Jenjie

Monday, May 25, 2009 Day Off in Philadelphia Got to the hotel at 4am this morning from the gig in Hershey. After hauling my stuff up to the room, I was wide awake for a bit. Finally went to bed about 5:45am. Got up around 9, but had a helluva time getting out of bed. I really needed more sleep, but I have too much on the brain to sleep any longer. Maybe tonight… Around 10:30, I went down to the hotel gym on the fifth floor to get my run in. We're at the Loew's Hotel on Market Street in downtown Philly and they have a huge gym, with attendents and lots of equipment. It's far superior to most hotel workout rooms. I managed to run 2.5 miles and walked a couple more. I'm pretty happy insofar as my day-off runs. We've had four days off since the tour started and I've run on all four of them. The 2.5 miles today was also my longest run since January! Maybe I'll finally get my groove back after all. Walked over to the local Wawa for a sandwich for lunch, and pretty much hung out in my room all day. Got a phone call about dinner club (my group of regular "day off diners" – me, Julie, Marguerite, Tiffany, and Chuck), but I had to pass. I've got to knock out a budget for one of the upcoming tour legs. Grabbed a quick bite sitting at the bar at Maggiano's across the street and was back in my room working by 8pm. Hit the pillow around 11pm… http://bd58.blogspot.com/2009/05/day-off-in-philadelphia.html

Sunday, May 24, 2009 Show Day in Hershey, PA Just as the show was about to start tonight, the skies opened up and pissed down rain for about an hour. It was a pretty ugly storm, with a bit of lightning. The opening band was cancelled because to put them on after the rain stopped would have put the whole show too far behind schedule. Pete Yorn was able to take the stage at little after 8 and he played a shorter set than usual in order for Coldplay to get onstage on time (sort of). We've got a quick little 2-hour drive to Philadelphia tonight, where we'll get straight into our rooms around 3:30 or 4:00am. I sat up with some of the other folks for the drive and had my first beers of the tour. By the time we pulled up to the hotel, I think that only Russell (one of the carpenters) and myself were still awake… http://bd58.blogspot.com/2009/05/show-day-in-hershey-pa.html

Friday, May 22, 2009 Day Off in Hartford, CT Got to the hotel nice and early this morning, giving me the whole day to knock out my huge list of things to accomplish today, which was as follows: 1. Go for a run 2. Watch the "24" season finale on my computer 3. Go to dinner with my buddy Dennis I know, what a joke, right? As soon as Marguerite handed me my room key, I bolted to my room, changed, and went to the gym on the 5th floor to run on the treadmill. As I said before, I'm not really a fan of treadmills, but running around in downtown Hartford doesn't sound like a good idea. After that, I walked around the neighborhood for a bit, then grabbed a sandwich to take to my room for lunch. Hung in the room until about 6pm, when Dennis showed up. Dennis is my tour manager on the Josh Groban tour and he lives about an hour away in a Boston suburb. We had a great meal and a good bottle of wine around the corner at Morton's. I was back in my room by about 8, which was fine by me. Dennis had to get home with his wife Barbara's steak dinner that he ordered as we were having dessert. I was tired as hell from 4 or 5 nights of very little sleep, so I laid down and took a 45-minute nap, after which I putzed around the room for a bit, repacking my clean laundry and buying a few CD's online. Finally got in bed around 10:30… http://bd58.blogspot.com/2009/05/day-off-in-hartford-ct.html

Thursday, May 21, 2009 Show Day in Washington, DC OK, so the gig's not actually in DC, it's waaaay out in the suburbs. Bristow, Virginia, to be exact. Mapquest says that Bristow is about 15 miles from DC. Whatever… My buddy Pete, who grew up in Raleigh, has run this venue for the last 10 years. He used to run Walnut Creek, the amphitheater in Raleigh. This venue is dead serious about their curfew. These signs are posted all over the place backstage: Did you notice how much the fine costs for going into over time? Not to mention that they can and will pull the plug on your power… I had a guest at the show tonight who I haven't seen in 30 years. She was Cheryl Balston then, Cheryl Bauer now. We started dating during the last few weeks of high school and were together for about a year. Recently reconnected through Facebook. Which is about the only thing that's worth a crap about FB. I also recently reconnected with some old friends from Charlotte I haven't seen in 20-plus years. Today was our Production Manager (and Fearless Leader) Craig Finley's birthday. Everyone calls him Fin. After load-out, we had a big parking lot party by the buses. We had some extra time to kill because we weren't leaving for Hartford until 3am. There was booze and cake and revelry and such. I'll likely sleep like crap tonight because I-95 north of Delaware and into Connecticut is the shittiest stretch of road in the US. Not looking forward to this ride… http://bd58.blogspot.com/2009/05/show-day-in-washington-dc.html

Tuesday, May 19, 2009 Day Off in Virginia Beach, VA I predicted last night that we'd make it to our hotel today around 3pm. It was a 760-mile drive from the Birmingham venue we played last night. We pulled up to the front door of the hotel at 2:59… I'm that good. Threw my shit into my room, cranked up (or down, if you prefer) the A/C, put on my running duds and took off. Wound up running down the sidewalk that ran along Virginia Beach Blvd. Ran a couple of miles and walked a couple more. Back to the hotel for some work and a shower, then later met my buddy Brent Carpenter in the lobby to go have drinks and dinner. Brent is Rush's Monitor Engineer and he just moved down to Virginia Beach a couple of months ago from New York. We last toured together on the 2006 All-American Rejects US Tour. I have to admit to everyone who loves my guacamole that Brent pretty much taught me everything I know about making the stuff. To my own credit, I tend to put a helluva lot more garlic in mine than he does in his, but it's basically the same recipe. My dinner club gang showed up while we were sitting there in the lobby, so we all went across the street to McCormick & Schmick's. After dinner, Brent and I sat at my lobby bar for a nightcap. I headed up to my room shortly after 11pm and hit the pillow… http://bd58.blogspot.com/2009/05/day-off-in-virginia-beach-va.html

Monday, May 18, 2009 Show Day in Birmingham, AL Up around 6am, grabbed a shower in a pretty raunchy and dirty shower building by the bus parking area. I've never been one of those guys who brings "shower slippers" on the road, but after this place, I may reconsider that notion… I actually watched a couple of songs tonight. The band is starting to grow on me. Met them all yesterday at the Atlanta show and they're all genuinely nice people. I'm kinda surprised at how nice everyone is out here. Feels like I've said that a million times, but it's true. Finished work around midnight, which gave me a little time for blogging and websurfing, and of course, buying some more CD's from Amazon, just what I need. I must have 15 unpacked boxes of the damn things at home from when I bought my house and moved in 3 years ago, yet I still buy 6-12 more per month. WTF? We've got a 13-hour drive tonight, from Birmingham to Virginia Beach. I'll be hatin' it, because even though I won't go to bed until around 3, I'll still be up by 8. Which means we'll still be 7 hours from the hotel. I just want to get there and get my run in before I meet my buddy Kirk (who lives there) for a couple of beers. http://bd58.blogspot.com/2009/05/show-day-in-birmingham-al.html

Saturday, May 16, 2009 Day Off in Atlanta, GA In spite of going to bed at 4am, I woke up feeling great just before 9 this morning. I was the only person awake for about an hour, and spent that time sitting up front with Charlie, my bus driver. Funny, funny guy – he'll be fun to hang out with a bit. We made it to the hotel just before noon. We're staying at the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel in downtown Atlanta. If you've ever seen the Burt Reynolds movie "Sharkey's Machine," you might remember one of the final scenes where the bad guy was thrown from a high-floor window to his death. I'm on the 58th of 72 floors and this is my view: In the following photo, you can see Philips Arena, and just on this side of it, the CNN Center, where the CNN network is based. Can you say "Robin Meade" on Headline News? Not sure, but I think that Turner Television and TNT network are also there. In the bottom right of the photo, you see Centennial Park, scene of the 1996 Olympic bombing: I got dressed to go running around the park, and just as I was about to go to the elevator, the sky rumbled and opened up in a hellacious thunderstorm. I waited awhile for the storm to pass, but eventually decided to go to the hotel gym and run on a treadmill. And of course, as soon as I was finished and went back up to my room, the rain stopped. C'est la vie! Had a plan to go to Legal Seafood, about six blocks away, with Julie for dinner. Marguerite, our Production Coordinator, and Tiffany, who is the Dressing Room Coordinator and Wardrobe person, joined us. Meet the girls… Marguerite: Tiffany: Julie: As always with Legal Seafood, our dinner was amazing. Mags (Marguerite) and Tiff both got lobster. Julie and I both got the Wood Grilled Assortment, which consisted of 2 ounces each of Wild Atlantic Salmon, Tuna, and Swordfish, along with a skewer of scallops and a skewer of shrimp. Mmmmm… Back in my room for some computer time, then off to bed about 10:30. Gotta get up at 5:30 tomorrow… http://bd58.blogspot.com/2009/05/day-off-in-atlanta-ga.html

Friday, May 15, 2009 West Palm Beach, FL - First Show The day started early for me. Up at 6am, handled a bunch of email, checked out, and made it outside way too early for our 8:00 bus call. But it was nice to sit outside in the fresh air and read the newspaper. We have eleven people on our bus for this leg of the tour. That's at least one, if not two, too many for me. I'm not claustrophobic or anything, it's just that the more people there are living on our little 45-foot submarine, the messier it tends to be. Such is life as a roadie… Here's a photo of my new home for the summer: Today turned out to be one of the best "first days" I've ever had on a tour. There are nearly 70 people out here, so I'm a long way from learning everyone's name, but everyone just couldn't be nicer. And that goes a long way towards having a good time on the road. My Live Nation counterpart, Julie, will be sharing an office with me everyday. Also, because she doesn't have her own office road case, I'm letting her keep a bunch of her stuff in mine. I didn't have it nearly full and I'm happy to share. The room we had today was pretty dang small, but as roadies must, we made due. The whole day went smoothly, settlement was painless, and I finally made my way out to the bus about 1:30am. Looks like everyone on my bus is pretty mellow, no high-volume ESPN SportsCenter viewing all night long. No one turned the TV on at all; there was just some really good conversation. Live Nation Julie and I are the new kids, so it was good to get to know some of the other folks. I finally crawled into my bunk around 4am… http://bd58.blogspot.com/2009/05/west-palm-beach-fl-first-show.html

Thursday, May 14, 2009 First Day At Work With Coldplay The venue that the current leg of this tour is starting in is the Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, FL. I was here a few years ago with System Of A Down during one of the Ozzfest tours. That band's crazy-assed, drugged-out, drunken band assistant commandeered a golf cart that had a hard canopy-type roof over it and managed to drive it at full speed a bit too close to Ozzy's personal tour bus. The roof of the cart smacked the driver's side mirror and shattered both the mirror and the enclosure, to the tune of about $800.00 damage. Needless to say, Sharon Osbourne wasn't too happy about that. I would've loved to be a fly on the wall whenever she read the band's Tour Manager the riot act for that little incident. Came over to the venue this morning on the 9 o'clock shuttle. Met a bunch of folks, got an office, got started. My Live Nation counterpart is a lovely young lady from Detroit named Julie and we hit it off immediately. Early indications are that I'm gonna enjoy this tour. There are a lot of nice people on the crew. It was pretty uneventful for a first day. Not much to report. Julie and I split around 10:45 and got back to the hotel just in time for me to run into the bar and see the Carolina Hurricanes win Game 7 of their playoff series against the Boston Bruins. Go Canes! http://bd58.blogspot.com/2009/05/first-day-at-work-with-coldplay.html

Wednesday, May 13, 2009 Travel Day To W. Palm Beach, FL Not a bad day. I had gone to bed a little after midnight last night, and slept like shit. Finally got up around 5:30am. The good news was, I had some extra time, so I decided to take a run. The bad news was, I only had the old shoes to run in. Oh, well… Traveling by air these days is pretty much crap. Flying with US Airways is no picnic, either. My flight out of Raleigh was delayed by two and a half hours. Missed the connection in Charlotte, and finally landed in W. Palm Beach around 9:30. Dropped bags and checked email in my room, then headed down to the bar, where I had a late dinner that consisted of two glasses of wine and some hummus with pita bread. Hopefully, I'll be blogging a little more consistently now that I'm working again… http://bd58.blogspot.com/2009/05/travel-day-to-w-palm-beach-fl.html

Tuesday, May 12, 2009 Running Away... Had to run in old shoes this morning because I shipped my new ones to Florida in my road case the other day. I'm gonna try to run every day off during my upcoming tour. Fingers crossed on that thought. Those damn shoes were 'bout wore out! Probably shouldn't have done that and I bet my knees will be killing me tomorrow. I'm running away to join the circus tomorrow. Nah, actually flying to West Palm Beach, FL, because I've been hired to do the Colplay tour. Should be an interesting summer… Met up with about 10 friends on the Ale House deck tonight for a "Bob's Going Away" dinner. Also, to watch the Carolina Hurricanes hockey game. Unfortunately, they got their heads handed to them. Ugly game. After that, I went with Foy & Terry for one round at Northside. For once, I did the right thing and left after the one beer. Home and in bed shortly after midnight. http://bd58.blogspot.com/2009/05/running-away.html

Just found this guy's blog whilst looking for Hershey blogs :D He states: I'm about to add all his previous posts to this thread :)

After a torrential downpour of some thunderstorms with lightning included, the skies actually cleared enough for this concert event to go on. Due to the rain, the opening acts were adjusted to accommodate the schedule. Howling Belles, who I never heard of, didn't get to perform; Pete Yorn, who I absolutely love, performed for only about 30 minutes but he was as great as expected. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a good photo to share but I can tell you that I'm certain his new album will be great. He featured one new song and I did like it. He also played some all-time favorites including Strange Condition and For Nancy which are obviously two of his best songs. I hope to see him again for a much longer show. Coldplay was, hands-down, amazing. Seriously, they put on such a great show - a fantastic mix of their new album with some old classics. From the new album, I really enjoyed Strawberry Swing, Lost, and of course Viva La Vida. Old favorites that I enjoyed were Fix You, Politik, The Scientist, and Clocks. It was a great mix of energy and enthusiasm. Chris Martin is fantastic. He's an unbelievable performer. I especially enjoyed when he initiated the "first ever Mexican cell phone wave throughout Hershey Stadium". He did this from a microphone that was set up about 30 feet from our seats. The whole band came up into the stands and sang a few songs. It was great. I think Chris Martin exemplifies someone who just loves what he does on a daily basis - I find him inspirational. One of the biggest reasons I like Coldplay is because they really seem to want to connect with their fans as much as possible. It was especially great when they handed out a free CD with about 9 songs on it at the end of the show. Granted, these are probably accessible for free from their website, but it's a nice gesture. What a fanstastic event. I hope to see them again. http://cvarano.blogspot.com/2009/05/pete-york-coldplay.html

I took my love down to Hershey, PA, to see Coldplay. If you ever see a show there, definitely try to get on the field. We paid the same as people in the grandstand, but i’m sure we felt way closer. Plus our seats had backs (useful when we were waiting before the show). It rained really hard for about an hour which delayed the show, but Pete Yorn got people going, and everyone was in a pretty good mood when the show started. Except for Chris Martin that is, who apparently got burned backstage and was sporting a bandage on his arm. The show went on however, and the guys made it a good one. They’re pros and have been on this tour for over a year, but had plenty of energy and seemed to be enjoying themselves. Highlights for us included Lovers in Japan, which is a personal fave, and was adorned with thousands of paper butterflies raining down on everyone. We really enjoyed when they left the main stage and did a miniset that included “Green Eyes” on a ministage about 20 feet from us. You can see the pics from that below. Complete set list after the pics. I’d never seen Coldplay live before, and they didn’t disappoint. It’s great hearing songs like In My Place, the Scientist, and Fix You live. Only “complaint” would be that they didn’t do more from X&Y, including Swallowed in the Sea (aka “the Jonah song”), but I know I’m in the minority on that one. All in all, a great night! http://stevelutz.wordpress.com/2009/05/25/coldplay-hershey-524-with-pics/

Everything’s Not Lost Bittersweet. Bitter, probably, for Chris Martin and Coldplay; sweet, definitely, for me. It’s funny how a band or a song can take on a whole new meaning…how one may find a new appreciation, energy, color-fast vision of a music based on the company one keeps. You see, it has been nearly seven years since I purchased tickets and attended a show at Hershey as a consumer fan. One ill-timed question, an unplanned pregnancy, a flight to Vegas and a foreseeable divorce anchoring this ship to colorful Harrisburg, Pennsylvania can turn a guy’s stomach on the thought of ever listening to and appreciating the Dave Matthews Band again. Or, in this case, Coldplay. As a lover of most music, I’m not quick to shrug off a band based solely on their rise to success. Normally, I’ll shrug off a band based on a negative association I may carry with said band. And in the instance of Coldplay- specifically, the album Parachutes- I carried what I realized was a completely unnecessary hatred of everything they represent. When you boil it all down, they write some great fucking songs. I don’t know too many people who can’t name three Coldplay songs right off the top of their head. And they could be, arguably, one of the biggest bands in the world right now. My friend and I decided- somewhat hastily- to go to this show. I had my trepidations based on the aforementioned negative association. She just hadn’t seen Coldplay before. But we went- and scored tickets for twenty bucks apiece outside the gate. Our seats were stage-right, about four rows up in the grandstand. To our right was a couple- she was thirty and celebrating her birthday; he was around forty and spoiling his girl. To our left was a pair of (what can’t be described any other way than) two old ladies. In front, a small family. And behind us was a gaggle of couples. Mostly in their mid-twenties. But mostly couples. It was certainly a couples-kind-of-show. After weathering the forty-five minute rainstorm, we went into the antiquated Hersheypark Stadium, met up with some friends who razzed me accordingly (”Dude. What the hell is Jersey Mike doing at a COLDPLAY show?!” and, the most common heard razz of the week “Know how I know you’re gay?”) and two-fisted some delicious Shock Top beers. And from the moment we sat down, I remembered that perception really is everything. For years…YEARS…I perceived Coldplay in a negative light. I associated what’s really a great band with an unfortunate time in my life. Self-deprecatingly, I denied myself the pleasures of Politik and The Scientist and God Put A Smile Upon Your Face and Everything’s Not Lost. But I remembered- on a warm and rainy night in May while in fantastic company and after a pleasant weekend- that happiness really does come from within. And, although I may fool myself sometimes by trying to blame others for my negative views, that all of it- every broken promise, heart, crushed spirit- can be healed with pure positive energy. A fresh perspective. On life. On love. On music. And a fresh perspective on Coldplay. http://jerseymike.org/2009/05/everythings-not-lost/

I enjoyed myself, it being my first time seeing them live and despite being in section 26(!). Aside from 2 girls sitting in front of me singing to every song and screaming as if a Jonas brother was nearby, most of the section remained quiet or sat during most of the show. It almost felt like they've seen Coldplay many times before and what they were seeing was nothing new. No chant after "Viva La Vida", very little crowd participation but they only managed to get the most excited when they did a Monkees cover (go figure). I hope they got their $100 worth. But I didn't go to see the crowd, it just would have helped had the less active portion of the crowd been more into it and the band felt the body language (or lack thereof). As for the band itself, Coldplay was as good as advertised. Fresh off of a quick thunderstorm that shortened Pete Yorn's set and canceled Holwing Bells', they were energetic and on point. At the very beginning of the show, during "Life In Technicolor", Chris Martin burned himself on the hand (probably due to the pyro) and seemed a bit annoyed by it. As I mentioned before, after performing their biggest hit to date, "Viva La Vida", there was no encore chant and Chris Martin proceeded to fall on the floor, almost playing dead. When they realized the end of song chant wasn't going the way they'd hoped for (I was shocked myself), Chris springs right back up and on to the next record they went. My 3 key highlights - Free "LeftRightLeftRightLeft" live cd (even though I had the album on my ipod nearly 2 weeks ago). - Not letting my section spoil my fun, I sang at the top of my lungs to every song. - The upbeat, techno version of "God Put A Smile On Your Face" and "Talk". Hopefully it's available for download somewhere. *- Note that the first 3 photos are mine but the live ones of the band were courtesy of some friends at Coldplaying.com. My seats weren't close enough to get detailed ones. http://themodernistrevival.blogspot.com/2009/05/111-coldplay-live-52409-hershey-park.html

After spending years as an avid music fan and attending shows I recently announced to my husband, an even more rabid concert goer, that those days had come to an end for me. The shows were becoming less and less worth the aggravation associated with large crowds, late nights and the long drive home from the venue, not to mention ticket cost. It would take a very special occasion or a very special band for me to make an exception. Enter Coldplay. If you follow my blog you know I love this band because I've posted about it several times. In my opinion, they are the world's most talented band right behind U2. (I still haven't worked out whether Coldplay would consider that a compliment or if they would even care.) So when a tour date was announced for Hershey, PA we jumped on tickets as soon as they were made available. It helped that my resident rabid concert goer was on Hershey Stadium's mailing list which gave us first dibs at seats- something I would recommend to you if there is a band you really want to see. Since we're on tight a budget (Britain or Bust) we had to settle for the cheap seats. The most expensive tickets at nearly $100 a pop were out of the question, especially with three of us going. So last night was the show and we arrived a 1/2 hour early, not really concerned about being seated for the opening act, Pete Yorn, who was scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. No sooner did we enter the parking lot when the skies over Hershey opened up and delivered on us a torrential downpour that lasted nearly forty minutes. Since Hershey Stadium is an open-air venue I was concerned that the rain would threaten the show. Even though our tickets said rain or shine, I wasn't about to sit through a two hour concert getting soaked to the bone. I was willing to make an exception to my recent "no concerts" rule for Coldplay but this would truly be stretching the limits of my patience. We waited in the car for the rain to stop and I filled my time wondering aloud which Einstein decided that open-air venues in the northeast were a good idea. And just like that, the rain stopped. Concert on. We made our way to the stadium and to our seats as quickly as we could manage. Even though we bought the cheapest tickets, our seats ended up being on the floor of the stadium, another benefit of getting them early I suspect. Unfortunately though, we were sitting too far back from the stage to take good photos, so you won't see any included in this post. Pete Yorn took the stage almost immediately and while he was enjoyable, I was glad that he agreed to cut his set short so Coldplay could start on time. Once again, the sky threatened rain. But it wasn't to be. Coldplay opened their set with "Life in Technicolor", followed by "Violet Hill" and "Clocks". The spirit of the crowd had not been dampened by the weather and they gave Coldplay a rousing welcome. It was after "Clocks" that Chris Martin admitted he was in a "sh*t mood" because he had tripped coming on stage and burned his arm. As of today, I still haven't heard how he burned it or how bad it was. Sitting where we were, we had no idea that anything had happened. I'm sure the weather didn't help his mood either, as well as the fact that the stadium was only half full, a blow to anyone's ego I'm sure. Still, Chris thanked us for braving the weather and asked us to join in singing the next song which he promised would lift his spirits. We were more than willing to accommodate him and from there the show just got better and better. Chris is a fantastic front person, high energy and very generous to his audience. He thanked us repeatedly for tolerating the rain and for the warm reception. He went into the crowd several times to the delight of those sitting up front (next time I'm buying the good seats) and his singing couldn't have been any better. If this was Chris in a bad mood, what is he like in a good one? It was hard to imagine a better performance and then it happened. About two-thirds of the way through the set, the lads all left the stage and headed for the stands to my left where a mock stage had been set up. From here Coldplay performed an acoustic set which started with "Green Eyes", a personal favourite of mine, then "Death Will Never Conquer" (with Will on vocals), and "I'm A Believer" (Neil Diamond). The acoustic set really showed what a diverse and talented group they are and brought a nice change of pace to the show. After a short interlude, Coldplay returned to the stage with "Politik", "Lovers in Japan" and "Death and All His Friends". The show ended with an encore of "The Scientist" and "Life in Technicolor II". Coldplay's entire set included some really fun special effects like a fantastically edited live video of their performance projected on screens at the side of the stage. It felt like we were taking part in a concert film. There was also the standard issue yellow rubber balls that have become a staple during the song "Yellow", and huge confetti guns shooting out paper butterflies during "Lovers in Japan". Of course, the most important part of any concert is the music and the boys of Coldplay were spot on, note for note. The only downside was that it had to end. I was left wanting more. It certainly was worth breaking my "no concerts" rule and if I never see another show again, I'm glad I saved the best for last. http://www.smittenbybritain.com/2009/05/la-vida-coldplay.html

geez you guys are a bit harsh on him. sparklers burn at a much higher temperature than normal flames, so to get a burn from one of them must hurt like a bitch, particulalry if you can't get it seen to straight away.

So this saturday i went to see my favorite band in the entire world, coldplay, live at the meadows music theater. It was my birthday present. It was the best concert i have EVER been to in my ENTIRE LIFE. Not only was the singing phenomenal and in my opinion better than their CD's, their mannerisms and acts took the cake. They interacted with the audience so much, and even moved stages a few times rather than staying on the main stage. They moved to the section where i was at, and i rushed by everyone and was only a few feet away from Chris Martin. I could see the sweat on his forehead. There, he played 'trouble' and a few other beautiful piano songs, including "postcards from far away". It was incredible. I couldn't believe i ordered middle stadium seats [i bought them the first day they came out to the public, and the front rows were ALREADY sold out, so i settled for the middle], yet he came to me. In the way back, there was lawn seating. The people who sat there could not even see the stage, and payed a mear 20 bucks to get in. And once again, Coldplay came to them and started singing them some cute little songs, and did a cover of "I'm a believer". He asked us all "Are you in loveeee?" and refered to his bandmates as "Most likely to star in a horror film", "most likely to star in a porno", along those lines. I forgot what he said to the final member, but something along the lines of how he hates to sing, in private and public, but for just this once to tell us all if he was in love. We did a cellphone light wave, which was very fun. :wha During "Yellow", giant yellow balloons full of confetti were released. When they popped, they whole place exploded with sparkles. And, during lovers in Japan, canons hidden all around the stadium erupted and shot out millions of tissue paper butterflies. It was gorgeous. I later collected a lot up from the floor and am currently in the process of making some type of mural for my wall with it. I forgot which song, but perhaps in continuation with lovers in japan, chris got in a giant chinese dragon suit and danced around while singing. It was hilarious. At the end, we all got free albums of their Live CD "left right left right", which has the same butterflies on it as the ones shot from the canons. That CD is incredible. It was an incredible concert. I cannot wait until they come back... I am going to get VIP tickets and molest Guy Berryman. My only regret is that i didn't bring my camera. my cellphone pics turned out terrible. :cry either way... It was the best moment of my entire life, and i'll treasure it forever. http://xstrong.livejournal.com/10898.html

Coldplay Thrills Fans with an Encore Performance in Hartford After releasing a hugely successful, Grammy winning album and touring the world non-stop for the past year, you would think Coldplay would be ready for a nice long vacation. However, the band did not become one of the world’s biggest by sitting on a beach in the Caribbean, and they won’t be doing that any time soon. Instead, they are spending their summer playing amphitheaters in cities that most do their best to avoid. One of those cities is Hartford, Connecticut, where Coldplay would continue their Viva La Vida tour at the Comcast Theater. While their live show hasn’t change much since I saw them on the first leg of the tour last summer, they amazed me once again, belting out their biggest hits along with a few new surprises in another memorable performance. New Jersey native and Syracuse graduate Pete Y0rn opened the show with a sleep-educing forty minute set of dull ballads and soft rock numbers that were better suited for an elevator than a packed amphitheater. Yorn sauntered around the stage for most of the set, barely acknowledging the crowd and saying little between songs. The rest of his band looked even less interested, often blankly staring off into space while playing their instruments with as little enthusiasm as humanly possible. While Yorn’s songs have been featured in TV dramas such as House and in romantic comedies such as Me, Myself, and Irene, they simply didn’t come across well in this setting. Thirty minutes after Yorn and company left the stage to a small smattering of applause, A semi-transparent black screen was lowered over the stage and the lights were dimmed. Lead singer Chris Martin led the rest of the band, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, and drummer Will Champion out on stage. With sparkling torches held aloft, the band jogged to the drum set, extinguished the flames, and began the show with the customary opener, “Life In Technicolor.” After the screen dropped and the band was finally revealed, they segued into “Violet Hill,” which inspired the first giant sing along of the night. The setlist focused mainly on the band’s older hits, as well as a good deal of material from their latest full-length, Viva La Vida, and it’s follow up EP, Prospect’s March. An early highlight of the set was the band’s first big hit “Yellow,” which featured an impressive laser show that stretched all the way to the lawn, as well as confetti-filled yellow balloons bouncing all over the venue. Another early highlight was the performance of “Fix You” from 2005’s X & Y. After jumping around the stage and working the crowd into a tizzy for most of the song, Martin simply sat at his piano and listened as the 13,000 in attendance sang the last chorus back to him in (not quite) perfect harmony. After an upbeat performance of “Strawberry Swing,” the band ventured off stage and into the crowd, stopping at a small platform located in the center of the pavilion. The quartet has been doing this throughout their Viva La Vida tour, to the delight of those in the cheap(er) seats, who got an unexpectedly close view for these three songs. Without a drum set, the band presented “techno” versions of “God Put A Smile On Your Face” and “Talk.” Both sounded slightly awkward and didn’t live up to their full band versions, but they seemed to please the crowd nonetheless. Champion, Buckland, and Berryman then returned to the stage, leaving Martin alone on the platform with his piano. The lead singer announced that this would be the boring part of the set, and he instructed those in the audience who might be craving a hot dog to head to the concession stands. While few took him up on the offer, Martin’s rendition of “The Hardest Part” certainly wasn’t the highlight of the set. That would follow shortly. As Martin made his way back through the crowd and a recorded version of the instrumental track “Postcards From Far Away” was played, an enormous bongo drum was rolled to the front of the stage, where Champion stood ready. Just as Martin made it back, the opening notes from “Viva La Vida” could be heard, and the crowd instantly roared its approval. As he would do all show, Martin bounced around the stage , getting up close and personal with as many fans as possible. He ended “Viva La Vida” singing the melody on his back, and the crowd ate it up. After performing “Lost!,” the band would once again leave the stage. This time, Martin and Co. would venture even further from the elaborately designed set, making their way to a platform on the lawn, nearly causing a stampede of fans who had been lounging on blankets and folding chairs only minutes before. Martin would then string together a series of cheesy but humorous rhymes about Hartford and playing for the fans in the back, one of which went “When you’re depressed and sitting on your butt, come play a show in Connecticut.” The band would then perform “Green Eyes” from A Rush of Blood To the Head, as well as “Death Will Never Conquer,” a short folk-ish track the band released free on their website featuring Champion on lead vocals. Martin had introduced the drummer with a rhyme that sounded something like “Now you’re all in for a thrill, for here’s our drummer Will.” Is Martin preparing for a future career as a children’s novelist? I hope not. After finishing their set on the lawn with a sing-along cover of Neil Diamond’s “I’m A Believer,” the band would take a short break before finally returning to the main stage. Here they would preform one of their most rocking tracks, Politik,” and then “Lovers In Japan.” The latter brought a blizzard-like storm of brightly colored confetti that nearly obscured the entire stage. After grabbing not only a Japanese umbrella but also an enormous dragon head costume (seriously), Martin would bring the song to and end and then end the set with “Death And All His Friends.” After the band left the stage, the crowd began to sing the melody to “Viva La Vida,” and before long, the quartet returned to the stage to preform a two song encore. It began with “The Scientist” and then concluded with “Life in Technicolor II” from the Prospect’s March EP. Surprisingly, the crowd was as into this song as any the band had played, singing along as if the tune was their biggest single. Coldplay then took their bows and made their exit. As thousands of very satisfied fans did the same, they continued to sing the melody to “Viva La Vida,” and it could be heard on the concourse and even as the throngs made their way outside the venue and back to the parking lots. With this most likely being Coldplay’s last visit to Hartford for some time, it was obvious the band had left their mark with this performance. At the beginning of the show, Martin brought up the fact they were trying to make up for a sub-par showing during their last visit to the city. While they may not have given the “eight billion percent” effort the lead singer had promised, they certainly made their previous missteps seem like a very distant memory. http://leafsacc.wordpress.com/2009/05/28/coldplay-thrills-fans-with-an-encore-performance-in-hartford/

gratz guys, you broke the Wiki page :P seriously though, congrats for being the first show in 2009 to need 2 Wiki pages :D http://wiki.coldplaying.com/index.php/23_May_2009:_Comcast_Theatre%2C_Hartford%2C_CT%2C_USA http://wiki.coldplaying.com/index.php/23_May_2009:_Comcast_Theatre%2C_Hartford%2C_CT%2C_USA_%28Fan_Reviews_Part_2%29

Wikified :D will pretty it up tomorrow http://wiki.coldplaying.com/index.php/26_May_2009:_Susquehanna_Bank_Center%2C_Camden%2C_NJ%2C_USA

Coldplayers post too much :p (nice job though guys! thank you :D) am working on Wiki for this show now, but not likely to finish tonight

Wiki in progress :D http://wiki.coldplaying.com/index.php/24_May_2009:_Hershey_Stadium%2C_Hershey%2C_PA%2C_USA

Better late than never, I've done som Wikification :D http://wiki.coldplaying.com/index.php/23_May_2009:_Comcast_Theatre%2C_Hartford%2C_CT%2C_USA