Ok so here is my review of the show.
I left my house in new jersey at 9am thursday morning, to head for nyc. I arrived in nyc around noon. I then had time to kill, so I walked around the city and visited ground zero. It was a nice windy day, so I walked around everywhere. I got lunch at a pizza place, and browsed the stores around times square. Then I thought I would get on the train and head for 49th and Rockefeller plaza, where the show was being held. I arrived there and it was filled with tourists. There were gates lined up along the street in stacks. I had no idea where the stage was gonna be or where I should line up. I asked a security guard, and he walked me over to where the stage was gonna be. He was very nice and cool. Probably the coolest security guard I have ever met. He told me that people were gonna line up along the citi bank building on 48th street. I was on the phone with a coldplayer, giving him directions and such.
I had been in contact the whole day with a bunch of coldplayers off here. We were all coordinating how we were gonna meet and when. I was the first one to arrive. The next coldplayer wouldn't arrive till 7pm, and I arrived at 5pm. I wanted to see if there was any line started along the citi bank building. So I walked over and turned the corner, and found 1 person sitting down. It was this girl sitting on a towel while reading a book. She had a coldplay sticker on her, so I immediately knew why she was sitting there. She was the first there, and the only one there. We started talking and I sat down with her, making myself 2nd in line. She had been there the day before in the pouring rain and had slept in penn station, cause she thought there would already be people there. I was amazed at how dedicated she was as a coldplay fan.
I sat with her for a few hours and the next coldplayer arrived. I put on my viva jacket so everyone could find me; the guy who coordinated everything sent a text out to everyone to look for me if they didn't know where it was. Around 7:30 pm, more people started arriving and sitting down. As the line grew, people walking by started asking why we were sitting around. As the sun fell, it got really cold. The line kept growing and growing. At 9pm, they put the gates up next to us and lined them up all the way down the street (to separate us from people walking on the sidewalk). Since my spot was saved and my stuff was there, I would go for little walks to kill time and stay warm.
They started setting up the stage and everything around 9:30pm. I was sitting with my group and chatting. The girls were making posters. Then people in my group started to say that they were hungry, so I walked over to the pizza place and got an extra large cheese pizza. I brought it back and everyone was so greatful and happy. One guy tried giving me some money but i said that it was my treat. Everyone was happy then and full of spirit. We all were discussing our favorite coldplay songs and other coldplay stuff. I then met a guy from england there, so I immediately started hanging with him, cause I am from the uk, so it was nice to have someone there that was from the same place I was. This random guy came up to the girl who was first in line, and bribed her with 60 dollars if he could sit with us. To my amazement she took it, and the dude sat down next to her. I was furious. But at the same time, she sorta earned it cause she was there for 2 days before in the pouring rain, and she had no money, so I guess it was ok.
It was very, very, very cold! I think around 48 degrees. I didn't bring anything except for a hoodie, so I was freezing. So around 2am, I went for a walk and got on the subway, so I could stay warm and kill time. I came back an hour later and everything was still the same. Some people were sleeping, and some were awake like me. I sat down and tried to shut my eyes, but just couldn't fall asleep. So I stood up, and walked down the line of people with my uk buddy to keep warm. I had bought a throwover blanket for 5 bucks, so i was wearing it as a scarf. Then someone discovered that there was heat coming up from a vent on the sidewalk. Sure enough, the 6 of us were huddled around enjoying the heat. No more then 5 minutes later, a really rude security guard told us to get off the sidewalk, cause we were "blocking traffic". What bullshit! It was 3 in the morning there was no damn traffic!
Around 5:30 am, when I was on the other side of 49th street with my friends getting a closer look at the stage, people in line stood up and started moving. We freaked out and ran as fast as we could back to the front, cause we had no idea what was going on, and we thought they were letting people in. We got to the front, and it just turned out that one of the security guards told everyone to line up. We were all standing and waiting then. Staff started handing out double sided mylo xyloto posters to everyone, so we were very happy. They opened the gates for the vip people, then around 5:56am, a guy grabbed me and told me to come with him. He then opened the gate for me and let me in! I was wearing my viva jacket so that's probably why.
I got up to the stage area, and I was near the front of the stage, but there was like 15 people in front of me. People from my group then joined behind me, then the crowd formed. It was 6am at that time. Around 6:45 Will, Guy, and johnny walked out on the stage for the soundcheck. Chris was nowhere to be found. So the boys soundchecked Viva La Vida and charlie brown. They then walked off and went back into the building. Around 7am, the today show started, and the announcers came out on stage and did a part for the show. Al Roker was one of them. My feet were in so much pain, I could barely stand, but there was nothing I could do. Finally, at 8:17am, the band walked out and started the show.
The setlist in order was:
Yellow
The scientist (during commercial break)
Charlie Brown
Rehab cover (chris on piano singing it very quietly and quickly during commercial)
Paradise
Viva la vida
ETIAW
and Fix you as the last song.
The performance was great, chris almost went off the stage a few times, due to his running around and dancing. There was a tall dude in front of me and a guy behind me that kept whistling really loud, so that sucked. Chris kept asking if everyone was ok, which is no surprise. During the intro of fix you chris said "this is the longest intro ever, but I am waiting for the news people to tell me when to start". So that made me laugh. The show finished with a thunderous ovation from the crowd. Everyone then started making their way out, my feet were in so much pain I could barely walk. The group I was with had all gone their separate ways, without even saying goodbye, probably cause they were all exhausted.
I walked down the street still wearing my viva jacket and carrying my huge poster with a smile on my face even though I was just standing in one spot for 3 hours straight. I got home and checked the recording of the show, and sure enough I could see myself in the crowd multiple times. I had been awake for 38 hours before I finally went to bed. The poster is hung on my wall, and I had a great time. I hope to do this again soon.