sorry it's taken so long, and not many people have posted reviews!! this is so rare!
here's mine:
Last night, I volunteered in the volunteer state with Oxfam for the third time at a Coldplay show. Since I had done it twice before, I knew what to expect and more about what we were canvassing about. There were so many people last night who asked me & my partner detailed questions about Oxfam’s campaign on climate change, like what we were going to do about it, how it would help in the long run, and things like that. But luckily we knew all the answers to them! Of course there were the groups of people who let us talk for a long time then decided they didn’t want to sign, and people who asked where their seats were. Though it was a bit frustrating, overall our group did great. I can’t remember the number of signatures we got, but it was very high. I’m sure Soha will update us with it later.
After 3 hours of canvassing, it was time to meet up, get our tickets and find our seats. The tickets said “behind stage”, which didn’t sound like we’d be able to see, but Soha told us they were pretty sweet…which they were! We were all in the same row, in section 113. (It wasn’t behind the stage, it was actually the side of it, and so when the screen was down for Life in Technicolor, we could all see the band, as we were behind the screen as well.) Once everyone sat down, we heard the usual U2, Jay-Z (with the break dancing roadie), and The Blue Danube. Then Coldplay emerged with the sparklers! For anyone who’s curious about where they go, they have a metal trashcan that they threw them into. Some were still lit.
There were a bunch of technical difficulties throughout the show; most were before the B-stage with Jonny’s microphone. He kept walking to the side signaling to someone, who then came on stage to adjust it for him. From our view it was more obvious that two people come on stage between Violet Hill & Clocks, to move the piano. And at the end of Clocks, were waiting for Chris to finish hitting the keys to move it for In My Place. I really like the transition between the two songs; how they connected them and it fits so well. During In My Place, there was the usual Chris and Jonny love, and then when the balloons came out for Yellow, everyone had pushed them towards the stage, like I’ve never seen before. It seemed like all of them ended up there, leaving Guy, Chris & Jonny to pop them when they could. And at the end we sang the last few lines again with the sustained “ooh”. But this was another time that Jonny’s microphone was messing up or doing whatever it was doing, and a roadie was onstage fixing it. After this was Glass of Water, which didn’t have the usual sing along that all the others have, probably because everyone doesn’t know where it’s from still. During Cemeteries of London, Chris sang Cemeteries of Nashville, which everyone responded back with cheers. The lights & screen behind the stage during this song & 42 are always my favorite...it fits so well.
When it was time for the B-Stage, there also seemed to be something wrong happening with Chris’s guitar and then the microphone. There was also a problem with the ball closest to my section, it kept coming down, almost touching the stage, and going back up the whole time they were on the B-stage, which blocked our view every minute or so. But was eventually fixed. Viva La Vida of course made everyone go nuts, and came with the usual mass sing along. At the end when Chris was lying on the floor, it was really obvious then that he was exhausted, and he stayed down there for a really long time, longer than I’ve seen at any other concert. And of course people were trying to touch him, and you could tell he wasn’t happy about it (probably because he seemed dead), and kept moving away from them. Finally he back flipped into Lost! The problem with the ball happened again, but was quickly fixed at the beginning of the song.
Then they all ran out to the C-Stage, which always makes the people in the back very happy. My Oxfam partner who walked around with me earlier asked where they were going, and when I told her and why Coldplay does this, she was really excited that Coldplay are so awesome to do that. Anyone who was at the show, or has seen pictures of the C-stage, there was a little kid wearing a blue shirt who was absolutely stunned that Coldplay was performing right in front of him, his face was priceless, and when Chris gave him his harmonica, he nearly died. When we did the Mexican Cell phone Wave, that was also pretty cool since we were in an arena, and it almost made a complete circle. Even after I’m A Believer started, it was still going on.
After the interlude, Politik started, and being behind the stage didn’t seem as cool because the strobe lights were in our eyes. I never thought of this before last night, but it’s also in the band’s eyes too, and during this song, or at least when the strobe lights are on, they all have their eyes closed…it all makes sense. And after over 100 shows on this tour, it is amazing they still do it every night and don’t have seizures or anything. Next was Lovers in Japan, which never gets old & is magical. Butterflies didn’t come to our section, but it doesn’t matter. Then after DAAHF, they bowed, and left. Since Oxfam wasn’t passing out the free cd, we were able to stick around. Chris came out alone for The Scientist, but first told us if we were ever going to download a song, to download one by the Howling Bells, which I’ve forgotten the name of now. He also then explained LeftRightLeftRightLeft, and after a minute of talking about it, telling us in different forms that we should get it since it’s free, he said “just fucking accept free Coldplay!” and started The Scientist. Next was LiTii, which I was only able to see half of before we had to go back, but it was still amazing, and a great end to the show.
This was my 6th time seeing Coldplay, and it has yet to get old..even if I know the setlist, and where they're running to in the crowd, it's still exciting and every show has been different. They're truly amazing live, and worth every cent you spend on tickets or anything else.
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