OnlookerDelay

Yes, the Bluray video is grainy, but it's pretty clear to me that it's by design... an artistic choice. I'm not of fan of it, but I can spot the difference between what I'm seeing and just poor quality. It doesn't ruin the experience, but it has me wondering if I wouldn't have been just as well off buying the SD DVD version. It's pretty obvious that there's some heavy remixing being done to the audio. It doesn't sound as purely "live" as the Coldplay Live 2003 DVD, but it's not nearly as overproduced as the studio version of Mylo Xyloto. I like the end result overall, but I'll concede that the audience has been toned down at times. I am aware that there's an audience present at all times though. Personally I'd rather them err in favor of keeping the audience level low. I'll be curious to read more impressions about the points you've raised a concern about...

Picked up a copy of the Bluray version at Best Buy this morning. I've seen about a third of it... going to watch it in its entirety with my wife this evening. I'm viewing it in 1080p on my Sharp 60" Aquos display and listening via an Onkyo Dolby 5.1 surround system. I'm very impressed with the quality of the audio. It's easily the best quality of live audio I've heard from the MX tour thus far... full bodied, rich, and properly blended. It actually sounds better than what I heard live in their Charlotte, NC performance in July, which I thought was mixed with way too much emphasis on the bass and percussion. The documentary musings of Jonny and Will that I've heard are well produced and give a new perspective on their personalities. I'm anxious to see them all in the context of the complete production! In terms of the video quality, overall I'm a bit disappointed in it. I'd be hard pressed to say that I'm looking at a 1080p Blu-ray production much of the time. I think it's more a function of an artistic choice to produce a grainy, soap opera-esque effect. I guess they pull it off if that's what they were after, but I would have preferred a bit more definition in what I'm seeing. On a positive note, this approach would probably mean there's not that much off a trade-off between the Blu-ray and SD DVD versions. Oh well, off for a full viewing now... I'm stoked in spite of my artistic differences with the video effects - the audio is beyond expectations!

No doubt about this one in my mind... Moses, from the Live 2003 DVD/CD. It is the most incredibly tight, live performances of any song I've ever heard. It still amazes me at how smoothly this gem comes off!

Yes it is... I love the way they incorporated elements of crop glyphs on the cover. It was like an extension of the underlying message behind the song, Talk, IMO. X&Y is easily my favoite Coldplay album, and my fouth overall favorite album of time!

My vote is for Will, having seen him shooting jump shots while some of the guys were horsing around with a basketball in one of the videos 0n the "Live 2003" DVD. He's got a great stroke and can knock 'em down. Oh, he's also got a vertical leap that would make Blake Griffin envious :shocked2:

Amen! The live version of Moses on the Live 2003 DVD is my favorite Coldplay live song performance ever. There's an ethereal quality about this performance of Moses that will never be duplicated, live or studio, again. I used to want a studio version of Moses, but I don't think they could ever do anything in the studio that would sniff this!

X&Y is my favorite Coldplay album as well. In fact, it's my 4th favorite album of all time. This is going to date me a bit, but X&Y is to Coldplay what Close to the Edge was for Yes. I hear something new everytime I listen to both albums and I've listened to them each more times than I can count!

Thanks for confirming that chrismartin_536894. I was wondering if it was due to the acoustics of the arena and was perhaps localized to where I was sitting. You and I were in very different areas if you were in the 4th row. I'm really surprised that a show that has the degree of professionalism that it obviously takes to put on a Coldplay concert would have a mix of this caliber. I enjoyed the concert as it was, but I would have gotten even more out of it if I'd been able to hear it in a proper balance.

I've seen a number of videos linked from this concert now and while the audio quality of each is from average to poor, I found that I could actually hear a much more balanced mix of the instruments in them than I was able hear in person. I sat in section 102, right below the upper mezzanine. I don't know whether it was the arena acoustics or the live audio mix, but the percussion and bass dominated everything to the point where it was difficult to hear a lot of the vocals and guitars... especially Chris' acoustic guitar when he was playing rhythm. Did anyone else experience this "boomy" percussion and bass "live" mix as me? Just curious... I would have gotten a lot more out of the concert if I had been able to experience the full spectrum of the band :inquisitive:

I have just finished reading Roadie 42's blog #142. It explains the philosophy of the upgrade process and makes perfect sense! If they're smart, they'll never change it! Thanks again for alerting me to that!

I wasn't aware of Springsteen's practice with this either. Not really a Springsteen fan, so I really didn't pay enough attention to have noticed. I have not read Roadie 42's blog, but I'll do so now that you've mentioned it... thanks !

Mucho thanko Tash... your omniscience of all things Coldplay is amazing! My recollection of that event was not complete. I thought he started the song off with "Where do we go to draw the line?" I think that's the longest I've ever seen Chris Martin go explaining a verbal gaff :)

I keep hoping that someone captured GPaSUYF on video and will upload it to You Tube. I want to see and hear exactly how it went down.

As I said earlier in this thread, this "upgrading tickets" routine is totally foreign to me. I didn't really understand what people actually meant by it when using the term until the day after we attended the concert. My group was sitting on the top row of the lower mezzanine, in section 102. I don't think the upgrade scouts passed through our area, but I would have liked to watched their MO. I'm curious as to what sort of marching orders they're given when they are dispatched to do their mission? I wouldn't know what official Coldplay "crew" attire would look like if I saw it.... what were they wearing?

You went to your first concert in 1977? How old were you? 2!? :o Seriously, I had seen your picture in your avatar and with Chris and I thought maybe 36, 37, at the oldest? You mentioned what I think is key to how old you look, and that's how old you feel. I feel like I'm in my late 30's and I'd say I roll like someone of that age. I take care of myself physically as well, but attitude and perception have more to do with it, IMO. Keep on keeping it young LFDianne (btw, does the LF stand for "Laker Fan"?... just curious). I'm going to give Suzanne Somers your Coldplaying.com user name so she can contact you for some youth preservation tips!

Coldplaymom, it was like reading a made for TV movie script, reading the account of your concert day! Heck, I got stoked up for the show in Charlotte Tuesday night just by reading of your experiences :D My wife and I are in our 50's and we accompanied our 29 year old daughter and son-in-law to the concert. Our daughter was already at the arena by the time my wife and I left the house. We rode into central Charlotte on the light rail system (CATS) and I can relate to your experience based on ours. We met some delightful younger folks who made us feel right at home once they found out we were Coldplay fans on our way to the concert. With each stop, we'd pick up a new set of fans on their way to the arena. I didn't have to guess who was going... Coldplay fans have an aura about them that's especially noticeable on concert day :cool: I've been attending concerts since 1972, but there is nothing that sniffs the caliber of people who are Coldplay fans! Anyway, thanks for sharing the account of your day and your photos. I can't tell you how much of a positive influence your story was on us, thinking that we were too *old* to go to a Coldplay concert. We both probably behaved like we were in our mid-20's again once the concert got going :laugh3:

Thanks... I went there and discovered that I was already registered. I made some edits to my review and it now gives the appearance that I at least may have passed 9th grade English Grammar and Composition :laugh3:

Very cool story! Coldplay's ticket upgrade process was something with which I was unfamiliar. I had heard mention of it here and there, but never really looked into what it fully meant until seeing your mention of it related to the Charlotte concert. I bet it's a night you'll never forget... thanks for sharing it with us!

Okay, I downloaded the video using Realplayer and watched it in full screen. The frame skipping problem I was having when streaming the You Tube video is now gone. I do see the critical frames in question around the 3:08 mark. It does *appear* that he might have pecked or on the cheek, but based on what her husband tweeted me in response, I'd say it was more of low altitude photobombing...

The video skips a few frames right around the time the "kiss" would have happened... at least it does when I'm streaming You Tube. I'll capture the video as a Real Player download and see if that doesn't smooth it up a bit. I'll report back on that later. Never the less, that's a pretty good video of that moment. Coldplay has really taken this satellite acoustic bit to a new art form. It helps counter what I'm worried are becoming production technology excesses in other parts of their live performances. I'm really grateful to you for getting this video posted... good work!

Wow... my off-the-cuff 2:00 AM "review" of the Coldplay concert made Wikicoldplay!? I'd have polished up my grammar and punctuation a little bit if I thought there was a potential for that to happen :o I'll probably need to add another layer to my flame suit now that it's up... my wife thinks I'm being overly anal about the audio mix. Sad thing is she's not the first, nor probably last person to tell me that :escaping3:

Oh, one other comedic moment from last night... how about when Chris was trying to localize the lyrics in God Put a Smile Upon Your Face, and he sang (loosely paraphrasing) "20,000 North Carolinan's gathered in one place"... then he pauses and reflects - "I'm not sure that's the proper collective for Carolina... pretty sure it's not" :laugh3: Priceless:D

Thanks for contributing that jthunder. I think it would be cool if he did, and I'm sure it would have fit the moment, for him and for her. If you could find a way to post that video, we'd all be appreciative.

Thanks for doing that... it was this piece of evidence that exonerated Chris Martin. ;)

Thanks for posting that video link Blue Nails. Having seen it, I think Chris only had time for a photobomb-op, and not a kiss. I saw it live as he was pulling away from her, and by then she had turned and was facing the other direction. I saw her reaction and it just looked to me as though she'd possibly been given a peck, but I'm far from an expert on women's body language :embarrassed: It will still be interesting to get a comment from Vezendy on this, but I think we can close the book on the charges against Mr. Martin in this case :)