bearcat1229

As a keyboard player I would achieve this effect by messing with the decay and release/sustain. Bascially you turn all these up. I would add a very slow tremolo with not alot of depth to create the rotary effect. Being as techincal as Jonny is, it is possible he has found a way to take concepts usually applied to a keyboard or synth and make it work on guitar. This could be done by a variety of ways, and is probably easier than we think. I would say though there is more than just pedals achieving it, there is likely rack gear involved.

Tracie - where were you driving from? I share your hatred for I-80 Road construction!!! IT was horrible. Ridiculous actually to say the least. We actually left right after the now infamous "boo" so I guess I didn't stick around to watch it easily resolve. I actually caught the guys doin their runner, but to no suprise they didn't stop. Just did Mach 10 away from the arena. And I will agree that around Fix You things picked up. The crowd seemed kinda confused about keeping the "whoa ohs" going during Viva. That is really all just knit picky stuff though.

I will say it was probably one of the best Coldplay moments of my life when Chris looked at our sign and made sure that Will saw it too. They both got a kick out of it and it made the 7 hour drive worth it in itself.

I would like to clarify a few things. 1. I never said the crowd sucked. I said Viva La Vida was rough, the crowd was blah (in reference to that song). I said the Des Moines crowd was better. That does not say or should it imply that Omaha sucks (I'm only comparing two crowds). 2. I never anywhere said they booed Chris. I know what they booed. I felt his response seemed tense, that was just my assessment. You guys don't have to defend your city or your ability to draw a crowd. I have nothing against the show last night I am just comparing to the other Coldplay shows I have been to.

I never said it sucked. It was not the best of the 9 I have been to. They can't all be the best. Guy walked off during Green Eyes in Chicago, when they were playing it on the main stage. It was an impromptu thing with Will and I guess he didn't feel welcome to play so he walked off. This is pretty old news it was almost a year ago. You have to understand that since I have been to so many shows I have to compare them to the others. Although every Coldplay show I have ever been to has been GREAT there has to ones that rank a little lower, and for me that was this. Doesn't mean I didn't have a great time. I think it has been implied that I feel the band was booed by the crowd, they booed the a comment about not comming back for ten years, not the band. Also my "perception" of the crowd may be different due to the fact I was sitting a lot farther back than im used to. Perhaps I should have worded my review a little better, sounds like people think I felt the show sucked. I did not think that. I just don't think there were as many die-hards to carry the rest along as other shows I have been to.

Yeah...maybe my post wasn't clear but I thought I said they booed after he said they might not be back for really long time. This was my 9th show, and I had just seen them in Des Moines the night before. It just seemed like they were a lot more lively the night before. Chris tried hard but the crowd really didn't feed into it at times. I kinda thought he seemed irritated, it wasn't worse than when Guy walked off in Chicago. Talk about awkward. :-/

Hey guys, sorry I didn't get a chance to do this earlier. I agree it is pretty dead in here...ha. I just got home, we drove half way back from OMaha tO Wisconsin last night and finished the journey today. We went to Des Moines and Omaha so it was a long trip. The show: I hung around outside early to try to get a glimpse of them, but some fat ass security guard who makes $10/hr had to feel on a power trip and tell me I couldn't hang there. I asked him to show me the sign that said that, which he couldn't but told me that is why he was there. I mumbled something not so nice and went on this pedestrian bridge to watch, but I think they were already in there as I could hear bass drum kicks comming from the arena. I was right up by C-stage. The people around me were actually fairly into it, which is good because I warned them I am a pretty hardcore fan. My fiancee and I made a sign that said "Will has the voice of an ANGEL". Chris saw it, smiled for quite a while, and poked Will 3 times to make sure he saw it, and he got a kick out of it as well. Little disappointed he didn't say anything about it to the crowd though. Viva La Vida was rough, the crowd was kind of blah. Des Moines was actually a better crowd, which I never would have expected. I think Chris was even mad at the end when he you might not see us here for quite a while, the crowd started booing and Chris said in a harsh and irritated voice "Don't boo" It was then I snuck out with my sign, took a gamble of which way they came out. Went back to this secluded area and I caught them just in time, but they were definitely in a hurry to get out. Two black SUVs and a big black van doing Mach 10 away from the arena. All in all I had a good time. Chris awknowledged our sign, which was the most I was hoping for. not sure if this will be a stop next time though....ha

Hey guys, show just got over. Amazing show! I was really skeptical about an Iowan crowd but they were really into it! Snow Patrol was awesome as well. Howling Bells were pretty good. Got Guy's setlist. (Actually got two but felt greedy and gave one away) Same as all the nights before, although they added more than one tritube to Des Moines throughout the show ( I think they felt guilty for never playing here before). Pictures to follow tomorrow.

This will be the smallest venue I have ever seen them at. Only gonna be about 8,000 threre Should be great!

I am going to Alpine Valley show in July. I have PIT tickets and a couple other friends want to go, but don't want to pay so much for PIT tickets. I told them Lawn seats were pretty cheap. I do remember going to the Ford Ampitheatre in 2006 in Tampa for the X&Y tour. I remember the main complaint from those who reviewed it from the lawn was that you couldn't hear anything. So my question is...if you have been to the show from the Lawn...how was it? Any problems hearing? Anyone been at the lawn at Alpine specifically? Thanks all!

^ I was wondering the same thing. I don't know as if many people going to this show are actually from IA. I myself am traveling about 4 hours to attend because its the closest arena show to my area. Then gonna take the short trip to Omaha the next night. Should be a nice little mini vacation with a Coldplay fix.

wow...possibly the LAMEST crowd I have ever seen in my life...

There are still GA Pit tickets available on livenation.com, do not buy them from ebay you will pay way too much. Pit tickets means it is the area in front of the reserved seating, it is first come first serve...so the sooner you line up at the gate the closer you will get to the stage. It IS worth it.

The Roland Fantoms are pretty amazing, but it may be too much for what you want. Those are usually complete sequencers and full workstations. A good solid digital Piano would be anything yamaha, priced around the 600-1000 range. These wont be full work stations but they will give you a good quality sounds, usually with MIDI capability.

A long sustain and release time, probably accomplished by expensive rack gear. Delay could also be used to get something close...

Also, when the gate opens ...RUN! This is not where they collect the tickets and everyone else will likely be running as was my experience. So, if their is a fat security guard warning you before the gates open not to run or you will be kicked out, don't listen to him cause he likely can't catch you anyways :-)

For the X & Y Tour they played at Ford Ampitheater in Tampa. This was the only show on the whole tour with GA pit tickets. Was there at 330. Gates were at 6. There were about ...12-15 people there when I got there and It didn't start getting crowded til well after 5. Show up 2 hours before gates and you will be fine.

GA PIT tickets available for this show NOW!

I know what is going on here, so I will try to explain it. I am a keyboard player in a band. Most high end synths/workstations have a "release" feature. Basically the higher you turn the release the longer it will be for the note to die out. So whats basically happening is the first note starts...he moves to the next and the previous continues because it hasn't "released" yet. Do that multiple times you get a bunch of layered notes that give that majestic droning sound. I do this live sometimes. At the end of the song I will turn the release all the way up. It will sustain a droning sound for literally 2-3 minutes if you want, and is also very easily cut. I'm sure Jonny's guitar tech controls this. And yes, you are correct the begining is started with a fade in from a volume pedal, but that has very little to do with producing that sound. Now I do not know the specific effect that is used for this on a guitar, but I would bet good money that it is embedded in one of his extremely expensive delay rack units. Good stuff.

Actually I am pretty sure Jonny uses a Gibson. the guitar Jonny was using to play the Scientist during the X & Y tour and the Viva tour are the same, and I am pretty sure he is using a Gibson as a acoustic. (Chris also used a Gibson during the acoustic set of X&Y tour)

be careful when you paint your expensive equipment. By doing so you will effectively void any warranty. Just something to think about. I still did it anyways ....

Well...I'm not 100% sure but Elton John's red Piano is a MIDI piano too...or so I heard. When Fiona Apple opened for Coldplay in 2005, she had a huge grand piano...only it wasn't. At the end of the show I wanted the stage crew open up the keyboard section and pull out a digital piano. It looked like the grand piano case was custom made but the actually sound came from a keyboard that was locked into it to make it look like a real piano. I couldn't tell the difference in the sound. Acoustic piano's are a nightmare to mic for live performances, its not like an acoustic guitar.

This topic has been discussed a few times now on this thread. The main "VIVA" piano is a Yamaha GT-20. Both the main stage one and the B-stage one are this type but they are painted differently. It is essentially the same piano as the first two tours, only they are now painted, the key colors have been inverted and the front panel removed to view the hammers. The GT-20 is not an actually piano but a MIDI piano. In a nutshell it is more like a digital piano with a real piano feel. Now the blue keyboard are Korg KONTROL49 MIDI controllers. They are painted that color and with inverted keys. The function of this "keyboard" is not to produce any sound, but to control a separate sound engine, usually either computer software or a sound module of some kind. It can also cute loops and back-tracks.

Nah, someone else probably does all the backing cues for them. Your confused because it is confusing and they have multiple people that help make it work.

yes, His piano is a Yamaha GT-20. I assume you mean the smaller keyboard though. That is a Korg Kontrol49. If you search it wont look anything like it because it is painted. This is not an actually keyboard or synth, rather a MIDI controller that is used to control most likely computer software programs or rack gear. The actual unit itself produces no sound, only acts to give commands to a master program.