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"hahaha really?" It's actually called "ostrich tuning" and was first used by Lou Reed while he was in The Velvet Underground. However, he usually used it with all the strings tuned to D.

I think he uses slightly altered tunings on a lot of the newer songs, at least his live guitar swapping would suggest as much as he's mainly swapping between variants of the same type of guitar, and there's not much reason to do that except altered tunings...

"I guess it wasn't a smart move to tour the same places again... the shows are not sold out, the crowds are not that excited... " , I'm a bit bewildered about all the talk that the Hershey show "only" drew 12,000. That's a number pretty much in line with what Coldplay has drawn at other shows (perhaps a bit less as attendence for this tour is averaging around 13,000-15,000 a show and has been since the beggining.) Plus, Hershey is a venue with a history of big acts playing to small draws. 12,000 is pretty d$#n impressive right now for any band. Also, even though this leg of the tour goes to many of the same markets the band played last year it's also going to several places that the band hasn't played in a while (if ever) and/or don't get big acts that often. Are there too many shows, IMHO no, but that's just my opinion, others obviously differ. Was it "Stupid" or foolish to tour the markets they are, I really couldn't say, nor do I really care frankly. Only the band itself really knows whether or not it made the right decisions in it's touring schedule, or what the reasons for said may be, I doubt we'll ever know those things, and personally, I don't really see much value in debating it. (unless of course you live somewhere they're not coming like S. America, but that's a whole other set of issues...) EDIT: "Totally agree. Scranton, PA Hershey, PA Iowa Nebraska Wisconsin Can you honestly see a U2 type band going to those places? I don't think so." I don't fully understand, are you using these as examples of shows that shouldn't be played, or are you saying the band is better than others for being willing to go to those places when others are not. I can read your comment both of those ways...

As with all Epiphones, the quality is heavily dependent on which "Tier" of instrument you go for, as well as differing greatly from guitar to guitar. The higher end Casinos are solid, gig worthy instruments, as well as being reasonably good reproductions of the original 60's Casinos. The lower end guitars are usually pretty good, but play you're individual guitar before you buy it if at all possible as quite a few lemons get through as well. Basically, just keep in mind, that as it is something of a lower end guitar, you can't really expect the quality to match the higher end electrics out there. I've had a Korean made Casino for a few years now, and I gig with it fairly regularly, and it's been pretty reliable for me. Of course a casino doesn't really work well for all styles of music, but that's true of most guitars... EDIT: reading your post more carefully, I see that you asked about specific problems, I can't really report any major ones I've had, but a lot of people don't like how much they're prone to feedback due to being a full hollow body.

Does anyone have a list of all the songs Jon uses alter tunings for live and what they are? I used to have one compiled, but It's way out of date now, and there are so many now, that it's a bit confusing.

I think it comes down to a matter of opinion and people's personal Concert tastes. Personally, I hate when I go see a band live and they have a huge amount of "extra" musicians on stage. Backing tracks don't bother me. That said, I think if it ruins the show that much for you, I'd suggest you may have deeper misgivings about Coldplay as a live act than you may be aware of. There are a lot of band's whose music I like who I think suck live. If one thing takes you're mind off the show so much, perhaps there's somithing bigger about the show you don't like, even if you're not immediately aware what it is.

Here's what I know: Chris: 4 Gibson Custom Shop Blues King Reissue acoustics 3 Reissue Fender Telecaster Deluxes Jonny: 4 Vintage fender Telecaster Thinlines Vintage Fender Jazzmaster-Sunburst Fender Jazzmaster-Pink Vintage Gibson Les Paul Deluxe-CherryBurst 2 Gibson J-200 Acoustics Guy: 2 Fender P-Bass *note while he has used the jag bass to play in the studio, he does not use it live. Gibson Mandolin (probably a F series from the look of it) Will: Yamaha Drum Kit Gibson J-200 Acoustic Dobro Resonator Guitar Chris and Jonny are still bothe using Fender Hotrod Deville 2x12 combos. Guy is still using his same HiWatt Rig from the Twisted Logic Era

"Just hope he stops preaching" He doesn't do that nearly as much as some others. I've actually never heard him (or of him) "preaching" in any serious sense during a show (which is when it bothers most people), and when he does say something about tht kind of stuff in interviews etc. it's usually just a quick plug about how he supports something. Compared to other "preachy" celebrities, Chris is actually pretty restrained IMHO...

" Its a great venue..small with lots of seats on the lawn. Great news" For most people, that would make it a bad venue. Many people hate amphitheater venues due to the fact that the bulk of the seating is unreserved lawn.

Well... Since the Jones Beach show was never actually on sale, it does make more sense to go ahead with the scheduled show, if it's only practical to do one. Perhaps they will work out another date for Jones Beach...

Not one to stir up trouble(;)), but some obtuse individual has spammed nearly every Coldplay related clip on Youtube with the following: "I drove two hours to see these faggots in Saratoga Springs, but they cancelled. Thanks for wasting my time and money, Assholes. Don't ever buy tickets for a Coldplay show! They're notorious for cancelling at the last minute. The "apology" on their shitty Web site was totally lame and insincere. They owe me money for fuel, wear and tear on my vehicle and my time. Plagiarizers!!!" It's so far beyond the usual level of weird rage filled rants on Youtube it made me chuckle. If nothing else you have to admire the sheer amount of time this guy must have spent to spam so many videos. Though I highly doubt he's an actual pi$%ed off fan as opposed to just trying to start a flame war...

" I think however its not the fact that some people didn't get a CD but of the hoarders who took handfuls with the sole aim of making money on something that should have been given to others for nothing" I totally agree. However, in any situation like this there will always be a group of people who take advantage of the situation. In this case though, I fail to see why anyone would pay for a cd when the content is available for free, so it's a bit curious to me that there seems to be such a large market (judging by several high ebay bids I found) for these discs. I know some people want it as a collector's item, but I would think that the majority of fans just want the content itself. That said, promotions like this are much more complicated than people realize, and I'm sure that after being given more time to work the kinks out, the logistics will improve.

:thinking:I don't want to be too much of an ass here, but I do feel the need to comment on this (or rather the actions of some fans in response to th situation): While It does seem there have been some problems regarding the free cd distribution, I frankly cannot believe the rude and indignant response from some people regarding this. The band comes up a fun idea to try to reward fans for coming out, and because of logistical errors, people seem to think it's okay to s&*t all over the band. It's a free giveaway people, really! Jeez, you can even download the d$#n thing for free! If I were a member of the band, I'd fell like an a$#hole for even trying, and be less inclined to do something extra for the fans like this in the future... Just my two cents...;) -climbs off soapbox-

"Don't worry, we will kill it in Atlanta this weekend, we have amazing crowds." A lot of bands (including Coldplay) seem to cite Atlanta as one of their favorite crowds to play to. You guys have quite the reputation...

"Why would you be in the first rows if you're not gonna go crazy" People "go crazy" in different ways though. I have a friend who loves live music and goes to see virtually every touring act that comes through town, yet everytime I've gone to a show with him he just sits/stands there like a pole. Some people are having a good time even if they don't look/act like it.

I could be wrong, but isn't Jon the only band member whose fond of Warning Sign? I though I read the other three didn't like it much. If true, that could explain why they only play it rarely.

"Well I think R42 was pretty intense with his hints about setlist changes, he wrote almost an entire blog entry about it" Yes but, when he says, "the band are practicing new songs which may be worked in somewhere along the course of the tour", people hear "the band is going to play a totally new set at the next gig". A lot of stuff the band says in interviews and whatnot are "off the cuff" remarks reflecting how they feel at the moment, it's quite unrealistic to act as if everything they say is written in stone.

"After all of the buildup about a setlist change?" I don't really think there was much (if any) buildup. People wanted to hear there would be a change so they latched on to vague comments that didn't really mean much and hear what the wanted in them. It happens a lot around here. One of the boys will mention in passing that they're practicing new songs or doing some new recording, and everyone becomes 110% sure they'll change the set or that it's cofirmed a new album will be out next year. When you read so much into idle comments, you just set yourself up for disappointment.

"thats what some pplsaid..." Probably the same people who leave every show before the encore in order to "beat the traffic". It's really not that uncommon (at least where I live...)

"They say its longer... " The quote where Guy said that is misapplied. He was actually talking about the stadium shows, which don't happen until the end of summer/early fall.

"Is he using the Tubescreamer again?" The weird distortion on the current live outro to Fix You sounds more like the RAT in combination with something else (maybe the micro POG?) He has 4 distortion pedals in his current setup though, so it's a bit hard to tell what's providing distortion at any given time as these are always layered in with several other effects. (not to mention combined with each other). Oh, an apearently(sp?) his MXR was modded to allow the gain to boost more than normal, so you might have difficulty achieving the same effect from a stock pedal, though you should be able to get close.

He only used the Micro amp when he played it on the Jaguar (which hasn't been for several years now) If you turn the gain all the way up, and you're playing a single coil pickup guitar, you can kind of send the coils into a slight form of natural overdrive doing this. The distortion on yellow now thow still sounds quite "mild" to my ear, so I think the bulk of itis coming from his Tubescreamer as opposed to either the RAT, HBE or Fulltone pedals. The good thing about this is that the Tubescreamer is by far the cheapest and easiest to find of all these pedals.

"if the OP's article is talking about shuttling between UK & US practically everytime in between gigs even if for just 1 day, then that's quite a stretch. i've flown between London (UK) & Miami (US) once before & that is not a flight anyone'd want to be doing on a daily/regular basis in this post-Concorde era. you'll just be wearing yourself thin, what with the jet lag & all." Further than that, it's practically impossible. Even if you wanted to, a round trip U.S./England flight would almost always take more time than is often found between the bands gigs. Flying home from venues in Europe where the distances involved are much shorter, maybe, but it's simply not posible from the U.S.

"where does he actually use them, except chris--GPASUYF ?)" On the current tour, the only songs chris plays electric guitar for are GPASUYF and Chinese Sleep Chant. Both of his black Tele's have a Viva pattern identical to the one on Jon's black thinline on them. His natural one has the stock black PG.

Chris' Tele's are indeed deluxe's (with the strat headstock). He has three (2 black, 1 natural). The black Ric is a 360/12 model. Jon's Les Paul is a mid 70's Les Paul Deluxe (fitted with mini humbuckers as opposed to full sized ones.)