dieselbenz

It can be really upsetting when you have a plan to enjoy a concert a certain way and then it gets thrown off last minute. I don't always even want to have a camera at a show, but the time I had my camera taken away at the doors (or the time I forgot a memory card, doh) did bother me because I'd been looking forward to using it on that particular occasion. So I understand. Glad you were able to enjoy the next show!

Picking between my three favorites is really hard, especially with each being out a drastically different amount of time but I think I'll go: 1. ALIENS 2. Hypnotised 3. All I Can Think About Is You 4. Someone Special 5. SJLT It's really hard tough, I think Hypnotised might end up back on top at some point ... but ALIENS has such an incredible vocal and I like the lyrics best. And AICTAIY has that otherwordly instrumental build at the end. So each of those three gets me in a different way, hard to chose.

For whatever it's worth, I've had a camera taken away with this line at a different artist's show ... same deal, information ahead said I could bring it, but at the door they said the artist had requested no cameras at all. Artist told a couple people who asked later, personally, that he had said no such thing. So it may have been a misunderstanding. Often they say "no recording devices", which isn't meant to include P/S cameras, but technically a camera is a recording device, so the security may have misunderstood. It sucks either way but I wouldn't make the conclusion the band or their management intended that. My guess would be they wanted "no recording devices" as in devices designed specifically to capture video/audio, and security didn't understand.

Yeah it freaks me out a little; I still think of MX as a new album. Mentally I tend to lump everything this decade together a little though. And haha, my neighbors are going to be relieved that there's something else in the mix now, because when I'm working on the car I can't change albums a lot ... so I put on Kaleidoscope and it's literally just AICTAIY on a loop blasting out of my garage.

This line is just parsed oddly but to me makes sense. "Hovering in hope some scope tonight sees the light and says 'fly if you want to'" etc. I.e., they're waiting hoping that that night a lookout sees some sign they can move on safely. The "moving target" passage does get a little confusing, but to me speaks to how every move is just a temporary respite. I do agree it's pretty abstract, all of it, and I really like that. Been listening to the wheels off this song since it dropped, just love it. It feels like a sequel to Moving To Mars in terms of the lyrical content, which is kind of cool after six years.

It sort of makes me sad that people want to make it expressly political, because humanity does not have to be political. Not saying it isn't political at all, but humanity can and should also stand on its own. Maybe a stupid analogy, but you don't have to be a vegan or animal rights activist to help a baby bird that's fallen out of it's nest. Everybody out there is shouting at each other these days, and I mean on both sides, I feel like simple humanity is getting lost in the clamor. I think it's great that Coldplay have chosen to send a message that highlights basic empathy, humanity and love and I hope most people can listen/watch and think about other human beings rather than think about whether it fits their political "side".

Well now between this thought and how much I love ALIENS, Hypnotised and AICTAIY, my bar is probably gonna be WAY too high for the next album haha. Seriously though it makes me really happy that this kind of stuff still turns up, on top of some new sounds and directions.

Every time I listen to this I love it more. The vocals hit me right away, I love the vocal melody and lyrics. Very emotional and (I'm not sure why) but relatable to me. I guess in terms of feeling like you don't belong and can't get home. And it's obviously even sadder when you think about it applying to refugees. Very powerful song that makes me a feel a lot of things. Instrumentally it took me a couple listens ... felt a bit all over the place and doesn't have a really interesting lick, plus no really distinct piano. But on every listen I like the instrumentals more; they're actually really intricate and beautiful. I mean damn it's brilliant, I notice something else I love every time I listen to it. And the strings at the end really drive it home. This is probably going to make me sound like an idiot who doesn't know anything about music (which I am), but for some reason the time signature and percussion reminds me a little of The National. Anyhow whatever it is, it feels really outside the box ... not just outside of Coldplay's box but outside of the box in general. But it's still very Coldplay in some ways ... the vocals feel like old haunting Coldplay to me which I miss a lot. Even if it is actually just a vestige of a former era, the fact they decided to resurrect it now and give it to us as the last song of this era makes me feel good.

I know, I was so excited for a piano ballad. Don't get me wrong, I'm loving ALIENS, but just sad we have the whole EP and this piano song is nowhere to be seen. It sounded fairly developed and not just something he was fiddling around with.

That's great you're going to try to make it happen; I think you won't regret it. After a lot of years of not doing anything, as I mentioned above, I started travelling to concerts when I was about 30 (by then I was into some other bands but same sort of situation), and it really opened my world up in many ways. Not only do you get to see the concert, you get to see a new place and meet new people ... even if it's a short stay. Your idea of going to Boston and seeing a Sox game is an awesome one ... Fenway Park is bucket-list material! I hope you can make it work and have a great time. Just don't feel guilty spending money on a concert ... some people spend money on Disneyland, some go to beach resorts or travel to play golf ... at the end of the day you are paying for an experience and adventure that involves something you love! And you are right @buckinglory, that it is good to keep perspective on how many people don't get these chances at all and that when we get them, we should seize them for sure. I do always remind myself that if I have a moment where I feel like I wish this or that were on the setlist or my seats were better, I stop myself and think how incredibly lucky I am to be at a concert and what a privilege it is to see Coldplay. Many people don't get the chance, and who knows how many more chances any of us have?

OK so what was this??? Now that we've heard all the EP songs, I can't place this as being part of any. I loved this mystery song, bummer if it never appears anywhere.

Bear in mind the size of the US and that our public transportation is not nearly as good or affordable as Europe's (our rail system is limited and there aren't many cheap flights). Of course there are places in the world far worse off, but nonetheless I understand why Southeastern US folk get upset. Personally I am always willing and often eager to travel for concerts, but I recognize that is a unique position I'm lucky to be in that my life is that flexible and I have enough money. A lot of people don't have that. That said, @Chandlerhall16 , I would encourage you to give the thought of travel a good look, especially if you've never missed a tour ... I wouldn't want to break that tradition personally. Maybe check out Amtrak to Miami or DC. For sure if you really can't afford it, don't do it ... but if it's just that you feel silly spending that much money on a concert, I'd reconsider. Concerts are a perfectly legit reason to travel and see new places, imo. I wish I'd known when I was younger that it was OK to treat myself to a concert or spend money on myself, I never did anything and missed all the early years of the band's touring because I thought I shouldn't spend money/time/etc on entertainment (I even live where they played a ton, very sad).

Almost positive he is saying "all life long". Definitely an "f" sound there.

Now that you mention it I hear that a bit too. Goes to figure then that I love the melody in the chorus; that part really grabbed me.

Thanks so much for the encouraging words, @I ran away , @AlwaysInMyHead and @antdrew ...I appreciate it. I hope to turn this change into something positive in the long term, and for the short term I do have a few things to look forward to. The silver lining is while I'm looking for something else I can use the free time to finish my car project, I hope. And I've still got a couple Coldplay shows coming up this summer; what could be more uplifting than that? :)

Lucky find in one of my local resale shops last night: Unnecessary details: Yesterday was my last day at my job after I decided to leave it because I really couldn't do it physically anymore, in addition to knowing I didn't really have a future there anyway. I didn't like the job but it was a very difficult thing for me to do to leave. It's not easy to leave a routine and the people you work with every day and admit failure. I don't have anything else lined up and feel pretty hopeless, to be honest. After my shift ended I went to the resale store to browse and just get my mind off things. I was looking at an expensive David Gilmour box set and lamenting that I couldn't justify buying it, and all of a sudden this white box caught the corner of my eye. Can't tell you how many times I've looked at these online and talked myself out of it, especially since I've heard they aren't good pressings, but when I saw it last night on the shelf it was clearly meant to be. It's basically a box of my 20s and the music that taught me how to live through whatever felt unlivable. So, just kind of a cool happenstance when I needed something positive. It was only $40.

Not going to do any in-depth analysis, since to be honest I really miss the days when all that I thought about was whether something moved me or not, and this song makes me feel like those days. I don't know that it sounds exactly like older Coldplay particularly but it makes me feel similar to the way that stuff did. Not that nothing else since then has, but damn this is a tune that moves me. Between this and Hypnotised I'm really pleased. I've accepted that they've changed, and am happy to enjoy things that are a little outside my wheelhouse and just roll with it, but man does it feel good to have something "for me" pop up when I really, really need it.

This is either going to be mindblowingly amazing during the song live, or mindblowingly annoying, haha. All I know for now is this is addictive and will be a great insomnia coping mechanism. And, I'm really excited that this pretty much confirms they'll play it live and probably consistently, because I really, really want to hear it.

I have used a Nikon P500 on this tour and gotten some decent results. I'm not a particularly great photographer because 1) my hands shake and 2) I take pics in between jumping, singing, etc so they're kind of hit and miss and 3) I'm pretty casual about it and not knowledgeable about photography. The great thing about this camera is ZOOM, lots of it, 33X I think. So you can get pretty close even from the lower bowl. It's very hard to get good sharp pictures in low light though, especially when zoomed, but I think that will be the case with any point and shoot camera. The camera takes pretty good videos at close range but has serious shake when very zoomed. As mentioned I have mild tremors which are worse when I'm excited and tired, so mine are particularly bad. But from what I've read this is not a strong point of the camera either, stabilization while using a lot of zoom. That said, can't really complain because I don't expect perfect close ups from that far away. For the most part it's really nice, and I've been pleased with some of the photographs I've gotten. Someone who's a better photographer or has steadier hands can probably do better on both fronts. I have a lot of fun with it and that's really my only goal! Here are my best photos, from Taiwan when I was close enough to get some nice shots. The rest of my Flickr has some other shows (MIA Fest also from up front and MetLife and Philly from 100 and 200 levels). There are also some other bands' shows on there if you want other samples: https://www.flickr.com/photos/31264961@N02/albums/with/72157679279703094 Videos, this is my YT channel ... anything from the last two years is with this camera, with the exception of what should be obvious cell phone videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/savingchase

Great photo. Sounds like a great week, good to hear he's on course to finish. The camaraderie at this type of event seems like a lot of fun and I love the variety of cars there.

That car :grinning: ... this looks like such a great event, I hope it goes well for Guy.

As expected after hearing the soundcheck, totally, totally love it. All I have time to say now. Love.

I love that picture and can relate to it so much. It's wonderful to able to enter a contest knowing even though I'm not likely to win the prize, it's still a win because the donation goes somewhere great.

My videos and pictures from the two nights in Taiwan. Despite lots of rain the shows were awesome and the crowds were so enthusiastic ... I think for a lot of people it was their first time seeing the band since they hadn't played here before or come to the general area often. It reminded me of the first time I finally got to see the band and what a magical feeling that was. And Violet Hill was a huge treat that I didn't expect, that also took me back in time. I'm lousy at describing shows with words so I'll just leave you with images. ;) Photos (mostly from first night, a few from second) Videos (from night two) A side note on Violet Hill: Chris said something to the effect of "we never play that, but we played it for you because of the rain", but obviously they didn't just pull it out of nowhere so hopefully it's something they just wanted to bring back. I'd love to see it become a regular or semi-regular in that spot on the set.

That was such an awesome surprise ... I was so glad to hear it again. Completely caught me off-guard and was such a fun moment even though I was far back and couldn't see much, it made my night! :)