Well... that was simply incredible! I was really disappointed at first because I brought my 35x zoom camera and then realized I forgot my SD Card... (which I have literally NEVER done! I think it is because I was so excited) I really like taking pictures but maybe this wasn't a bad opportunity to focus on the concert itself instead of looking at it through a screen.
Again, I'm 23 and I've never been to a concert in my life. I've been absolutely obsessed with Coldplay for a few years... I found them when Viva was peaking at #1, but that isn't actually how I heard them. I was sitting watching one of the TV music channels (not MTV or VH1 but like the radio channels that have a black screen with music) and Talk came on. So after that I started listening to all their albums and I have never in my life found a band in which I love just about everything they've ever done. In fact, some of my favorite CP songs are Crests of Waves and Animals.
I started watching their live shows on TV, MTV World Tour Tokyo, MTV Live, VH1 Storytellers, How We Saw the World, etc. They were here in Dallas either last year or 2010 and I couldn't afford to go but I swore the next time they were here I would go, even if it had to be the worst seats in the house. Watching all of the festivals this last year just amped me up more, but I was still iffy on going, not sure if I could handle the noise and all.
Gradually I've been getting my sister and mom into Coldplay. They aren't into it the way I am, but they like many of the popular songs. My sister really enjoyed MX though and wanted to go see them. I knew my sister and mom were regular concert-goers, so I wanted to take them and paid for their tickets even though it meant sitting up in 330. All I've heard from them about concerts was negative. "It kinda sucks because all you hear is distorted sound and you can't see anything, you have to watch them from the screen. You actually have a better view on TV." I never understood if they hated concerts so much, why did they go? But I had seen the festivals. I knew this would be different. But I didn't know how different. I promised them it would be nothing like any concert they had ever been to.
We got to the AAC about 7:30. Parking was great and we got our Xylobands! We were completely patriotic! My sister had a red one, my mom a white one and I got a blue one lol! Wolf Gang was actually pretty good, despite all the teasing I give my sister for her love of indie bands :P. Robyn was just... wtf. That's the only way to describe her. But that's ok, I didn't care about seeing them :) Coldplay was late and I saw them working on the guitars... correct my memory it was after either God Put a Smile or Don't Let it Break Your Heart that he actually threw his guitar. I've seen other artists do that, but not Chris. You think they figured it was broken anyway? Initially when the Xylobands came on it was possibly (without overstatement) one of the most incredible things I have ever seen. It was like Christmas x 1000. My mother literally cried. Thanks Chris Martin, you made my mother cry! :D "50 years and I have never seen anything like this!" I was a bit in shock when HLH came on. Live it is probably my 2nd favorite song of MX. I don't actually like the album version as much as the live version. But I love the way they perform this song with the MX intro, the guitar sling, everything! I think what's most surreal about the concerts is the "realization" of the band members. Before I had only seen them on TV, so they were no more real to me than Super Mario or a TV character.
The view from the top wasn't actually terrible, even if the seats were airplane-narrow. Perhaps to make up for the time in which they were late it seemed they were running at more of a breakneck pace than others I have heard because it started like 15 minutes late and ended about 5 minutes early. I've seen so many of the festivals, but I don't think Chris has ever sounded better. Except for one minor screwup on Warning Sign at the end, his voice was virtually perfect. I know his voice can vary, but he was really, really good tonight. They all were. Even my mom was like "their drummer is AMAZING!" This would have been a great show to use for the Blu-Ray, but there were no disclaimers anywhere (I think they will regret that! :)) After the show my sister and mom both agreed that this was far and away the best concert they had ever seen. My thoughts were that it was amazing, I wish I would have gotten that hat (though it looks to be cheaper on the CP site, so I might still) but I really wish I could go see it again tonight with my camera. Either way, the next time they're here I'm definitely going, but I still don't think there's another concert in the world I would go to. I think going to anyone else would pale in comparison. You have an amazing team who are the most genuine musicians I've ever seen who really want and know how to get 20,000 people to have the best time of their lives. What more could you ask for in a band?
https://picasaweb.google.com/110638113847023396792/CP?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCL-TgLLZmJxC&feat=directlink