Corkus

In a B-side mood today, so... I RAN AWAY!

I liked The Fray in the beginning, but their sophomore album just reeked of uncreativity. Really, bands are influenced by Coldplay just like how Coldplay was influenced by other bands. It's natural, nothing bad. :)

But Green Day died. That constituted their appearance as fantastic. (no offense to fans) "I call the big one Bitey". :laugh3:

I'm awake! But not too much longer. :P

Square One (Golly, I still need to listen to half those new demos)

You're right, I forgot about that part. :laugh3: But still, the track record with guest bands isn't stellar. They need to do something as funny as when they had Bono call out security to beat up Homer on the big screen while playing "Pride (In the Name of Love)".

I love The Simpsons. I love Coldplay. It's too bad The Simpsons hasn't given a guest band appearance any proper justice since U2. The quality of the series has suffered since the late 90's, and even though they occasionally put out a great episode, I can't help but feel an appearance by Chris is gonna turn out tacked-on. Metallica, The White Stripes, R.E.M., Blink 182, The Rolling Stones, and The Dixie Chicks have all appeared recently, and their appearances all sucked (I suppose the Rolling Stones appearance wasn't terrible). If this seems pessimistic, make no mistake that if they do it right, I will be so, so happy. :D And I am looking forward to seeing him (and possibly the rest of the band) in yellow animated form (haha, he should sing "Yellow" just for irony). Damn yellow family can't get me to stop watching over a decade after its demise. :veryangry2:

Gravity is such an excellent B-side, and is probably better than at least 4 or 5 songs on X&Y. Likewise, I totally approve of all newcomers being given a "gift" in the form of a Gravity download link. :lol:

For some reason, I've played Lovers in Japan at least 10 times today. Trying to re-live raining butterflies, I guess.

I'd dare him to do the Strawberry Swing. In other words, have him put on a costume shaped like a giant strawberry, then let me push him on a swing.

Holy hell, they played TROUBLE? And only a few days after I saw them? :bigcry: Hope everyone had a great time though! :D

Downloaded, and I also heard "United States of Eurasia" on KROQ today. The hosts made the obvious Queen comparison afterwards, but said it was similar "in a good way". The lyrics are as cheesy as Starlight, but I do enjoy the composition, as well as Collateral Damage. It's a decent song on the whole, but I expect better from the rest of the album.

Viva La Vida I'm kidding, I'm kidding. :P "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" by Travis.

Although some of their material is borderline pop, I still get a little irritated when I hear them referred to as a pop band. Honestly, rock is such a broad genre that it sometimes gets cloudy, but I really do think they fit into that large, fuzzy classification.

Maybe that's how we get Collateral Damage? :thinking:

They haven't been up for too long, but I remember seeing them like a month ago. That said, they ought to release everything else not on the US iTunes store. We never get crap in terms of B-sides.

I couldn't stand "Fix You" until I saw it live. The studio performance does not do justice to the sing-along of thousands. I also couldn't stand "A Message" for the longest time, as its lyrics totally grated on me. But I like its simplistic melody now, and I'll take it over at least 3 or 4 other songs on X&Y.

Whoo! Great pics! :D Though I can't find any professional reviews yet. Here was the ditty about LA I was speaking of: "Audiences are measured in degrees But the best in the world is Los Angeles Oh, we love playing for those girls and boys But man, don't they make a fuck of a lot of noise!"

Fantastic. All disappointment of not seeing the rest of the band is set aside by the sheer creative direction. "Catfish". Haha. And you know I was obviously pleased by the exploding butterflies at the end. "Wouldn't want to change a thing". :D

Corkus's Full Review: Five months of anticipation had all built up to this. My friend and I had left Ventura early in anticipation of potential traffic. Yet it was less brutal than expected, and as a result, we arrived at 4:30 PM, which was two hours before gates opened. Only a few folks were waiting at the gate, but we joined them after purchasing our obligatory expensive merchandise. We chatted with a few fans, but impatience was growing as the gate opening was delayed by a full half-hour. But when we entered, the view of the still-empty stadium was breathtaking. After bolting to the nearest bathroom, we quickly hopped down to our center-floor seats. The stadium filled up slowly, and still was at minimal capacity by the time the first support act - Kitty, Daisy, & Lewis - showed up. The crowd was only mildly receptive to this act, but was slightly more open to the follow-up act, Amadou & Mariam. By the time they finished, the seats began filling up quickly. The delay in gate opening had caused a delay in Coldplay's entrance, and tensions were running high. But a screech of excitement blared across the stadium as the speakers turned up and began blaring "Magnificent" by U2, followed by a breakdancing roadie who really got the crowd going. Suddenly, the Blue Danube Waltz began, and people rose to their feet (I, as much as I tried, was not able to get the remainder of my section to stand). Lights out. Coldplay took to the stage to the roaring sound of crazed fans, and you'd better believe that I was in the upper tier of screaming loons. The screams would hit their apex as the band concluded "Violet Hill", as Chris repeatedly urged the crowd to yell as loud as they could. While most of my immediate area didn't even know the lyrics to "Clocks", I had an utterly fantastic time belting out song after song, even though I can't help but feel I annoyed the hell out of the less-enthusiastic people around me with my frantic glowstick action. For the most part, Chris was not as talkative as in the past, most letting out brief references to David Beckham or dropping profanities whenever he fudged up a note (I counted three instances of the word "fuck" during the night). I suppose nearly 150 shows on a tour will tire you out like that. But the moment that got the crowd roaring the most was, as usual, the C-stage entrance. As they walk down the side of the stadium, I bolted to the edge of my row to get a close-up glimpse. My camera phone's picture quality disappointed me there, and I doubt the band members could hear me shouting their names as they passed, but all was still fun. The floor stood on their seats while the band was on the C-stage (I almost fell off a couple times), with big cheers as the band started a brief imporvisation about Los Angeles. But the highlight for me began minutes later, as glorious butterfly confetti rained down on me and I began plucking them one-by-one out of the air. As the gig ended, the folks in front of me were apparently aloof to the concept of an encore and left immediately after "Death and All His Friends" ended, giving me as much space as I needed to jam out to the final two songs, glowstick in hand. When the band finally left, I felt gleeful, yet upset that it may be the last time I see them for a few years. My friend helped me scoop up any remaining paper butterflies in our area. We nabbed LeftRightLeftRightLeft on our way out as people were humming the infamous Viva la Vida chant in the parking lot. After struggling to find the freeway onramp, we were on our way back from an experience that will live on in our memories.

Chalk up another one for Speed of Sound. In 2006, I was converted, and I've never turned back. Likewise, my wallet has never been as fat since. :P

Not the most similar of songs, but whatever, as I'll take The Scientist any day. Both are pretty decent lyrically (though What If does indeed have cheesy parts), but The Scientist is much better musically. What If gets really repetitive and just drags on, being my least-favorite track off X&Y.

On the walls, I've got my one poster, but I hope to get another soon. In my cabinets, I have my collection of albums and singles. I've got to find something to do with my paper butterflies, though. I'm thinking some sort of collage would work, but I'd have to make it seem non-girly.

Fantastic review, Dave. This crowd may have actually been worse than the Honda Center crowd, but I had just as enjoyable of a time. When Blue Danube Waltz started, I told folks around me to stand up and sway, to which they responded "Why?" and I told them "Trust me". But they still didn't. Blah. And these were pretty respectable floor seats, for crying out loud. I was a little lukewarm to Kitty, Daisy, & Lewis, but I still gave them some respectful applause. Though I actually thought Amadou & Mariam were awesome, and the guy behind me totally agreed. I was seated but still found myself dancing to their songs. It only took me about 10 minutes to get out of the parking lot, but I wasn't back on the freeway for at least 30. Everyone was swept down Victoria St. for miles and it sucked. Was I seeing things, or did Jonny totally bump into Will while waving to the audience when coming back for the encore?

After having some fun late-night adventures in Carson attempting to find 405-Northbound, I'm back home from the concert. I'll keep it short since I'm quite tired, but this was such an unbelievable experience. Once again when I see Coldplay, it feels so surreal to me since I can't believe my favorite band is right there. The majority of the folks in my area hardly sang or danced, but that didn't stop me from having a total blast and being a glowstick-raving loon that distracted everyone. Chris's remarks were funny as always, and they even sang a small ditty on the C-stage about LA. At the previous concert, I made the mistake of not filling my bag to the brim with paper butterflies, but fortunately, I did not make that mistake again. Also, what remains of my voice gives thanks to the few fellow Coldplayers who gave me a shout-out for the sign! Many kudos, boys. It may not be until the LP5 tour that I see you again, but the memories will shine brightly. More tomorrow. I need some shut-eye desperately.