seratone

Here's the lost link of 'Miller' explaining what he does. He says they use Muse Receptors handling some samples - you can clearly see a Korg Triton rack. It sounds as though the lions share of the tracks are on play back from hard disk players/recorders. You can clearly see a 61 key keyboard controller in his rig as well.

I was always intrigued how Coldplay did their backing tracks, as with U2 - both bands have kept it a fairly close guarded secret. U2 has opened up a bit in the past 10 years, even introducing Terry Lawless every night during the 360 tour... I think he was visible onstage with them on Saturday Night Live, prior to having Terry on board they used a complex series of triggers and samples - I imagine the in-ear monitors would be like listening to an Air Traffic controller.... I found out about they're under the stage magic from a German guy who runs their European Fan club. As for CP - I only saw them live during the Rush of Blood to the Head tour (I think?) - they dressed like Run DMC, in black with White Adidas. They played the Air Canada Center in Toronto and the sheer volume of the mostly female crowd was impressive. Here is a link to the guy who does the background stuff - it's a lot more complex than running a CD and playingto it. He can adjust (real time) to various improvisations the band perform, Stops, Mistakes, extended arrangements...crowd interaction etc. http://http://www.pro-tools-expert.com/home-page/2011/7/2/coldplay-talk-live-rigs-rme-and-pro-tools-1.html

I've always been fascinated by bands that can 'pull off' using backing tracks and make it sound flawless. I'm pretty sure they have control over the tracks so they can be extended, or an intro or chorus can be delayed to make room for improvisation... I've seen Coldplay several times - and never found the use of tracks a disappointment - more of an interesting challenge from a technical point of view - on the contrary to disappointment, I find it quite impressive. If anyone's interested, he's an interview with the guy on stage left that does it all from 2011. http://www.pro-tools-expert.com/home-page/2011/7/2/coldplay-talk-live-rigs-rme-and-pro-tools-1.html