LittleMissMessy

Roadie #42 - Blog #73 March 8, 2009 7:43 am #42 and mini-bar masquerade Despite blowing my new year's resolution almost immediately, I'm still looking for ways to avoid giving hotels all my money this year. To this end, I visit reception in Melbourne and lie through my teeth. "Hello, I'm a recovering alcoholic and I'd like my mini-bar emptying please - all of it". Then it's off to 7-11 to stock up on all the goodies they'd sting me a fortune for in moments of weakness. (If Jonny Christ is reading this, please rest assured that the Archbishop would not behave in such a way in NYC - oh no siree....) With my precious pennies saved, I head out later to a lounge bar in town for CM's birthday. I bail after a few drinks, but it's enough to give me a drunken grin and a slight stagger when I wander back through reception. Busted... There are many luxurious things about the way we live when touring. Nice flights, wonderful hotels and good food are all great perks. Given the recent time-zone pinball that we've been playing though, the greatest luxury of all is the simplest - time. The schedule on this tour leg is utterly wonderful. Every city has two, three or even four shows. Travel days are followed by complete days off. It's got recovery written all over it. Add to the mix some glorious sunshine and this truly is a payoff. The first day in Brisbane is marked with a soundcheck party. It's all the usual stuff, but notable for a request for Swallowed In The Sea from the assembled competition winners. I've not heard that one since the X&Y tour and it's good to see it getting an outing. Maybe we'll see a few more forgotten tracks coming back over the year. It's a long, long tour this one, so a setlist shake-up is pretty much inevitable. Eric, our head of merchandise is getting some new things together too. Being as the puppets are travelling with us, he's trying to get some shots of them and has asked me to give him a hand. The "out and about" shots of the puppets are all the work of Dan P, the band's personal trainer, so we have him drop them into us in Melbourne and get cracking. As with most creative endeavours, it becomes a good deal more involved than first anticipated. Dave Fav, the band's lighting crew chief lends us a couple of lamps which we stand on cardboard boxes. We're then into the business of trying to make the puppets stand up. We employ fishing line, initially around the necks and then through the jackets. Still, the band's mini-mes are refusing to stand up straight. "RF Stef", who looks after a mountain of radio gear used in the show comes up with the idea of sticking the radio antenna from a walkie talkie up a trouser leg. It's silly enough to try and it works a treat. I find myself continually apologising to the puppets for the discomfort, but they behave themselves well and shortly before showtime, we're done. The next day sees Chris bring in a new song he's been working on with Rik at the Bakery. We're fiddling with sounds and doing some programming ready for the whole band to have a crack at it. Then he flies up the steps to the tiny C-stage at the back of the arena. Keyboard tech Neill Lambert has come up with a wonderfully bonkers invention to replace the Casio keyboard they were using for I'm A Believer. At the top of the steps are two ladies in security jackets. I'm pretty sure that one of them recognises Chris, but the other asks if we're in the band or "just technicians". Chris quickly jumps in and explains that we're just the roadies. The job's ok, he says, but the band are arseholes. Hoppy and I agree before pondering, "Well actually, it's just the singer....." I wonder if they were still working up there a few hours later when the fellas ran up and sang to the screaming arena from close-up? Right, normally I'd have peppered a bunch of photos in amongst all this. They've just called our flight for boarding though, so I'd better finish my cuppa and get going. Promise I'll send you some nice stuff from Brisbane. Oh - this just in... Chris has pulled his iPod earbuds out next to me and asked me to tell you all that the Bat For Lashes album is incredible. Go check it out...! R#42 http://www.coldplay.com/newsdetail.php?id=341&page=0 I just had to laugh so much when I read that stuff with the puppets. Only the imagination sticking a walkie talkie antenna up their trouser legs is giving me giggles again ... :laugh3:

Roadie #42 - Blog #73 March 8, 2009 7:43 am #42 and mini-bar masquerade Despite blowing my new year's resolution almost immediately, I'm still looking for ways to avoid giving hotels all my money this year. To this end, I visit reception in Melbourne and lie through my teeth. "Hello, I'm a recovering alcoholic and I'd like my mini-bar emptying please - all of it". Then it's off to 7-11 to stock up on all the goodies they'd sting me a fortune for in moments of weakness. (If Jonny Christ is reading this, please rest assured that the Archbishop would not behave in such a way in NYC - oh no siree....) With my precious pennies saved, I head out later to a lounge bar in town for CM's birthday. I bail after a few drinks, but it's enough to give me a drunken grin and a slight stagger when I wander back through reception. Busted... There are many luxurious things about the way we live when touring. Nice flights, wonderful hotels and good food are all great perks. Given the recent time-zone pinball that we've been playing though, the greatest luxury of all is the simplest - time. The schedule on this tour leg is utterly wonderful. Every city has two, three or even four shows. Travel days are followed by complete days off. It's got recovery written all over it. Add to the mix some glorious sunshine and this truly is a payoff. The first day in Brisbane is marked with a soundcheck party. It's all the usual stuff, but notable for a request for Swallowed In The Sea from the assembled competition winners. I've not heard that one since the X&Y tour and it's good to see it getting an outing. Maybe we'll see a few more forgotten tracks coming back over the year. It's a long, long tour this one, so a setlist shake-up is pretty much inevitable. Eric, our head of merchandise is getting some new things together too. Being as the puppets are travelling with us, he's trying to get some shots of them and has asked me to give him a hand. The "out and about" shots of the puppets are all the work of Dan P, the band's personal trainer, so we have him drop them into us in Melbourne and get cracking. As with most creative endeavours, it becomes a good deal more involved than first anticipated. Dave Fav, the band's lighting crew chief lends us a couple of lamps which we stand on cardboard boxes. We're then into the business of trying to make the puppets stand up. We employ fishing line, initially around the necks and then through the jackets. Still, the band's mini-mes are refusing to stand up straight. "RF Stef", who looks after a mountain of radio gear used in the show comes up with the idea of sticking the radio antenna from a walkie talkie up a trouser leg. It's silly enough to try and it works a treat. I find myself continually apologising to the puppets for the discomfort, but they behave themselves well and shortly before showtime, we're done. The next day sees Chris bring in a new song he's been working on with Rik at the Bakery. We're fiddling with sounds and doing some programming ready for the whole band to have a crack at it. Then he flies up the steps to the tiny C-stage at the back of the arena. Keyboard tech Neill Lambert has come up with a wonderfully bonkers invention to replace the Casio keyboard they were using for I'm A Believer. At the top of the steps are two ladies in security jackets. I'm pretty sure that one of them recognises Chris, but the other asks if we're in the band or "just technicians". Chris quickly jumps in and explains that we're just the roadies. The job's ok, he says, but the band are arseholes. Hoppy and I agree before pondering, "Well actually, it's just the singer....." I wonder if they were still working up there a few hours later when the fellas ran up and sang to the screaming arena from close-up? Right, normally I'd have peppered a bunch of photos in amongst all this. They've just called our flight for boarding though, so I'd better finish my cuppa and get going. Promise I'll send you some nice stuff from Brisbane. Oh - this just in... Chris has pulled his iPod earbuds out next to me and asked me to tell you all that the Bat For Lashes album is incredible. Go check it out...! R#42 http://www.coldplay.com/newsdetail.php?id=341&page=0 I just had to laugh so much when I read that stuff with the puppets. Only the imagination sticking a walkie talkie antenna up their trouser legs is giving me giggles again ... :laugh3:

Kate Ceberano???? :stunned: Where is she? I really love her stuff :)

Jen, you can add the hotel for 'miumiu' and myself which will be the Travelodge @ Euston :)

Was heisst hier 'ohje, ohje'? :\

'LIT ii' läuft gerade auf Radio Hamburg. Diese Woche # 2 in den Charts!! Woooot! Auf # 1 ist dann wohl weiterhin James Morrison mit 'Broken Strings'. Link zum Voten für die nächste Woche schiebe ich dann bei Gelegenheit hinterher :)

Just one more ... So Phil has a new job as a music sheets flipper ;) :laugh3: Might also be a new attraction to any Coldplay gig, as there are quite some Phil lovers around :lol: But I'm off topic here, as this thread is about Gwyneth ... :confused:

Must be a biiiig piano then :laugh3: With ongoing age, the eyes get worse as well, so the letters shouldn't be to small otherwise he wouldn't be able to read them, esp. with little light on stage ;) Okay, enough of this ... :lol:

He's getting older, you see ... :laugh3: :D His own words ;) Maybe he shouldn't be so much concerned about loosing his hair but more about forgetting things :P J/K

I know I shouldn't analyse any lyrics but I am throwing my two cents in here ... "When you are too in love to let it go" This song was written about Gwyn and the loss of her dad, right. So it could mean, that Chris meant that Gwyn was 'in love' with her dad, she missed him so much and wasn't able to 'let him go'. I guess this situation now happened years ago and she was probably able to cope with it in the meantime or find some inner peace (well hopefully), so maybe Chris changed the lyrics a bit not to constantly remind her of that time ...?! :confused: This is probably bullshit, but it's still early over here so hopefully I am forgiven ;)

I guess Lauren meant it in a different way (at least that's how I got it). It was probably surprising to her that people who aren't CP 'fans' anymore still make the effort to chat here. I mean, there are so many communites around the web, about other bands aso. that she was maybe wondering were one takes the time ... On the other hand I have to say that if you came here in the first place because you have been a massive CP fan a few years ago, you managed to socialize with people on here and friendships were built up so it's just normal that you continue to come here because there are plenty of other people who you already know for years and who became more than just 'cyber friends'. :)

@ Anna N'Abend :) Boah ... ich denke mal, das wäre keine Arbeitszeit für mich ... :shocked2: Vermutlich würde ich mich nicht auf den Beinen halten können, aber Du bist ja noch jung :laugh3: Wie läuft's denn mit Deiner Diplomarbeit? Hoffe, dass Du dort den richtigen Drive findest ... Und? Habt Ihr Euch nun schon auf eine Farbe für den 'Budgie Smuggler' geeinigt :laugh3:

Butterflies from the show in Munich last year September. And a 'VIVA-plectrum' and a set list from the WarChild gig :) Plus my photos, loads of nice memories and a feeling that these were the best shows I have ever been to :D

Sorry in case I didn't come across clearly ... If I really like a band or some certain music, I don't give a sh** what other people think about it. ;) It was more a rhetorical quessie :)

I noticed something similiar yesterday. I was one the phone with a friend who I hadn't spoken to for around a year (yep, that happens :laugh3: ). Anyway, I mentioned that I have been quite busy with concerts and stuff and that I had a new 'fave band' and mentioned that it was Coldplay. Initially you would think that this was okay because of several different reasons: 1. it's not a teenie band 2. they haven't been casted on a TV show 3. they receive international recognition by getting Grammy awards 4. they are internatinally successful 5. they've released the top selling album of 2008 and 'VLV' was (and still is) a massive airplay hit in Germany Therefore I thought I was safe to mention them. If I mentioned a band which was maybe casted, I would have expected to get some strange looks (esp. at my age) but not with Coldplay. But it did happen. My friend mentioned explicitly that she can't stand them and really has no use for Chris Martin himself ... I mean, you don't need to have the same musical taste, but even pointing out that you dislike some music/or a band is so needless ... So I ask the same: Why do people do it then? To make others feel worse for their musical taste? I have stopped taking in opinions from others long time ago, as my fave bands/musicians were mostly 'fringe group music' so people haven't either heard of the artist or they just thought the music was shit ... ;)

Moin Moin and enjoy this place :) It will be quite addictive ;) And there's no cure for it :laugh3: Like said above, there's a thread for german people in the 'International' forum and in case you have any questions or don't know how to ask something in english, just do it in german there :) Have fun and maybe see you in Hannover ;)

Moin Moin :)

They probably saw the cameras and thought about giving them something to ponder about :sneaky:

Very good point! When I look at the photos I took at SBE there are even some really decent ones (the ones which are not blurry or too clear) and I was wondering where to draw the line ...

Emma, I just wish you loads of luck in meeting them all :) And btw. my local radio stations just mentioned, that it was Chris 32nd B-Day today, they all congratulated him and then they played 'LIT ii' :D I was just washing my hair when it all happened, no better way to start the day :)

Hey, hello and have fun :)

Is that wood on top of it?!? :laugh3: Looks like it somehow, although I know that it's chocolate of course ... ;)

Okay, this gets a bit O/T now, but I've been to my parents place and one of my uncles was there as well. He's really into photography just like me ;) So we were discussing the different cameras and it turned out that he had a Nikon DSLR and a Panasonic Lumix like me which is funny. Then my parents said that they still had so many old cameras in their cupboard (I guess it was Leica or Rollei) and I immediately had to think of Guy and that he would probably be happy to get these ... :laugh3: Or maybe not ... ;)

I esp. like the bit where Guy is taking a picture of the two ;)

At least he's clever enough to wear long sleeves to avoid getting sunburnt ;) Phil should have ask for his advice, I reckon ;)