JimmyD

Ok so here is my write up from NYE 2011. A few of my friends were invited to the event and were planning on surprising me with tickets for Christmas, but I bought the package through the Cosmopolitan before that. So I ended up with 3 tickets. I went to San Francisco to meet up with my friend and head to Vegas. On the flight, I listened to.... We finally got to Vegas and at check-in, it was pretty evident I was one of the only people there for the music, or more specifically, Coldplay. I think if the guys were in that room, they'd run away. Fast. The hotel had hired some third party company to handle the tickets, and that company had misplaced a lot of invitations so in between all of the searching I had a lot of contact with the hotel staff. I became friends with most of them and told them about how much I love Coldplay and they began telling me stories and information that I probably shouldn't have had. As a result, we got to sneak into the rehearsal with some employees for a few minutes. That was my first time seeing the guys on this trip. They were playful and totally comfortable. Overall looked like they were having a lot of fun. The next day, me and two friends were on the second floor debating where to go eat and as my friend describes it, I suddenly left the conversation and began looking in a particular direction, then b-lined towards WILL! I walked up to him and asked him for a picture and he said of course. He was there with some friends and his wife. I didn't want to hold him, but he chatted with me for a short bit about where I was from and we both talked about how our time in Vegas was and about the charity shows. When my friend tried to take a picture, he realized it was accidentally in video mode and Will made sure we got the picture. I told him I'd see him later that night and he first had me approve the picture to make sure it came out well before heading off. The best part, other than meeting and chatting with Mr. Champion was definitely the rest of the people around. By this time everyone in line for the restaurant nearby and the passerbys were staring at me in a confused manner. When I regrouped with my friends, I asked if anyone else was excited, and they all shook their head 'no.' I then had to explain who he was and why it was so exciting. I still didn't win anyone over haha. A few hours after this, I heard from a friend at the hotel that tickets and wristbands, while tied to specific names, were not going to be verified at the door. So I sent out a tweet that if a Coldplay fan sees me in the hotel, I'll give the first one a present. It wasn't long until a girl tapped my shoulder while eating and I gave her the remaining ticket. I didn't really have time to talk and if it was someone from here, I apologize for that. Would have liked to meet up at the show. There was about 2.5 hours left, and I couldn't take the excitement anymore. I went up and started the line. I was the only one there until about 10 minutes till the doors opened. When they let us go to the ballroom, I ran in and was one of the first people inside. I lined up right in front of the stage where I knew they would most likely spend a lot of time. I met some really cool Coldplay fans from all over the country while waiting. The true fans were the people lined up right in front of the stage, everyone else was mingling and socializing in the middle of the ballroom or walking around. They didn't seem too concerned with getting a good area to stand in. In addition, the amount of suits and tuxes in the room was ridiculous. I couldn't figure out how people could move around in that attire, but I later realized it was because they weren't planning on doing that. Before waiting I was trying to get Miller's attention, so I had a group of us scream out his name, which he ignored every time. That killed some time, until suddenly Chris ran out and yelled "everybody ready?" and went straight into Politik. There were about 10 of us in the front row singing along at the top of our lungs and having a good time. Everyone else was pretty stiff and staring at them like they were at the movie theatre watching a film. Over time people loosened up when the more popular songs were played. As I've said before, the guys seemed a bit nervous. I kept screaming I love Guy and asking him questions, and I could see he was trying hard not to look at me. Later Chris said he wasn't used to playing in front of such a well dressed crowd. So maybe it was a bit of a change they weren't used to. Chris tried to avoid me for most of the night, but every once in a while I would get a stern look. But he did come up right in front of my camera a lot so I could get pictures. There was one picture that came out bad, and I'm pretty sure he noticed I wasn't happy and was trying to take it again so he stepped back where he was and I got the shot. Could have been a coincidence, but if not that was really nice of him. Same thing was going on for the rest of their set. Towards the end most everyone was having a good time and was into it. I think when Jay-Z came out during Lost+ was when the mood changed. At the stroke of midnight, Jay brought out a clock and we had the countdown and fireworks. Chris thanked Phil who was behind the curtain and didn't kiss anyone although I could see him looking towards the back of the crowd, where "GP" was. After they got off the stage and Jay-Z's crew began to move in, I was looking around at the confetti that had dropped during LiJ. Most of the butterflies had landed in the middle of the ballroom so I was trying to find one up in front of the stage. I couldn't find any, but I spotted something much better. A pick! I had been asking Guy for one the whole time, but didn't get it so I knew Guy's picks were all yellow. This one was gray. I asked the security guard to come over, then asked him if he could hand me the pick and he did. Suddenly everyone around me realized that pick had been in front of them for 20 minutes and no one noticed. I thought back and remembered Chris having to grab another pick so I had a feeling it was his. After reviewing the videos I shot, I was able to spot what I believe is the exact pick in his hand. When Jay-Z finally came out, the crowd definitely picked up. It was then that I actually heard people screaming in my ear. I kept trying to reach out and shake Jay's hand and he would get really close, and take it away. I could see his eyes through the corner of his glasses and knew he was teasing people in the crowd. Kanye then came out and wasn't long till he came over to where I was and was smiling at me and shook my hand and I thought he was really nice, but after the show my friends told me it was probably because he saw my camera...lol. The Beyonce thing was definitely not spontaneous, nor was Homecoming at the end. I don't believe they had rehearsed it, but I know it was discussed. When Chris came back out, I could definitely tell he was a bit off ;) He came close to me and I could see his eyes were a little out of it. Not like before. And before he came out, I could see him walking around in circles and doing strange things off to the side of the stage behind the curtains. Looked like he was having a good time... Afterwards, Jay talked about how much he wished he could be in the crowd to watch everything that was happening on stage. He bowed so many times to Chris during the concert and I'm sure he would have loved to watch them perform from where we were standing. He looked over to the back and told Gwyneth Paltrow, or "GP" that he loved her. He then came over and gave a few shout outs to people in the crowd, he finally came over to me and called me the "guy in the purple sweater" and finally laughed and shook my hand. I really hope someone uploads a video of that. Then Jay gave his mic to an older Asian gentleman and walked off. Overall it was an awesome time. After the show, my friends in the riser section at the back said they saw me on the tv at least 10 times and that EVERYONE could tell I was a huge fan, as I was the only person showing that much enthusiasm...or craziness. I forget which word they used. I still have a lot of videos to upload and I'll eventually get them all up. I'm going to get this all mounted in a little frame later, but for now I kinda threw the ticket, wristband, and pick into this frame Here is the video from midnight and Viva La Vida [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9giHNNW9SA]YouTube - Coldplay - New Years Countdown & Viva La Vida NYE 2011 Cosmopolitan Hotel[/ame]

Politik [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_4J_ZzBzlg]YouTube - Coldplay - Politik NYE 2011 Cosmopolitan Hotel[/ame]

I think the guys were a bit shy the whole night. They never made eye contact with anyone. I kept screaming jokes and things to Guy, but he seemed almost nervous to look anywhere but his safe zone. My friends jokingly said (I hope it was a joke) that Chris recognizes me as a crazy fan so he kept doing it on purpose. I've seen them several times in the past few weeks and I always sing really loud and sometimes scream the right notes when Chris makes a mistake. They say he is probably annoyed every time he sees me at a concert. They cite this photo where he gives me the evil eye/death stare down as their evidence. I hope its not that, but who knows. He mostly tried to not look at me, but when he did, they all looked like this. I'm uploading another video and going to the gym, when I get back I will begin the write up.

It's in this one: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AodFpq-wDI]YouTube - Coldplay - Strawberry Swing intro NYE 2011 Cosmopolitan Hotel Las Vegas[/ame] I think you can hear me say "Holy Shit!" Or something when he said your name. Was it really dedicated to you?

As promised, Strawberry Swing and Clocks. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5wk7jjcCCc]YouTube - Coldplay Strawberry Swing & Clocks NYE 2011 Cosmopolitan Hotel[/ame]

Sorry guys, will start uploading videos again today. Have had a rough couple of days. Internet at the hotel was terrible, as was the rest of the service and I wasn't able to complete a single upload. Got home this morning at 5am, but I'm ready to upload now :) Since I was pretty close to the speakers, some of the videos may have bad audio. I have two videos of Beyonce on youtube's front page now that are being bombarded with hateful comments regarding the loud bass. I think most of the Coldplay videos are okay. I will also write up the whole story sometime tonight.

Yw. Yep I met Will yesterday before the show. It was actually pretty funny. I was with a couple of friends debating on what to eat. In the middle of the conversation, my friend says he could see my face and attention all change and I saw Will coming up with some friends in the distance. I immediately b-lined over to him and asked him for a pic. He was super nice and said absolutely. We talked for a few moments about how much I enjoyed seeing them a couple of weeks ago and that they were the only reason I was in Vegas. Just when we started to pose for the camera, my friend noticed he had been taking a video so Will laughed and said to take our time to get the shot, so we did it again and I told him I'd see him later tonight and they walked away. Everyone else on the entire second floor of the hotel was looking at me like I was crazy because they could see my excitement. After he walked away, no one bothered him. I couldn't believe other people didn't care haha. That was my run in. My friend Tucker met Chris while lost around the hotel. Apparently Chris jokingly said he was betting on horses and my friend didn't get that he was joking and started giving him tips. My friend's aunt was also in the elevator with GP and Apple. No one really bothered any of them.

Yw. Strawberry Swing and Clocks coming up next.

It'll take a bit before HD comes up, but here's Homecoming. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyn2Z-ZS0tA]YouTube - Chris Martin, Jay-Z, and Kanye West - Homecoming NYE 2011 Cosmopolitan Hotel Las Vegas[/ame]

I saw his eyes when he leaned in towards me before and after he came back out. Something was definitely up. And ya I always try to get a pic with Chris in the background, but literally every time he saw my friend trying to take a pic, he would turn around. People next to us even commented on that. I've got tons of videos. I think I filmed every song and am trying to upload as many as I can from my hotel, but the internet is a hit or miss here. There should be another one soon. Homecoming is uploading now I think. 99% of the people there had no idea what Coldplay was about and it showed. It was a status thing for most people and I think there were probably a total of 10 of us towards the front singing with every song and having an actual good time. I know it looks like I just showed up on this forum, but I've been a member for years. Had my password saved on another computer and forgot it so I wasn't able to login from a new computer. I don't normally post much, but I read a lot when I can. I'm still trying to recover from last night, but I'll write a much more detailed post about everything.

Here's the first full Coldplay video I was able to upload. Yellow: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afFLqOojVyI]YouTube - Coldplay - Yellow NYE 2011 Cosmopolitan Hotel Las Vegas[/ame]

I'm starting to post some pics on flickr. I mostly took video of Coldplay and they are huge files so it'll take some time. [ame=http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimmydushku/sets/72157625719157316/show/]NYE 2011 Coldplay/Jay-Z[/ame] Fixed link Posting some videos on youtube now. youtube.com/jimmydushku

They will.

Funny thing about those rehearsal videos is the person who posted them spells Coldplay in the comments with two words. Some people never learn...

I'll be there too if anyone wants to meet up before or during the concert. Would love to meet some other Coldplayers.