-round than before, unfortunately – or thank God? – still pleasant and nice. Only the sky has not kept its promise. A short time before the tribute to Michael Jackson, an acoustic version of «Billie Jean», the sky is "crying" over Bern (pouring rain). But at this time noone needs the stars in the sky, because the stars are standing before us on stage. [thanks nancyk58 / Berner Zeitung]

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

The Coldplay-shaped puppets say hooray for Udine:

The Coldplay-shaped puppets go for the Bern:

More questions answered by The Oracle... (submit yours now!)

September 1, 2009 - submitted by Sean, United States of America

Q. Dear Oracle, I know that Elbow has been supporting Coldplay in the last few weeks and I was wondering, are Chris Martin and Guy Garvey friends? If so how long have they known each other and is it possible they'll collaborate in the future?

The Oracle replies:

They get along well and have known each other for quite a while now not just from Elbow playing as special guests on the recent tour dates. Chris interviewed Guy back in 2004 but as they started to get attention on the unsigned circuit around the same time back in 1998, their paths crossed many times over the years.

A collaboration isn't likely although they're mutual friends and fans.

September 1, 2009 - submitted by Aleksandar, Serbia and Montenegro

Q. Dear Oracle, The Coldplay-shaped puppets are becoming a little dirty, don't you think?? :))

The Oracle replies:

All this touring is certainly taking it out of them isn't it? Hopefully they'll be treated to some pampering soon. Luckily the band are in better shape themselves!

September 1, 2009 - submitted by Gabriela, Paraguay

Q. Were you busy today Oracle? Haha I've waited for your answers all day!! :D

The Oracle replies:

Greetings Paraguay! It was a U.K. Bank Holiday Monday so I was out cycling in the rain!

September 1, 2009 - submitted by Nikki, United States of America

Q. Dear Oracle, How much is The Blue Room EP worth? Thanks, Nikki

The Oracle replies:

Around the £40 mark but can of course reach more in online auctions.

September 1, 2009 - submitted by Mindy, United States of America

Q. Dear Oracle, I live in the U.S. and have no idea what the expression "ton up" - used by R#42 in his blog 100 - means. I bet nobody else here does, either! So...what DOES it mean exactly and where does it come from?

The Oracle replies:

Roadie #42 is referring to his blog number as a ton is a slang term for a hundred. It originates from a measurement term also meaning one hundred.

September 1, 2009 - submitted by Jen, United States of America

Q. I am desperate to find what's going out with my buddy and I can't call him or text him because I have a Prepaid cell phone and I can't waste my minutes because my phone is ONLY for emergencies. I think my he's mad at me. What should I do? Please help me. Thanks!~

The Oracle replies:

Gosh what did we do before mobile phones were invented...? How about you use a public payphone? Or given that you obviously have internet access, why don't you email him or send him a letter?

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This just in from Anchorman (below). More discussion on this breaking news is at the Coldplay forum here onwards [thanks mayurshikotra]

Good morning. We're pleased to report that, on Friday 18th Sept, BBC Radio 1's Jo Whiley show will broadcast a Coldplay interview, a special Live Lounge performance from the band and 60 minutes of highlights from the Glasgow Hampden Park show. Jo's show starts at 10am and you'll be able to listen online, wherever in the world you are.

You can listen to the Radio 1 webstream via the Coldplaying toolbar - which you can download here prior to the interview and live gig. If you have any problems with the toolbar please log them here as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Coldplay live article is featured in October edition of Q Magazine: [thanks mimixxx & kspillers2]

Jay-Z is set to play a show at the London Roundhouse venue between his forthcoming support slots for Coldplay. The rapper, set to release new album 'The Blueprint 3' on September 11, will headline the Camden venue – a relatively intimate gig by his terms – on September 17.

The show will come following gigs with Coldplay in Manchester and Glasgow (12 and 16 respectively) and will come before two shows supporting them at London's Wembley Stadium (18th and 19th).

Jay-Z's new single, 'Run This Town', featuring Rihanna and Kanye West, who produced 'The Blueprint 3', is out now. Tickets for the Roundhouse gig go on sale at 9am (BST) on Friday (September 4). Meanwhile, a benefit concert that Jay-Z is planning for September. 11, a day before the Manchester concert has been billed as 'Answer the Call.'

The performance will be at New York's Madison Square Garden and air live on Fuse TV. Jay-Z was joined by his wife, singer Beyonce Knowles; Gov. David Paterson; Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer.

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Coldplay's Viva La Vida tour arrived in Italy as they played at the Stadio Friuli in Udine. No major changes to the usual setlist - thanks to Coldplayzone for blogging the set in real time. Miller was seen filming the aforementioned balloons and crowns choreography, and the final verse of Violet Hill was dedicated to the Italian people. During the acoustic stage Chris Martin commented how much Italians like making love!

[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

Death Will Never Conquer (Acoustic, sung by Will)

Billie Jean

Viva La Vida (remix interlude)

------

Politik

Lovers In Japan

Death And All His Friends

-------

The Scientist

Life in Technicolor ii

The Escapist (outro)

Picture by iriden

well.. the stadium was full of people and you could see italian and not fans waiting for them with a lot of balloons! Chris was sooo cute when he tried to speak in italian. i think when they played Viva La Vida every single person in that stadium was singing and dancing with Chris! such a beautiful moment! im sorry for the random comments but im still a bit shocked!! oh, and last thing.. i saw Guy, Will (twice) and Phil going in and out the backstage. [thanks giulls]

A truly wonderful show! I have plenty of pics and audio of the whole concert that I can upload when I get back to the states. Much thanks for the amazing choreography!!! They used the SoS video during another song (which I have video of, Curva Nord, butstill video). Loving the Coldplay love! I'll be at their next show on the east coast no matter what! [thanks jeffc418]

Hello world, slept only 4 hours tonight and am at work right now so I cannot post too much. I will try to be more detailed this evening when I'll be back home. It was a great gig (yeah ok I'm not really obejctive, I'm not able with them), being in the front rows is the way to go at Coldplay gigs. Loved their expression when they entered, haven't seen any video of life in technicolor yet but they showed the sea of crowns and balloons on the big videowall and it looked amazing. Chris seemed really happy but tired at the same time and said he had a sore throat (can't remember when exactly sorry), he should really just take his time and fully recover, cause I have a feeling it's the same problem that made them cancel Tampa. aaanyway I managed to get hold of a setlist from the same roadie who gave it me in Dublin last year and to whom I said to have one ready for me in Wembley. still pissed for our gate opened minutes after the other. [thanks iriden]

My friends and I arrived at Udine at around 9 am. There were quite few people already queuing. We then sat and waited and waited and waited. I never find waiting difficult but this time … well it was so hot, too hot. I didn’t want to drink too much cause I was afraid that during the concert I’ll have to go to the loo. I became slightly depressed but I kept saying to myself that after the concert I won’t even remember that part. Then around 3pm we could hear White Lies doing the sound check and I got in the better mood. Then around 4pm the gates opened. When I entered the stadium I was standing on the top of the seating area. I was so confused but then saw that I have to run down the stairs and around lots of barriers … I got their, few people were already there …I could stand in the front row in front of Chris but there was place just for one person and I didn’t want to be separated from my friends so I went more to the right (my point of the view). Honestly I was a bit disappointed but I had a great view there as well...

Around 7 pm Ministri started playing. They were an Italian indie rock band. My favourite type of music is indie rock so I liked them. I only didn’t like the part that they were singing in Italian (well I only like English lyrics). Nice one anyway! Then White Lies came on the stage. I completely adore them. They definitely warmed me up While I was singing and dancing along some people around me were giving me strange looks :S What a supporting band! Ooh and before their performance Miller came on stage he was adjusting some sort of camera I think. And I could see behind some curtains … and there was Arlene going around. And then … woooooo The moment we were waiting for. Well The usual 3 songs first to warm up the crowd and then Life in Technicolor … I believe you’ve heard that Italian fans were organizing choreography with balloons and crowns. We were all waving with balloons before guys came on stage. And then they came and I think that they completely loved it. Maybe it was just me but I saw how they were all laughing (in a good way) and rocking the LiT. Then they played Violet Hill and people were singing along like crazy. Behind me there were three people who were really upset. They didn’t like it that others were jumping, screaming … weird! Then they asked securities if they can get them out- I was happy when they left cause then the real party started. There setlist didn’t bring anything new so Clocks followed. I fell in love with Coldplay back then when I first heard that song. So, hearing it live … I have teary eyes even now. AMAZING. I’m not sure but I think that after Clocks Chris talked a bit. I can’t speak Italian, so somebody else will have to tell what he said. Well he was saying “grazia mille” (hope spelling is correct) a lot- these were the only words I could understand. [thanks _petra_]

So my whole Coldplay adventure began on Sunday when I came to Rijeka (its a city from where my bus was leaving to Udine). I could sleep at all that night, too. Anyway at 1pm on beautiful Monday we started what later became the best day of my life... We came to Udine around 4.20pm and as I said few times before that was too late. When we got in line there where 1000 people in front of us. While we waited this journalist came to me and asked if I can give him an interview for some Italian radio station. I was in such a great mood that I gave an interview (I felt like I was someone important). We got to the gate 20 min later. Got in and rush down on the field but there were already so many people so NO FRONT (or anything close) ROW!!!! The side where Guy stands was in the shadow so it was full! So we end up on the Jonny's side of the stage. We were in lets say 7th row. But when people stood up we were 3rd row and I was so crazy... It was too much for me I shook so much (you know how it is). Ministri some Italian band was first. Did not like them... Then White Lies came out. They were pretty good but there was something wrong with their mics so there was a lot of unwanted noise. They were done and now it was 40minutes or so and THEY WILL BE OUT!!!! Magnificent started I was out of the place. The Jay-Z's song (dont know its name). And the dancing roadie came out and dance on that part of the stage that was near us. He was really good...

Ooh yeah before all that that black thingy that falls down when they come out, FELL before they came. But never mind that. And than it started. And I was so crazy excited. I finally realized that Im on their concert after sooo much waiting!!!!!!!! I wont go trough the whole set list. But Chris and Jonny were soooo near us... Chris danced on our part of the stage during Fix You and In my place (I think. I was way to excited to remember everything) and Viva La Vida and Lover in Japan with that umbrella. During The Hardest Part he started to play and then stopped and said that that was it. We all laughed! On Death and all his friends he messed up lyrics. During Lovers in Japan the wind blew and all the butterflies went to the other side and I didnt catch any. But that was not my end with butterflies I had a bag just for them and I would not leave empty handed. B stage was really far from us so we watched on the screen. Will had some kind of hat . But he was really cute. In the end Guy came to our part of the stage I screamed so much and that was were my voice finally broke. They came back to encore and when The Escapist started that was it. I knew it that was the end, the end of the best night of my life. Back to butterflies. I pushed my way to the frot and asked the nice security guy to put few butterflies into my bag so he did. And I have lots and lots of them. I got my LRLRL cd. I bought Life in technicolor t-shirt. And it was great. I was so perfect. And as someone form C&C&friends thread once told me that when you see them live your love to them grows to a whole new level and my really really did. I cant believe it but it did. [thanks lndnsky]

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

Picture by iriden

Picture by Coldplayitalia via Twitter

(Picture from Twitter)

(Picture from Twitter)

More questions answered by The Oracle... (submit yours now!)

August 17, 2009 - submitted by Karen, United States of America

Q. Dear Coldplay, A question, and a heartfelt thanks to you... I'm wondering why you selected my grandmother's (Barbara Moseley) dance video for your song The Hardest Part? I have loved your music since the beginning, and was so happy when you chose her video for so many reasons I can't explain here.. I will forever be in your debt for bringing her back to me in this way. Your music is poetry brought to life...most sincerely, Karen

The Oracle replies:

Wow! Awesome to hear from you Karen. How strange that I just read a question asking if Barbara was in fact a stunt woman! It wasn't actually the band who chose the clip; it was the video's director Mary Wigmore. I have answered a couple of questions about your Grandmother that you may have missed so have a look here and here. Thanks for getting in touch!

August 17, 2009 - submitted by Nicklas, Denmark

Q. Hey Oracle, So I and my family was to the Coldplay concert yesterday in Herning Denmark. We were so lucky to get Will Champion's drumstick. Is there some way we can get that signed by all of the Coldplay members ? That would be the best thing ever. Sincerly Nicklas.

The Oracle replies:

Blimey Nicklas you don't ask for much do you? Not content with getting an amazing trinket but you want it signed too? No seriously, there's a quote that goes well with the fact you have a marvellous piece of memorabilia: "Collecting is the only socially commendable form of greed" - Eugene M Schwartz. Basically what I'm saying is that, no, it won't be possible I'm afraid but I should think yourself very lucky...

August 17, 2009 - submitted by Mike, United States of America

Q. Dear Oracle, Do the guys ever listen to their own music when they are just hanging out?

The Oracle replies:

That would just be weird! I think when the guys are recording and getting ideas together it's important to listen back to the music but they wouldn't put their own CD on in the car once it's finished! They get to play the songs for real on tour so unless they're revisiting ideas for the live show, that'd be the only time. FYI: I went to a Simply Red aftershow party and later a few of us gathered in Mick Hucknall's suite and guess what he put on the stereo? Yep, his new album!

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Coldplay's Viva La Vida tour finished the mini stint in Germany last night as they played at the newly named Reitstadion Riem in Munich. One change to the previous setlist - Green Eyes (with Chris on vocals) replaced Til Kingdom Come. Meanwhile Chris Martin forgot the lyrics to 'The Hardest Part' [thanks SueDeNimes & nancyk58]

[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

Death Will Never Conquer (Acoustic, sung by Will)

Billie Jean

Viva La Vida (remix interlude)

------

Politik

Lovers In Japan

Death And All His Friends

-------

The Scientist

Life in Technicolor ii

The Escapist (outro)

Picture by theralpf @ Twitter

Okay, I'm back once more. Again, not a detailed review as I'm tired as hell and I must get up pretty early tomorrow again... But just one sentence: The show was outstanding, even better than the one in Düsseldorf. But that's also probably why I got a much better spot at the front this time and could enjoy the whole gig.

Well, the queuing up and especially the "run" to the front were horrible as always - there were barricades and wavebreakers everywhere (it seemed) and it was like a maze, we had to run for ages! That's never happened to me so far! But we ended up at the front right in front of Guy and I was so happy because I could see all of them, even Will! Although Chris talked even less than in Düsseldorf, the boys all in all seemed to be in a pretty good mood! We looked out for Phil, but there was no sign of him... Which was a pity because otherwise we'd have sung Happy Birthday to him. We managed to say hi to Miller, though. Sadly, Chris forgot(?) about the "Lola-Welle" (), which I actually missed. And they played Green Eyes instead of TKC this time! The most hilarious part of the evening was certainly the moment when Chris forgot the lyrics to The Hardest Part... He just suddenly stopped like out of the blue and just said: "F...!" Then he had to start twice until it worked again. I really felt sorry for him because it actually looked like he was a little bit embarassed... Well yeah, can't think of anything more as I'm really (and I mean REALLY) exhausted right now... Will try to upload my photos (also the ones of Düsseldorf) and maybe write a more detailed review next week. [thanks Ilione]

Just got up (was a long ride back from München). It was so cute how Chris finally made Will sing. And he forgot a part of The Hardest Part which was quite funny. I come back later for a proper review, but just to let you know: 1) Jonny has one of the cutest smiles on earth and he smiled at me TWO times. 2) I got WILL'S VIVA LA VIDA DRUM STICK!! Biggest Thanks to Nicole for getting it for me! [thanks TickingClock]

Finally I'm back from Munich. TickingClock, Ilione, Angel_brb and I boarded the front row - again It was a long way trough this f*cking stadium but I gave my best and so we had a good place. The show was amazing again but I think the gig in Dusseldorf was bit better. Chris forgot the lyrics of The hardest Part, haha... We have repeatedly called Guy, but unfortunately no response. I made a thank-you banner for Chris and he saw it, grinned and gave me a thumb up. After the show I was able to win a drumstick for TickingClock and a setlist for Ilione - Coldplay karma again. This week was the craziest week in my life - 3 Coldplay concerts in 5 days, hundreds of miles on the rail and road, sleeping too little, aching legs but... I've met a lot of very nice Coldplayers, I saw 3 fantastic shows, I've got the best thing ever - all I can say now - this was the time of my life!!! [thanks aniskywalker]

Munich - Saturday night the British band Coldplay ended their mini summer tour through Germany in Munich with an evening full of anthems and perfect pop music. They have only played a total of three concerts in Germany - the tickets were in great demand. Just as during their tour in the autumn of 2008 they mostly played the songs off their album “Viva la Vida“. But the fans in "Olympia-Reitanlage Riem" in Munich knew the older big Coldplay hits as well and sang along with great joy. It is true that the setlist has not changed since the concerts during the autumn tour, but the open-air-stage created a quite special atmosphere. The quartet from London had their big break-through in year 2000 with songs such as “Yellow“. Anthems such as “the Hardest Part“ and “Fix You“ followed. They had an image of being soft rockers with propensity for melancholy, but that changed in 2008 with their long awaited album “Viva la Vida“ which has a more lively sound - a deliberate choice. Frontman Chris Martin continued nevertheless to be a heartthrob. And there was no doubt about that when you saw and heard the screaming female fans in Munich. [tz-online.de / nancyk58]

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

Pictures by by DomRap23 @ Twitter & Coldplaying

More questions answered by The Oracle... (submit yours now!)

August 28, 2009 - submitted by Tamara, United Kingdom

Q. Dear Oracle, Who wrote the "Hello Coldplaying!" sign in the live photoblog? :D

The Oracle replies:

Anchorman wrote it in response to an email he received asking folk what they wanted photos of.

August 28, 2009 - submitted by Emily, United States of America

Q. Hi Oracle! On the live feed of a Coldplay concert on coldplay.com it mentions that for dinner the band ate beef bourgignon, Isn't Chris a vegetarian?

Thank you! Love, Emily =)

The Oracle replies:

I KNEW someone would ask this! Anchorman did say he wasn't sure what they were having for dinner behind closed doors so I suspect someone was having Beef Bourgignon (a.k.a Bourguignon) as he'd heard it being mentioned but that doesn't mean Chris was tucking in. I'm trying to remember the last time I saw Chris eat a meaty meal myself... yes I have witnessed it.

August 28, 2009 - submitted by Rahul, India

Q. Have Coldplay ever forgotten the lyrics to their own song ?? It'd be really embarrassing,right??

The Oracle replies:

Yes! Chris has fluffed lyrics on more than one occasion. He usually swears or makes some comment rather than ignore it but Trouble always seems to give him some trouble.

August 28, 2009 - submitted by Mike, United States of America

Q. Dear Oracle, In the episode of 60 minutes, Chris says that even if he doesn't feel like playing Yellow, he'll do it anyways because the crowd paid to hear the songs they love. If he feels this way, why does he avoid playing Amsterdam? Is there a reason he is trying to keep it unheard on the tour? Seems like the band are taking the Springsteen approach to the setlist for this song. I hope you can shed some light on this for me. Sincerely, Mike

The Oracle replies:

You have to remember that Yellow was the single that launched the band's career around the world and that is why they will always play it. They have tried to perform it differently from tour to tour to keep it interesting for the band and fans alike. Guy once said that some people may only come to a show to hear that song (I'm sure he realizes that's not true in the majority of cases)so they feel they owe it to fans to play it. Although Amsterdam is a big favourite amongst fans - in fact it's the most requested song via this very page - it was not a single so hasn't got the same meaning. It's not avoidance per se but there are a lot of songs to choose from to form the setlist and it just so happens that for the moment Amsterdam isn't on there.

August 28, 2009 - submitted by Carolyn, United States of America

Q. Dear Oracle, When should a person give up hope that their question submitted to you is going to be answered? I would really appreciate it if you would answer this question because then I'll know whether or not my countless number of previous questions still have a chance. Thanks in advance.

The Oracle replies:

Never give up hope. Last week I answered a question that was submitted months ago. I like to keep everyone on their toes and hopefully one day when you think that's it's an impossibility, there your question will be. This particular question was the latest one sent in but as I don't keep an eye on who is sending so you may strike it lucky twice...

August 28, 2009 - submitted by Victoria, United States of America

Q. Me and my boyfriend just broke up. I stopped having feelings for him after school ended and he wants me back. I don't like him at all. Only as a friend. He still loves me and thinks I was cheating on him when I wasn't. Should I set him straight or take him back? Please help. Sorry for the long entry. Confused w/love

The Oracle replies:

If you truly mean you don't have feelings for him other than as a friend, there's no point prolonging his sadness. You have already broken up with him so don't go back unless you truly have the same feelings. Unless you broke up with him because you felt betrayed that he thought you had cheated and are just hurting yourself... in that case, give yourself time to see if the old feelings come back or not, but for now... set him straight.

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Coldplay's Viva La Vida tour continued through into Germany last night as they played at the newly named Esprit Arena in Dusseldorf, Germany. The official Coldplay site provided fans with pictures and live blog updates before and during the concert - you can relive the blog discussion in its entirity at the Coldplay forum here (warning: 160+ pages!!). One change to the previous setlist - Til Kingdom Come (with Chris on vocals) replaced Green Eyes. Shortly before the show the Roadies removed the curtain which fell down onto the band in Hannover while they started to play Violet Hill on Tuesday. Meanwhile Chris Martin 'swapped' his shirt for 'some chocolate' from a lucky Coldplayer... see the evidence after the jump. [thanks Larry & aniskywalker]

[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!

Til Kingdom Come (Acoustic, sung by Chris)

Death Will Never Conquer (Acoustic, sung by Will)

Billie Jean

Viva La Vida (remix interlude)

------

Politik

Lovers In Japan

Death And All His Friends

-------

The Scientist

Life in Technicolor ii

The Escapist (outro)

Picture by Gitta Rensolo

I just came back home. One word: Amazing. That's all I can say by now. The band was brilliant and so was the crowd. Can't say too much right now, because I'm exhausted and I've got to realise what happened. The setlist was as asual, with one exception: Til Kingdom Come (with Chris on vocals) replaced Green Eyes.

I'm happy and tired , so good night everybody. [thanks BlueberrySwing]

I´m also back at home already over an hour and I´m so tired but sad, because that was my last gig .. for now. My last gig with Coldplay. When I arrive at the stadion, it was great. An nice view to the arena and above the street stands "COLDPLAY ->" or so on. Nice. But the parking-logic for cars is VERY VERY BULLSHIT! But, shit happens Lets go on. On the way to our sits on the "Sparkassen Tribüne" we saw drink-stands where you can get drinks in special COLDPLAY-glasses (Glass of Water ). They´re awesome! But expensive. I have 2 right here at home. Then, we open the door to go outsite to the sits and open it... and are shocked! So amazing fucking big! Colourfull sits and so amazing. And then we saw the stage - amazing big as well. All amazing big but the people on the stage looked so small. Then, Howing Bells started their show. First, I saw the girl who's singing. She's cute And have a very nice voice. I am a drummer. Play myself at home and was happy aout the last 4 songs because they was more heavy to drum. Coldplay starts and I don´t know what to say. I was at the sky.. in dreams..in love... all together! It was awesome deluxe! The sound, the stage, the light-show, the fireworks, the crowd! My favorite: Life in Technicolor (start), Lost, Lovers in Japan, In my place, Life in Technicolor ii. [thanks Yellow la Guy]

This was such a fucking amazing day for me!!! The concert was great, I was front row, I met another nice Coldplayers and the best for me - I have Chris shirt!!! OMG, I have his shirt! Phil came to me during the show and gave me the shirt. He said, "It's from Chris for you". At the moment I'm the happiest woman in the world.

And I swear, this shirt you'll never found at ebay. Now I wait for my train and tomorrow ............. Coldplay in Munich [thanks aniskywalker]

what can I say? the guys and esp. Chris were in such a great mood. That*s what I loved most. Oh and the normal version of The Scientist. The crowd was amazing and Chris' german was amazing as well(esp. when he said we should a "Lola Welle"...) Maybe I will write a review but I am not sure yet.... Ooooooooooooooooooh...how could I forget: I made it to front row (in front of the left side of the stage...so the main stage was some meters away, but that was ok..I could see everything anyways....without any heads in front of me...)...I have waited for this for 4 years now and finally I made it... I didn't have a camera with me, only my mobile phone. So I took some crappy videos...one of Viva La Vida where Chris is dancing in front of us at the end...I think I will upload this one...

and maybe I will also upload some of my bad pics..... it is so strange....I am not excited anymore and I do not really feel like listening to Coldplay for the next few days... but it was a great show and The Scientist and LIT2 actually made me almost cry. the support acts were really good. Kilians are a really nice and likeable band and I really really enjoyed Howling Bells...good choice. I think the setlist was the same as in the last shows, but they played Til Kingdom come instead of Green Eyes... [thanks Gitta Rensolo]

AWESOME! But it's kind of sad that they left out the song I've been looking forward to the most. I already heard them play Til Kongdom Come, but no Green Eyes. Anyways it was just ...wow. And I still hope for Wembley to hear Green Eyes and Trouble. Also great was that I already knew some people from other concerts and got to meet some new ones. Hello to everybody I met. [thanks r25d01]

I'm back from Düsseldorf! I'm too exhausted to write a review right now, but the journey to Düsseldorf and back took ages. Lots of road works here and there thanks to the economic stimulus package. All I can say is that I managed to get front row thanks to the other coldplayers I met and a good shape haha. I had a very nice time and one of us got a lot of presents from the roadies afterwards. Chris mentioned at the end of the concert that everyone backstage said it was one of the best gigs they've ever done. It definitely was! Haha, Chris spoke a lot more German in Düsseldorf than he did in Hannover. He often said "Hallo, wie geht's meine Freunde" (Hello, how's it going my friends) and he talked a lot in German when he tried to do the Mexican mobile phone wave. Sadly he didn't tell the audience from where the wave should have started. So everyone was a bit confused lol. But I really liked listening to his German, although he did some mistakes. But it's a difficult language. Oh btw, shortly before the show, they removed the curtain which fell down onto the band in Hannover while they started to play Violet Hill on Tuesday. I guess they were afraid lol. More to follow... good night! [thanks Larry]

OMG So guys I'm sorry that I didn't write anything yesterday, but I was just too tired. I arrived at 1 am at home and then I was so exhausted that I just fell onto my bed. OK! IT WAS FUCKING INCREDIBLE!!! Even if I think that the whole adience were not as good as in Cologne last year. I stood at the front with Mark, Phil, Nicole, katjaand a lot more. Because of that this the atmosphere was actually ok around me. Next to Thalia and me stood an older woman with whom we talked and who also had a lot of fun. She was excited like we were and she also sang along with almost every song. The first thing was that when we started to go to Düsseldorf we lost our way on the highway and suddenly we were through Düsseldorf, but fortuneately we found the right way back an arrived at about 2.45 pm. Then we went to the entrance and there were already a lot of people. Not very much, but we couldn't really go to the front, but Nicole was there and she told us that the others were at the North-West entrance, so we went there and found them. I guess at this entrance there were only about 15 people at this time and we stood in the front of the gates. When the security people came I really got excited. I think we all did AND I when they let us in I could see that Mark really does marathon because he is really fast. Thalia and I tried to keep up with them but we just couldn't...

At the end we found them again in front of the stage. Two yellow wembley t-shirts which means that there were Mark and Phil. A good thing is that we didn't get bracelets to get into the golden circle. We just had to get some if we wanted to get out of it to buy something to drink or anything. (they were orange). So and then started the long time of waiting for the kilians and the howling bells. A lot people sat down, but because we could talk a lot the time passed by quite fast. My personal opinion is that the kilians were quite ok. There music was nice, but I didn't really like the howling bells. I don't know. But it was quite sad that not many people applauded. I guess it was also because the arena wasn't full at the time. Most people with seat tickets just arrived shortly before Coldplay started. Oh and when the Howling bells finished playing, Thalia and I were looking for the roadies and after some time. Phil also came with a camera on the stage. We called him all together and he saw us and grinned...

Oh and by the way while we were waiting the whole time for the bands they played good music in the background. Ulrich Schnauss, John Hopkins, Sigur Ros... It was great and of course it was amazing when Coldplay came on stage. It was already dark at that time. Before the concert I was a bit worried that it could still be bright because of the open air. So, what else can I say. It was great and funny when Chris said "oh jesus" because the mobile wave didn't work. All the Germans were confused where to start so it ended up a lot were just holding there mobiles up in the air. Unfortunately I couldn't see Coldplay when they played gpasuyf, dwnc and so on because I'm too small. All in all it was fantastic but ended too fast. Oh and by the way while we were waiting the whole time for the bands they played good music in the background. Ulrich Schnauss, John Hopkins, Sigur Ros...

It was great and of course it was amazing when Coldplay came on stage. It was already dark at that time. Before the concert I was a bit worried that it could still be bright because of the open air. So, what else can I say. It was great and funny when Chris said "oh jesus" because the mobile wave didn't work. All the Germans were confused where to start so it ended up a lot were just holding there mobiles up in the air. Unfortunately I couldn't see Coldplay when they played gpasuyf, dwnc and so on because I'm too small. All in all it was fantastic but ended too fast. [thanks Dark_Sofie]

Best Coldplay concert I've been to so far, for a number of reasons. Great to be able to "stand" again after the huge disappointment of the all-seater 02 concerts in December. I had already arranged to meet Phil (r25d01) and as I had been to the venue before (for The Police last year) I already knew where I could park "for free" about a ten-minute walk away. The weather was fantastic (sunny with a mainly blue sky), but not too hot, so ideal for queuing. When we arrived there were only a handful of people there in either queue, and we had more than enough snacks with us to keep us going. It was hours before anyone else showed up at our entrance, and the queue didn't really start to form until about an hour before the gig, which I was pretty surprised about. We all know that's not going to happen at Wembley...

The queuing organisation was a shambles, however, as just minutes before we were allowed in the security decided to close off three of the lanes (including ours), so all of us at the front of these lanes then had to squeeze into the front of the adjoining lanes (assisted by the goodwill of the people in those lanes). Then when the gates finally opened, we found some of the security (including our guy) to be especially difficult, which cost us precious seconds. And as if that wasn't enough of a pain, after enduring the long sprint to get inside, it was clear that the other entrance had been opened at least a minute or two before ours, putting us at a great disadvantage. Nearly all the front places had already been taken, and there were even people who were already sitting down, indicating they had already been there a minute or so at least. However, despite all these issues, we still managed to secure a front place between us, directly in front of Jonny, so there was ultimately no harm done...

The fantastic thing was that several of us Coldplayers (including Twisted Mind, Dark_Sofie, Echolot and AniSkywalker) all ended up together, which helped create a fantastic atmosphere, something which was sadly impossible at the 02.

The difference was that although there were still some motionless "zombies" near us, we were able to compensate for them with our collective energy. This definitely bodes well for Wembley. The Esprit Arena is an impressive venue, and the fact the roof was open (it was closed for The Police concert) and you could see the stars, added an extra dimension. As for the concert itself, I thought the Kilians were pretty good, but the Howling Bells a bit "depressing". I felt it would have been better for the Kilians to have been on second, as their sound was far more "upbeat"...

Still far better than what we had in either Cologne or at the 02 though. Pity there were no real surprises in the Coldplay setlist, but nevertheless the boys were on cracking form and I had a fantastic time, helped in no small way by our Coldplaying "collective". It seems that Chris really meant it when he said the crowd was "one of the best ever". Yellow balls and butterflies excellent again. "Lovers In Japan" superb as always. "The Scientist" and "Politik" also stood out for me. As always the time flew by and it was all over way too fast. Managed to get my CD afterwards, although it was necessary to get in a "scrum" to do so! Phil was interviewed by EinsLive as he came out, so if anyone comes across a link to that, they should post it!! I felt really tired afterwards as it had been a long day (though not as long as it had been for some others ), but thankfully I didn't have to endure the car park chaos and was able to make a quick getaway. Now all I can say is - roll on Wembley! More of the same, please!! [thanks mc_squared]

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

If you never try, you'll never know:

Pictures by aniskywalker

Concert photos from the official photoblog:

LOS ANGELES - Green Day may be 22 years old but that doesn’t mean the band has grown up. And just because they have eight studio albums, three Grammy Awards and a handful of number one hits doesn’t mean they follow the rules, either. “Las Vegas! Get off your (expletive expletive)!” Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong instructed just moments after he stepped onto the stage on Friday. “Stand up! Stand up!”“ This is not a (expletive) slot machine, this is a (expletive) Green Day show!” he yelled.

Some parents can be forgiven their quizzical expressions. Especially when Armstrong's adjective of choice frequently is a variation on the F-bomb, and he occasionally executes boyish exposures of flesh. He also chugged down a beer someone in the crowd gave him.

Tuesday's all-in performance at the Forum in Los Angeles was a mandate for the crowd to remember this show, the last of a seven-week North American jaunt. And memorable it was. And the crowd lapped it up, acquiescing to Armstrong's every demand. He told stories and often made a point of inciting communal pride. "This is a fucking rock 'n' roll show, not a tea party," he admonished. "You listen to Coldplay on your own fucking time!"

It has been 15 years since the group’s mainstream break-out album, “Dookie,” hit record stores (remember how people still went to stores to buy records – OK, CDs – 15 years ago?) and 17 years since they first gained early attention with “Kerplunk.”

This means what was a young fan base of 15- to 25-year-old music fans in the ’90s has grown up considerably since then – or aged, at least – and is now in the 30- to 45-year-old range. This, of course, helps explain the noted abundance of 5- to 10-year-old kids in the audience on Friday whose parents seemed slightly more interested in the music than they did.

Read a typical Green Day f***ing review here at the Las Vegas Sun online. Meanwhile, back to Coldplay...

More new pictures of Coldplay at Hannover Stadium, Hannover, Germany (25th August 2009):

Pictures: antenne.com

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More questions answered by The Oracle... (submit yours now!)

August 26, 2009 - submitted by John, United States of America

Q. Why do the guys do runners after concerts?

The Oracle replies:

If the guys have an onward journey to make to catch a flight or whatever, the runner enables them to leave the venue without getting stuck in concert traffic. Given that there are thousands of people all leaving at the same time, the roads can prove to be very busy so they get a head start to avoid congestion.

August 26, 2009 - submitted by Helen, United Kingdom

Q. Ok so I'm attending the Manchester gig on Sept 12th and Jay-Z is meant to be supporting but he has a gig in New York on 11th and the VMA's on 13th!!! So is Jay planning to ditch us Mancunians?

The Oracle replies:

Jay's not ditching the Northerners; all the Coldplay show dates appear on his MySpace, in fact, they're the only ones on there.

August 26, 2009 - submitted by Michelle, United States of America

Q. I think this is my last attempt at asking you a question... but all the books about Coldplay that other people have written, can anything they say be trusted?

The Oracle replies:

It's not they can't be trusted it's just that quite a bit of information is taken from research online that isn't always accurate. Biography books of this nature are sometimes referred to as "copy & paste". There isn't an official book out there though so bear in mind you may not be reading 100% truths. For instance one book states the wrong birthday for Chris.

Join the new Facebook page for more Coldplay news, reviews, setlists and links:

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For Coldplay.com's latest competition announced through the latest edition of The Messenger released today, they're offering you the chance to win a new Coldplay laundry bag, similar to that which has been handed out to the band and crew. The official site have managed to snare one to give away to you, and have it signed by the whole band.

To be in with a chance of winning the bag simply send your name and address to competitions@coldplay.com before Wednesday September 9th. One entry per person please.

Don't forget about Thursday - the official site is tagging along to the Dusseldorf show for another live photoblog, promising (if Lyon, Birmingham and Roskilde are anything to go by) all the behind-the-scenes pictures and updates as they happen. Check Coldplay.com for the latest, and of course you can visit the forums here for latest discussions on the live blogging from Thursday afternoon (BST). Click more for new Hannover photos...

More new pictures of Coldplay at Hannover Stadium, Hannover, Germany (25th August 2009):

Pictures: antenne.com

New Wembley Coldplaying t-shirts on sale - don't miss out! Order now in time for the massive shows! (Click on the banners):

Join the new Facebook page for more Coldplay news, reviews, setlists and links:

Coldplay's Viva La Vida tour continued through into Germany last night as they played at the Hannover Stadium in Hannover. Roadie #42 was back tweeting again before the show, from the pre-flight boarding lounge to the stadium stage itself - see those pictures and captions after the jump. Speed Of Sound was again omitted from the setlist, and Death Will Never Conquer returned in place of Til Kingdom Come and was sung by Will Champion on the acoustic stage. The curtain fell after they played LIfe In Technicolor burying half of the band underneath and Chris had to stop singing Violet Hill.

[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

Death Will Never Conquer (Acoustic, sung by Will)

Billie Jean

Viva La Vida (remix interlude)

------

Politik

Lovers In Japan

Death And All His Friends

-------

The Scientist

Life in Technicolor ii

The Escapist (outro)

Picture: Coldplay Twitter

I'm back from the concert ................. it was amazing!!! I was here with Oxfam and we had a really great time. Pete from Oxfam told me I'm such a big fan and gave me his setlist and I was so spechless in this moment. I startet crying and all I could say to him was "Thanks, thanks thanks!" Daniel (another supporter) and I came into the inner circle near the stage B and we had a fantastic concert. Now I'm really tired, I'll sleep 5 hours and then back at home [thanks aniskywalker]

Okay, back home everyone. I am really horrible doing reviews so I better don't do it. Funny thing, when the curtain was supposed to come down after LIT, it burried half of the band underneath and Chris had to stop singing Violet Hill. Can't figure out exactly but I reckon he was kind of 'pissed', well at least he was annoyed about it as he kept saying sorry for the 'technical problems' on and on. Guy looked simply AMAZING!!! Sorry, have to mention it as his 'longer' hair makes him look sooo much better and more relaxed and less skinny. About the setlist ... yes, it was exactly the same as Stockholm but people around us were absolutely impressed by the 'cellphone wave' and CP performing 'Billie Jean', so many of them still were kind of 'surprised'. Also about the C-Stage, people at the back really freaked and starting singing the VLV 'Whoooaas' when they noticed that the band came running their way and climbed the little stage for the accoustic set.

They did Chinese Sleep Chant and White Shadows for soundcheck 'cause we were standing near the stage entrance and could hear Guy singing (during CSC).

Funnily we were the only two people there. And when the band drove past us while arriving at the AWD Arena two of them waved at us (tinted windows SUCK BIG TIME!!!) and I guess we've figured out that it was Will & Guy. Not sure though but one of them was certainly Will [thanks LittleMissMessy]

I`m back from the concert in Hannover,before the concert, the killians and whrite lies were the opening act, they were absolutely brilliant i think, just great! both Albums are great but live they were even better, fu** great!!!It was raining at the beginning., the show was almost sold out, just a few free places. before the show started, the band played U2, JayZ,BlockParty and a "Wiener Walzer". At the beginning the curtain fell over chris, then he claimed about the collaboration with the crowed...and after than something was wrong with the technic and he leaves the stage for 3 minutes, the other guys from the band were wondering...but chris apologized for it and then the concert gets better and better.It was a amazing show but I can`t close ones again without to mention that the german crowed missed every entry...thats sad! in munich it was fantastic but hannover didn`t jump at all and didn´t sing often. ok I`m very tied...sorry for my bad english...I tell you after the very bad beginning of the concert I was afraid...even I saw the faces of the other band members when chris left the stage...they were nervous and a little bit angry and supriesed when chris left the stage but in the course of the show they played better and in the end it was a great gig...it was also funny to see the curtain fell on chris! [thanks m.rogo86@gmx.de]

Just arrived at my home near Bremen again! Although they've not been any surprises regarding the setlist I must admit it was an amazing show! My 4th Coldplay show and probably the best one personally. Especially because it was an amazing stadium, the band was in a good mood and the audience was beyong incredible (far better than in Hamburg and Berlin last year). Mercifully it was only raining while the first band (Kilians) was playing who were amazing I think. I didn't like White Lies though... They had some funny problems here and there like the curtain which was supposed to come down or some mistakes with their screens at the beginning. Chris apologised a lot during the show and he also left the stage for about 3 minutes before Fix You. Nevertheless I was extremely content with the concert. Chris also sang "Glas aus Wasser" at the end of "Glass of water" hehe. My train journey back to Bremen was also funny. Someone with a yellow Coldplay rain coat obviously blocked the door when the train wanted to start (I hope it was noone from here). Suddenly the angry driver said something like: "Hey you in the yellow coat! The Coldplay show is over! You've had your buzz! Move your ass back from the door now otherwise I will kick you out of the train and you can sleep at Hannover main station." German Railways at its best! [thanks Larry]

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

Roadie #42 Tweets:

It'll dry up folks. Promise. R#42

One of these cables is not plugged into the right place. Can you tell which one it is? R#42

Crikey. The punters are already in. Where does the time go? R#42

The stage scrubs up alright in the big spaces. R#42

Sitting waiting for flight. Guy is wondering who exactly reads this magazine? R#42

More excellent reviews of Coldplay's concert at the Hannover Stadium, Hannover, Germany (25th August 2009) have been posted at the Coldplay Live forum, that didn't quite make the main review article in time this morning. Here is the first set, of just some of the many:

Hey guys, we had a great time yesterday. arrived at the venue at 1.30 pm and there weren't too many ppl there at that time. when the doors opened at 4.30 pm, it was sort of terrible, tho. everyone went a bit mad and was pushing their way through. it was a bit unorganized from the security, methinks. i lost my whole group on the way to the stage, but luckily found them later.

When i entered the stadium, i was so impressed... omg, it was huge. and it just looked amazing, it really did. anyway, we made it to maybe the fifth row in front of the stage (centre). for me it turned out to be a very nice spot and i had an awesome view. liked the first support act (the kilians, a german band) very much. i saw them once back in 2007, but this time they were so much better. by the time they played, it had already started to rain and it wouldn't stop for about half an hour or so. but i didn't mind the rain too much, since i was already quite exhausted...

But luckily it stopped when white lies played (didn't like them too much, although they do have some nice songs) and the rain didn't return the whole night. soooo... coldplay hit the stage at 9 pm. i so loved when the curtain fell on them at first i was like "wtf" but it did look really funny... plus, it's sort of good to see that things can still go wrong at a coldplay-concert. it's not always good when everything is just perfect and well-organized, if you know what i mean at least that's my opinion, so that was a bit of a change, heh. later, chris said they had sort of a "shitty start, with things collapsing on the band" you could tell he was a bit pissed at first, but took it with humour afterwards. it is true that they had some technical difficulties throughout the gig and like people already told you, chris apologized a lot i think the screen in the middle wasn't working for the first two songs.

I have to say, i didn't like when chris suddenly left the stage for 2 or 3 minutes before fix you. it felt like an eternity until he returned and nobody knew what was wrong. the other band members seemed a bit lost, too still no idea where he went, maybe sth was wrong with his mic or he had to go to the toilet anyway... one of my fav moments was definitely the c-stage although i couldn't see the guys back there at all and had to look at the screens, i sooo loved green eyes, that song about the german audience (it finished with sth like "and just to give you and extra thrill, here's a song by our drummer will" ) and especially the billie jean cover!!! i hadn't heard it before and boy, it was SO amazing. everyone had their cellphones out and it just looked stunning... aww.

The atmosphere was really great as well at that part of the show. so yeah, that was probably my fav moment. oh and i loved the little dance jonny and chris did during DWNC as well, that was so SO cute. other fav moments were of course lovers in japan, the scientist (i like the normal version a lot better than the acoustic version), politik, 42 and strawberry swing. a few more changes in the setlist compared to last year would have been nice, but well... i didn't really expect that too happen anyway. to conclude this little review, it was a great show with only a few downers. i have to say, i enjoyed myself very much, but not more than last year, although this time everything was much bigger. this again wasn't as special to me as maybe oberhausen back in 2005. but it was still amazing, of course it was. didn't take my camera with me this time, so all i got is a few crappy mobile pics, which i'd like to share with you nontheless. PS: what maybe spoiled it a bit for me, was that people behind me kept talking very loud during the whole gig, especially during the quieter songs (the hardest part, green eyes...) i mean, i don't mind people talking, but that was a bit too much - for me it ruined the atmosphere many times. [thanks *Sarah*]

Ugh ... my head hurts. Well, my mother and I were at the stadium at 11.45. She already started to be kinda pissed, because there was literally no one at the gate. So we decided to take a little walk around the stadium. At the east entrance there were some security guys who gave us a map of all the entrances and then we figured out, that we had to go to the north entrance ... yay ... maybe we weren't to early after all. We passed the Swimming pool and I saw a sign that said "Coldplay - Showers ->" ... ... so I thought if I wait here long enough I might actually see the band members?! *coldplayintowels*

Well, I didn't wait, we went to the North entrance and discovered that there were already some people waiting, so we just sat down and waited and waited and waited ... still 4 and half hours until they were going to let us in. Some people from Finland had obviously spent the night in front of the gate ... cosy. We started to watch a movie on my iPod and then heard them rehearsing "LiT" and "Violet Hill" about 4 times. I guess somebody wasn't quite content yet ... Then they were rehearsing "White Shadows" and "Chinese Sleep Chant" ... OMG ... I so hoped they were going to play "White Shadows"!!! All of a sudden (at 3.30pm, still 1 hour until entry) the people stood up ... ... didn't quite understand that, so I simply sat down again.

Then shortly after 4.30pm they finally let us in! I said to my mother: "Run! Run! Run!" ... Welll, she was a lot faster than me, but the security guys stopped all the running people in the stadium anyway. So I walked as a fast as I could towards the stage and suddenly fell down and hurt my ankle ... ouch ... I got up again and hobbled towards the stage and sat down like 1,5m in front of the barrier ... that was close enough for now. The stage was huge ... especially when you were sitting on the ground. The Kilians did a nice job and were really impressed by the stadium and thanked Coldplay many times for this chance ... well and the singer also said about a hundred times "We are the Kilians from Dinslaken!" Well, I GOT IT! Little pause and then the White Lies entered the stage ... the rain got less and less ... but I was completely wet. Why didn't I buy a cape???

The White Lies did an awesome job, too. Although their singer wasn't really chatty, maybe he was just a little shy?! Well, now it was 8.20pm ... the stadium filled up pretty quickly. The curtain finally fall. I got so excited. I noticed that the wind was blowing against the curtain and the roadies desperately tried to get it away from the stage ... Some twin-chics pushed their way through the crowd ... they got on my nerves the whole evening. How fake can one be? They were all dressed up and wore high heels to a rainy concert, perfect. It was as if they wanted to say "Hi Chris, here we are, take us now" ...

I was simply glad that I came this early, when the band entered the stage and started "LiT" that close to me! The curtain fell down and buried the mics and the band. Chris seemed a little pissed, but I think Jonny smiled a little. Well, they managed to free the stage from the curtain and the band rocked the stadium with "Violet Hill". Chris said something like "Wow, the people in Hanover sing like angels!" Yeah sure ... you little charmer ... "In my place" was absolutely awesome and I saw a little bit of that Chris&Jonny love. "Glass of Water" was awesome as usual ... I sang along the whole song, although I noticed that a lot of the people around me didn't. The minute Chris finished "42" he just ran and left the stage. That confused me a little. I began to worry that he was feeling sick maybe ... but I saw Guy looking for Chris and smiling a little. He walked towards Jonny and both had a kind of "knowing" look on their face. I'd still like to know, what was going on. Anyway Chris returned as if nothing had happened and "Fix you" began ... awesome as always with 40.000 people screaming along. My mother asked if the people at the Hamburg show last year knew the text that good as well. Of course! Every single Coldplay fan knows that song by heart! The band went to the B-Stage to play the "GPASUF/Talk-Medley".

It was kinda hard to see them from where I stood. That's why I didn't see Chris playing "The hardest part" and "Postcards from far away". When "Viva la Vida" began the crowd started to scream as loud as they could! I was singing along the whole song, so did the the people around me. I took some pics of Will on his drums, but all of them are blurry. "Lost!" followed ... After "Lost!" the band went to the C-Stage. Jonny in front simply went down the runway beside me and Chris was kinda irritated because he seemed to think they'd have to leave the stage at the side, so he first called "J!" and when Jonny didn't hear him he threw his towel at him. But then he noticed, that Jonny was indeed on the right way and simply followed him. (Chris throwing a towel at Jonny's back. )

I couldn't see a single thing happening on the C-stage, they were simply too far away. But I was so lucky, that they played "Green eyes", one of my favourite songs. After that they played a little song, in which Chris seemed to improvise and he introduced Will and he started to sing "Death will never conquer". I saw him on the video wall ... so cute. "Billie Jean" and the mobile phone wave followed. I remember Chirs saying "Now keep up your cell phones" and at first nobody reacted. My mother didn't understand until I told her what to do and finally everybody did the same. Back on the main stage they played "Politik". I didn't take a single pic, I simply love that song too much. "Lovers in Japan" was awesome, I noticed Chris had some difficulties with the high notes before, but this time it was perfect. But maybe I simply didn't hear enough of him singing. Once the butterflies started to fly, I was completely distracted from the band and just tried to catch as many as possible. After "Death and all his friends" they left the stage and returned in their colourful uniforms. "The Scientist" almost mad me cry, as usual. I was very happy, that they played the full song and not some acoustic version at the end of the stadium like they did in Hamburg last year. Chris also apologized for the technical difficulties ... again.

"LiT II" was the last song, of course I sang along as loud as I could, although the people beside me weren't as text-savvy as me. After that the band left the stage pretty quickly and I started to feel kinda depressed, I could have stood there for another hour. But all in all it was absolutely awesome. My ankle still hurts a little and my knees look rather damaged ... but it was totally worth it. Now I'm going to pack my bags, the train to Munich leaves early in the morning. Can't wait for Saturday to come. [thanks Ekmi]

More new pictures of Coldplay at Hannover Stadium, Hannover, Germany (25th August 2009):

Pictures by Ekmi @ Coldplaying

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The official Coldplay site will this Thursday (tomorrow!) be providing fans with pictures and live blog updates ahead of the band's concert at the former LTU Arena, Dusseldorf, Germany in the evening. Here's The Messenger with more details:

Hello again. Tomorrow (Thursday, August 27th) Coldplay.com will be heading out to Dusseldorf for another live photoblog. We'll be backstage at the Esprit Arena, giving you a behind-the-scenes look at the build-up to the gig, plus pics from the show, as it happens. It'll be a bit like our Roskilde photoblog, only different. Join us at Coldplay.com from about 1pm on Thursday (UK time) to be a part of it.

You can keep track of the discussion to the live blog at the Coldplay forum here onwards. You can also discuss Coldplay's performance at the Esprit Arena in Dusseldorf at the Coldplay Live forum too.

More new pictures of Coldplay at Hannover Stadium, Hannover, Germany (25th August 2009):

Pictures: antenne.com

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More questions answered by The Oracle... (submit yours now!)

August 25, 2009 - submitted by Pauline, France

Q. Dear Oracle, (sorry for my bad English) What is the difference between the song Don't Panic and Beautiful World? Somewhere the song is called Don't Panic but somewhere else it's called Beautiful World!!! But when you listen at them, they are the same song!! Very strange ... Thank you Oracle

The Oracle replies:

It's not strange Pauline; it's a mistake. Don't Panic is the name of the track but as it features the lyric "We live in a beautiful world" that's where the confusion has arisen. FYI: Don't Panic was originally called Panic when first demoed.

August 25, 2009 - submitted by Miles, United States of America

Q. Hello Oracle, I am still unsuccessful in accessing your services. However, I still have faith. I just watched the How We Saw The World movie. Are the boys executing a "runner" at the end of the credits?

The Oracle replies:

I can see why you would think that, given they are physically running and yes by definition they are indeed executing a runner. Once they leave the stage, they take off their in-ear monitor equipment and mic packs and run to their awaiting vehicles. If there's no runner, they erm, walk!

August 25, 2009 - submitted by Robert, Germany

Q. Dearest Oracle, Jeff asked you, what 'OK' meant and you explained the meaning, which was interesting. But maybe he wanted to know what the two letters O and K meant und what relation they had to the actual meaning... THX! Rob

The Oracle replies:

Ah ok (ha ha)... well basically it's just a shortened form of the full word which is okay given that phonetically it is O and K.

August 25, 2009 - submitted by Michelle, United States of America

Q. Dear Oracle, I turned 40 (August 23) and I feel kind of weird, so what Coldplay song do you suggest I listen to. Also, growing up in the 80's Kate Bush was and still is one of my favourites. Do any of the guys like to listen to her music?

The Oracle replies:

Age is but a number and it's kinda strange how we meet certain milestone birthdays with intrepidation but there's really only one way to look at it; it's the stage you're at in life not the age. I guess because Speed of Sound was reportedly inspired by Kate Bush (the band listened to her prior to recording X&Y), that's my suggestion. Otherwise listen to your favourite song or the one that would make you smile. Chris and I share a love of Kate and as you like her, maybe you should check out the Mercury Music Prize nominee Bat For Lashes.

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With brooding rockers White Lies supporting Coldplay at several of the current stadium shows, Coldplay.com called up frontman Harry McVeigh to find out a bit more about them, in another exclusive official interview with a support act on the road.

Hello Harry, how are you?

I'm good, thanks.

How have your first three shows with Coldplay been?

They've been great. I've been very impressed by the number of people who've turned up early to see the support bands play. It's really flattering. It's a great tour to be on. We've really, really enjoyed it so far.

The crowd at Herning were certainly enthusiastic.

Yeah. I think you're guaranteed to have at least a few people that know your songs when you've got that many people watching! I think those people maybe get everyone else up for it, which is really great for us.

You've had a great year in the UK - are things going well for you in Europe too?

Yeah, we've had an extensive European festival season this summer and things are building, slowly but surely. The responses are getting better and better. There are a few countries we're doing extremely well in - like the Netherlands. It's really taken off for us there.

For those Coldplay fans who haven't heard of you, how would you describe White Lies' music?

A lot of people pick up on the fact that it has quite a dark edge to it. I suppose that is an element to our music, certainly in the subject matter of the lyrics. But at the same time, it's almost a celebration of that, which is actually quite uplifting and euphoric. It's quite grand and epic too. And I think it's quite original, but at the same time it has elements of music from the past, which is something we really enjoy.

Joy Division are probably the band you're most often compared to.

Yeah, well, that comparison is getting a little bit old for us, but as far as bands that we could possibly be compared to, they're certainly not the worst!

Have you had to adjust your usual show for Coldplay's crowd?

Not really for the crowd, but certainly for the size of the venue. You have to try and use the space on the stage and involve the audience as much as possible, for the basic reason that they're so far away from you. But it's great playing big shows like this, because we learn more and more about how to interact with the crowd and how to reel them in. I think Coldplay are one of the best bands in the world at doing that. After watching their show a couple of times already, I think it's amazing how big they can make the show, but also how intimate they can make it at certain moments. I think that's really cool. They've obviously thought about it a lot.

Are you a big Coldplay fan?

Well I know their music very well and I have a couple of their albums, but I think, as with a lot of bands, they're almost better live than when you listen to the recordings. I have very, very much enjoyed watching the shows. They've really nailed the way they perform the songs and the sound of them. I'm certainly more of a fan now that I've seen them live a couple of times.

Have you played many support shows before these?

We did a support tour with Glasvegas towards the end of last year, which was great. And we did the NME tour with them as well. Plus we've done a few shows with Snow Patrol and we did one arena show with Kings of Leon, who we're doing a few more shows with towards the end of the year in America. So, yeah, we've been associated with some pretty big bands. I think it's been very good for us.

Do you feel like support shows can help, then?

Oh, yeah, definitely. The prime example is that after we did the Coldplay show in Denmark, our album went up to Number Five in the Danish charts. To see a response from that one show so quickly is insane. But I think when people really love music and have a lot of respect for a band, they'll listen to their support bands very openly and readily.

How did you come to be on the Coldplay tour?

I don't know, actually. I assume that at least maybe one of them in the band is a fan of our music, or at least I hope so. I guess we were in the right place at the right time, which is very lucky for us.

Have you met them yet?

Well, I think most of the time they come in just before they play and leave straight afterwards. But, I'm sure we will get the chance to meet them at some point, which I'm looking forward to. We've still got a few shows to do with them.

The Wembley Stadium shows should be quite something.

Yeah, it's very exciting. Even though we're the support band, just to say we've played there is a pretty bold statement. I can't wait.

So, have you enjoyed your first year in the pop spotlight?

Definitely. And the year is going to be rounded off perfectly by our UK tour at the end of the year, where we're going to be in the biggest venues that we've played in. It'll be like a real homecoming. It's all just gone from strength to strength for us, really. We feel like our live shows have improved so much since the beginning of this year. We started 2009 with a Number One album and everything just followed on from there. It's been fantastic.

Has it been a tiring year too?

Well, the travelling and spending time away from home is the hard bit. It does take it out of you. But the shows make it all worth it. And as a huge fan of music, I don't think there's a better job you can have than being in a band and playing your music to people around the world, seeing some amazing places. But by the end of this year, if I see another aeroplane, I'll probably hang myself.

Do you have any top tips for wasting time in airports?

If you get a good TV series on a boxset, that's great. The Wire is perfect cos it's completely addictive. As soon as you finish an episode, you want to watch the next one. So, yeah, any DVD boxset of a good series is a great time waster.

Having heard your music, do people expect you to be quite dark and gloomy in real life?

Oh yeah, all the time.

At least you get away with having bad moods.

Yeah! But that doesn't happen very often, to be honest. We just try and be ourselves. I've thought about this quite a lot actually. Even if you go back to Shakespeare's time, it's always been quite cool to be melancholic and dark and introverted. I wish we could be like that in person, but we're really not. Our music makes us very happy and we're happy in our jobs and happy in our lives. So I suppose there's no reason for us to be miserable.

Even when you're singing songs about dying every night?

Well, not all the songs are about dying. But I actually think that the nature of our music vastly contrasts the lyrics a lot of the time. As I mentioned before, I think a lot of the music is almost quite uplifting and euphoric. When you sing about those things within music that gives off those emotions, it's very much a release. I think that maybe contributes to the fact that we're quite happy people. Certainly for me being the singer, who vocalises those lyrics and those subject matters, it makes me very happy to release those feelings and those emotions. That probably sounds kind of cheesy, but it's true.

So, is there any chance you folks will turn over a happy new leaf for your next album?

I don't think that's very likely! The way we write our music and whatwe do with it makes us very happy. I think if we were to change the waythat we wrote music, it wouldn't have the same effect on us. It's areally good outlet for emotion and it's really amazing for us to becreative in that way. I suppose we just find it easiest to write songsif they're about that side of life.

Finally, what is your favourite Coldplay song?

That's a tough one. I've been very much enjoying Politik live. It's so in your face and heavy. But I think Lovers In Japan is my favourite one, just because it's so incredible to see all those butterflies flying through the air, being lit up by UV lights. I've found myself sitting there, watching the show, just feeling really, really excited about that moment. It's an amazing spectacle.

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More excellent reviews of Coldplay's concert at the Olympiastadion in Stockholm, Sweden, have been posted at the Coldplay Live forum, that didn't quite make the main review article in time yesterday morning. Here are some of the reviews posted online at Coldplaying:

I'm a little late here but whatever. I did also attend the show this saturday and it was amazing! It was the first time for me since I didn't get tickets last time they were here (No money was one of the reasons :/). This time I got a seat in the F section which costed me 595 SEK. The view was good and I saw both the scene and the screens (very cool effects during 42 and some other songs btw) but I was very far away...

I didn't see anything when they performed on the smaller stage cause I sat on the wrong side. It would have been fun to at least see Will sing DWNC. I was so surprised when they sang Viva La Vida and Fix You. I have never seen something like it - everyone was singing! I guess the same thing happend at Ericsson Globe too and all the other concerts but still, first time I saw something like it...

One of two big artists I've seen this summer, the other being Madonna (I had GC tickets there). I won't compare them but Coldplay had a better crowd for sure. I feel really bad for those people who didn't get a CD. I was among the first one to get out from Stadion cause I sat near the exit so I got one but I heard alot of people screaming at the securitymen because they had nothing left to hand out. People write about it here (in swedish). Great concert! I only wish I could have been closer to the stage and I hope they will use the Golden Circle system next time so you don't need to sleep outside or be there early in the morning to get a decent view. Btw, in which songs did Chris do something wrong (?) and said "Oh..." and laughed a bit. It was in one of the first songs but I don't remember and it drives me crazy! Always when I go to a concert I don't remember anything after the show cause seeing the artist with my own eyes is so huge for me that I forget everything else LOL. Wow, a lot of negative comments but don't get me wrong - I LOVED IT! Please come back next time! Edit: WTF happend with Speed of Sound?! My favourite single by them and they skipped it -_- [thanks Isab3lla]

They didn't play Til Kingdom come, they did sound check White Shadows, so maybe in a near future they will start play it? And Chris did sing a bit of Amsterdam during Strawberry Swing because people in the audience had signs mocking Chris for forgetting the Amsterdam lyrics. "Rehearsed Amsterdam this time?" and some had written down the lyrics for him. The show was great, but I toughed that they rushed trough it. No much talking from Chris side. The two shows last year was better in my opinion. [thanks Rodan]

I had the worst and also the best night of my life! We came to the stadium at 9am with my friend and had the line up numbers 359&360 and when we got in we were like 7-10 meters from the stage at 4pm when we got in and people sat on the ground, but then I HAD TO go to the toilet around 5pm and when I came back people were suddenly STANDING and I just couldn't get throught to where I used to be!! My friend who I came with from Finland to see the show was there alone and she had my bag which had my cell phone and all my stuff (except my camera) so I couldn't call her that I can't get through to her and I was trying for like an hour to get there from different parts of the field and just panicing and stuff and I just couldn't get there (I got like 5 meters from the end of the crowd and then just couldn't move anymore!) and so I went to the security people and they helped me a little so I finally (after calling for like 30 minutes) got hold of my friend and then I went into the crowd to get a place to watch and ended up being at the end of the long stage on the left..I'm so annoyed! why couldn't I just stay there and see the fucking concert from like the third row and now I'm at like almost half way of the field! SUCKS!!! but well the concert was still awesome (tho I couldn't see the guys on the stage almost at all) but chris came close to me a couple of times and stuff so I guess it was ok, but I was just so sad!! I'm so dissapointed on that side..but still I enjoyed the concert of course and the fireworks, confletties and balloons and stuff were awesome too!!

My favourites were Deathandallhisfriends, strawberry swing (mostly because they did a small moment of Amsterdam there which is my second favourite CP song..) and the amazing LITii with the fireworks and all the singing that was like the happiest moment of my life! (that + singing 'No I don't want to battle from beginning to end I don't want a cycle of recycled revenge I don't want to follow death and all of his friends' as loud as I could. sorry about some of the negativity on the message, but I'm sure you can understand why I'm so pissed off at myself..still loathing in selfpity.. well while waiting for Wembley (that better go smoothly, I've had such terrible coldplay karma) I think I'll go get some sleep because I feel like I'm getting sick with all the lining up in the rain during the day and being in the wet clothes and stuff.. But still thank you Coldplay for the concert and I'll be posting some videos later! [thanks johkujii]

It is hardly a risky guess that what the critics dislike about Coldplay is what the audience likes. Where U2 and Madonna from the very beginning seemed prepared to take the step to superstardom, Coldplay got there gradually as the nice guys from the countryside. Quite simply, they had to update themselves when the applauses were too loud. The intimacy of the debut album "Parachutes" did not fit into the arenas that suddenly opened up following fame. And at the Swedish venue "Hovet" in 2002 Chris Martin moved round like a playful puppy that had forgotten all warnings (and the lyrics seemed to express just that). Coldplay's reprogramming to arena group has now been completed. With "Viva la Vida" Coldplay has sufficient material for concerts at stadium level, even some chorusses fit for football stadion sing-alongs - particularly the title track that the audience wanted to continue singing for a long time.

It is nice and magnificent with glaring light, a flood of confetti, and hundreds of yellow balloons released during "Yellow". In addition to that Coldplay had mini-stages set up among the audience - just like Rolling Stones during that band's latest tour. But the point is somewhat lost when the selection of songs seems to be very popular. An acoustic version of "Billie Jean" is okay, but "Talk" is one of the most powerful songs by the band and should not be toned down/subdued. The will to connection with the audience is obvious, but the charisma is limited. Jonny Buckland is - once for all - no Keith Richards, not even a "The Edge", and Guy Berryman and Will Champion are not only withdrawn, but much too anonymous. Chris Martin continues to get all the spotlight, and he has in no way stopped running around like crazy on the stage. From time to time he sits down to play his piano - maybe to compensate for the fact that his voice fails - he seldom manages to reach the characteristic falsetto level tonight. Coldplay's music and stage show is pleasant and likeable with sufficient good songs for a two-hour-long show. The firework appears to be unnecessary, as the music is powerful enough to stand alone. Thomas Anderberg, kultur@dn.se / translated by Nancy Boysen]

Coldplay at Olympic Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden (22nd August 2009):

See more pictures at Rock Revival

More questions answered by The Oracle... (submit yours now!)

August 24, 2009 - submitted by Jen, United States of America

Q. After reading about all these huge venues, I'm afraid that my hometown Coldplay concert must have been blah for the band. There were only 13,000 people. Do they hate doing small shows?

The Oracle replies:

That's a pretty small capacity for this tour to be honest but don't worry because they love playing smaller venues too. The stadium shows are gonna see the band perform in front of crowds of around 40-60,000+.

August 24, 2009 - submitted by Jeff, Malta

Q. Dearest Oracle, What does "OK" mean?

The Oracle replies:

If I describe something as "ok" it means it's not bad or adequate. If someone asks me if I would want to do something and I reply "ok" it means yes. Sometimes I use it as a pause before I launch into an answer.

August 24, 2009 - submitted by Sophia, Spain

Q. Hullo there! I've never been to a Coldplay concert, so I was wondering what happens to those yellow balls they let loose on the crowd? Do people keep them or do the band/crew take them back?

The Oracle replies:

I have seen various things happen to the yellow balloons; the majority are popped (they have confetti inside). Some people fight over ownership (ugly!) and some do make it outside. I'd love to see someone try and get one in the boot of their car! Some make their way to Chris and he pops them with his guitar.

The point is to bounce them around from person to person and then pop them! They're certainly not meant to end up back with the crew.

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