WASHINGTON – For music fans concerned about who will continue the arena rock tradition once the veterans have walked away from the stage for good, now would be a good time to turn your attention to Coldplay.

Is their music and cultural impact as timeless as The Rolling Stones or Bruce Springsteen? No. At least not yet. And can Chris Martin command a stage with the bravado and swagger of Bono or Jon Bon Jovi? Not quite.

What Coldplay offers live are well-designed Big Rock Band trappings – video screen the width of the stage, a rainbow of lasers, neon butterfly confetti – but instead of coating them with the cool self-assurance of a thousand other rock stars, the band projects an endearing warmth.Much of that credit belongs to Martin, a gangly Gumby whose nonstop fidgeting is unexpectedly riveting, but who also approaches a live display with the self-deprecation it deserves. Except, maybe, for those ragtag, straight out of “Master and Commander” military jackets that the band has adopted as its “look” for the album/tour cycle of “Viva La Vida.”

A few times during Sunday’s too-brief 90-minute set, Martin acknowledged a gaffe, smiled sheepishly and then fixed it. It happened on the final verse of the opening “Violet Hill,” when he stretched his face into a look of horror, then repeated the lyric, and, most humorously, on the last refrain of “Yellow,” when he went in low instead of high.

“Some days I don’t know if I’m trying to be Johnny Cash or Barry Gibb,” he quipped. “Hopefully, in 10 years time, I’ll have the voice of Johnny Cash and the hair of Barry Gibb.”

While Martin, 31, is the undeniable focal point with his ungraceful hopping on one foot, singing on his back, rocking violently on his piano stool and flailing his arms as if he’s about to lasso a pony, Coldplay is very much an equal opportunity band.

Guitarist Jonny Buckland owes more than a polite acknowledgement to U2’s The Edge for his chiming fretwork that impressively built into its own little wall of sound, a habit especially evident on the gorgeously soaring “Fix You,” while bassist Guy Berryman quietly anchored the whisper-to-a-scream dynamics of the band’s songs.

Meanwhile, drummer Will Champion (how could he not be destined for stardom with that name?) received more face time than most sticksmen, joining Martin at the front of the stage to hammer a floor drum and vintage bell for the title track to “Viva La Vida,” which sounded nearly as lush as it does on record and incited a U2-ish singalong with its “whoa-oh-oh” chorus.

Released only about six weeks ago, “Viva,” the album, has quickly swelled into the turning point of Coldplay’s eight-year recording career. It’s the biggest-selling non-rap release of 2008 so far with sales of about 1.4 million, and at Sunday’s Verizon Center show, the sold-out audience of close to 20,000 sang along with every album cut as if the songs had been part of their lives for years.

The songs that fit that definition – “Clocks,” “In My Place” – appeared early in the set and were given the polished accompaniment of flashing red lights and pulsing lasers to enhance fans’ already-frenzied state.

But the chumminess of this band – much like with U2 – cannot be underestimated in their newfound footing, both musically and performance-wise. When they huddled at the foot of a stage ramp for an echo-y “Chinese Sleep Chant” and a radical techno-infused version of “God Put a Smile Upon Your Face,” there was a palpable cohesiveness to their performance.

But, it was when the foursome scampered into the crowd to perform in a tiny section at the back of the venue that Coldplay’s desire to keep a grip on their escalating popularity blazed through.

“This is what we look like up close. Impressive, isn’t it?” Martin said with a sideways grin, before the band dove into a lovely acoustic version of “The Scientist,” with Berryman strumming a mandolin.

Martin turned the spotlight to Champion once again, as the drummer sang the folksy pub rumination, “Death Will Never Conquer,” a song offered as a free download on the band’s Web site.

But first, Martin shared one more self-aware gem: “This will be the last song of our main set, and then we’ll do the encore thing, so play along with us, because otherwise, you’ll leave, and we don’t want you to do that.”

It doesn’t appear that fleeing fans are anything that Coldplay needs to fret about for awhile.

The highly-anticipated performance by Coldplay at the inaugural Pemberton Festival north of Whistler, B.C., had to be anticipated for just a little longer on Sunday, as extreme traffic delays on the highway finally had an impact on the performances. American funk/hip hop/alt-rock band N.E.R.D. arrived late for their show – minus three of their five musicians – and took the stage 35 minutes late, putting the rest of the mainstage schedule off-balance for the remainder of the day.

Coldplay, it must be said, was worth the wait. The headliners – and the driving force behind the festival – put on a powerful show. Frontman Chris Martin exhibited more than his typical enthusiasm and what seemed like genuine appreciation that people came to the remote festival and stuck around long enough to hear his band, which took to the stage at 10:20 pm on Sunday night.

“You braved hours of traffic and rain – all to take a chance on a new festival,” he said, adding that the consensus was that the event has been “a great success.”

Too bad for distractions during Coldplay’s set: people departing in an attempt to avoid another long journey home, the slow-moving traffic visible behind the stage, the ever-present bass coming out of the B-Live tent across the field (particularly annoying during what should have been a Coldplay highlight: a short set on a tiny stage that included an acoustic version of The Scientist).

But overall, it was a strong show, with highlights that included Clocks, In My Place, and everybody singing along to Yellow.

Coldplay was preceded by an extraordinary performance by Jay-Z. For just over an hour, the New York hip hop star had the place in a tizzy – fans waving their arms in tribute and bouncing like crazy (the temporary wooden floor I was standing on felt positively trampolinesque). Some female fans showed their appreciation by flashing the crowd on the giant video screens – to great approval.

Jay-Z’s urban lyrics set against the silhouette of the darkening mountains as he sampled everyone from Amy Winehouse to the cast of the musical Annie, was something to experience. Even he seemed impressed.

As the show wrapped up, like a teacher handing out gold stars at the end of class, Jay-Z sent some shout-outs to audience members whose enthusiasm he had noticed. “You in the yellow t-shirt,” he pointed to a fan. “And you, baby girl.”

An unlikely highlight from earlier in the day was a stunning two-song collaboration between Dj Dopey and 16 members of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. As the VSO played The Verve’s Bittersweet Symphony, Dj Dopey ruled the turntable, and scenes from The Shining flashed on the screens behind the stage. The crowd in the B-Live tent ate it up. Future VSO subscription holders? Perhaps.

On unlikely combinations, the American Hasidic reggae almost-star Matisyahu closed out the smaller Lillooet stage with a spiritually-inspired performance that went with the gorgeous setting (at least the part of the show I managed to catch; there were scheduling conflicts with Dj Dopey and Death Cab for Cutie). In beard, yarmulke and side-curls, Matisyahu didn’t exactly look the Pemberton Festival part, but with musical talent like his, he fit right in.

N.E.R.D. – late though they were – got the crowd going with a high-energy, infectious performance. Okay, so they thought they were in Vancouver at first, and Pharrell Williams uttered the f-word more times than one could count, but their energy was almost unparalleled on Sunday (and then Jay-Z came along).

Wish I could say the same for Seattle’s Death Cab for Cutie. Perhaps it was festival fatigue setting in, but they just didn’t do it for me – or the crowd. After N.E.R.D. – and Dj Dopey – the performance simply felt lacklustre. Too bad, because they’ve got a lot to offer.

Highlight of the final day: a crowd crazy in love with Jay-Z.

Low point: the backlog caused by earlier traffic delays meant Coldplay didn’t wrap up their set until 11:40. And then, festival fans set out for what would no doubt be another long journey home.

All in all, a fantastic show. I didn’t much care for the 2nd opening act… the first guy was good, though he didn’t really have the crowd’s attention.

God Put a Smile Upon Your Face was incredible. It was this odd techno version, but they pulled it off, to make it one of those unforgettable concert pieces. It was rather brilliant.
The 2nd encore was very nice, too, and clearly unplanned. Chris seemed to genuinely enjoy the night and the crowd, shown through various lyric changes (”Japan and Philadelphia all lit up” in Speed of Sound, and “Give me time, give us a kiss, what a way to spend Friday night like this” in Politik).
Will singing on Death Will Never Conquer was awesome, too. Chris played the harmonica, and, afterward, was handed a beer, to which he sniffed it, sneered, and gave it back. Very funny.
It was an unforgettable night, every aspect of it. Can’t wait to see them back!

---

Setlist:

Life In Technicolor
Violet Hill
Clocks
In My Place
Viva La Vida
Yes
42
Fix You
Strawberry Swing
Chinese Sleep Chant (side stage)
God Put A Smile Upon Your Face (side stage/techno version)
Speed Of Sound
Yellow
Lost!
The Scientist (Acoustic)
Death Will Never Conquer (Will – Acoustic)

Encore:

Talk
Politik
Lovers In Japan
Death And All His Friends
The Escapist

Encore 2:

Green Eyes
The Dubliners (*new)

---

Dear Coldplay fanatics:

I just had the best night of my life so far. I’ve had tickets for the show here in my city (Philly) for a while now… and I must admit they were pretty bad seats. 205, nosebleed, drunks everywhere,etc. But still, it was going to be fun and I’ve seen them before so it was no big deal.
Anyway after the first opener this girl comes up to where my best friend and I were sitting and asks us if we were big Coldplay fans. Duh, lady. Then she tells us to prove it and sing a song. My mind is blank, so I sing Yellow, terribly. Then she says, “Do you know what Coldplay does for their fans for every show?” and we honestly have no idea, so she goes “They buy out the first three rows of the floor and give them away to their biggest fans.” And at this point I’m starting to hyperventilate and my hands are shaking as she pulls a wad of tickets out of her bag. She then says, “You guys are being relocated to the 1st row. Can I have your old tickets?”
I needed to brag about this to people who would appreciate it the most, and who would understand just how effing awesome that whole experience was. We went from seeing tiny specks on a big stage to seeing Chris’ spit flying as he sung, and Johnny and Will and Guy just being adorable.

P.S. The concert was absolutely amazing, wherever you may have been sitting or standing or dancing in the aisles. Fantastic as usual.

HONESTLY I wish I could give you some kind of insider info on how to score those tix but seriously it was fate of the highest degree. I don’t really know what that means but you get the idea haha. I’m still in shock. Was it a dream?!

The Brit Boys are Big But Are They Getting Bored?

The reviews from Coldplay’s current North American tour have been mixed — by both critics and fans. People who attended the band’s Viva La Vida July 22 tour stop in Chicago said the sound was amazing and that it was one of the best live shows they’d ever seen. Expectations were high for last night’s show, and the sold-out crowd screamed every time Chris Martin said anything into the mic — even when being goofy and cheeky while saying some canned lines he likely says at every show.

The band came out strong, walking out to the instrumental “Life in Technicolor” and then launching into a rousing version of “Violet Hill,” which led to “Clocks,” where the band and audience were swathed in red light and penetrated with multi-colored lasers. They played possibly every track off the new album — “Strawberry Swing” was a personal highlight — but where were the songs from the first three releases? For a show that ran nearly two hours, the band played more of a blend of greatest hits: “Yellow,” “In My Place,” “Fix You” (which, in true Coldplay grandiose style, was layered and beautiful), “God Put a Smile Upon Your Face” (a cool remix version that was played on a small stage that jutted out into the crowd), “The Scientist” and “Politik,” which again proved the band can fill a stadium with their now larger-than-life presence. A high point came when Martin announced they were filming a video for “Lost,” which the band ran through twice — apparently something they did last night as well. The second run through was definitely tighter and more on point.

However, it would’ve been nice to hear more of a blend from all four albums (where the hell was “Talk” and “Everything’s Not Lost”?) and at some points, it felt like Coldplay was phoning in the performance. “Speed of Sound” didn’t have the energy of shows past. At times, Guy Berrymore — who couldn’t be bothered for some reason to return to the stage for the surprise encore of “Green Eyes,” despite Martin calling out for his longtime mate and carrying on anyway — looked like he’d rather be elsewhere. Same with Jonny Buckland. If Will Champion hadn’t been such a rhythmic bruiser on the drum kit, he too, may have wanted to meet up with friends at a bar instead of being on stage. To that end, the nice thing about Coldplay is that, for the most part, they seem like they enjoy each others’ company and like playing with each other — not an easy task for a major act on a worldwide tour. And this isn’t to say the show wasn’t fun, because it was. And they sounded great. But it would’ve been nice to hear them sound great on a wider variety of tunes. Hopefully they’ll mix it up for the rest of the tour.

http://somethingglorious.typepad.com

---

As a concert-minded songwriter, one of Chris Martin’s best moves was to name his biggest hits after colors — or colours, as he might say. Just ask the 11,000 strong at last night’s Coldplay show, who over the course of the night heard hits of a vivid trajectory: the early highlight was “Violet Hill,” sans the thirty seconds of white noise that precedes it on new disc Viva La Vida; the ultimate peak was a singalong version of “Yellow,” the sole concert cut from debut disc Parachutes; and the show ended with an acoustic take on “Green Eyes” from the excellent Rush of Blood to the Head LP. Even if you don’t particularly care for these tunes, they sure make sense in the midst of a lights show — which sure makes sense to do in an arena. Coldplay’s entire set, in fact, could be summed up as songs that made sense.

The four-piece Londoner ensemble, of course, is making more than a few cents off their latest album: Viva has sold 5 million copies in a month, and the accompanying tour is selling so well that bigger cities — Chicago included — are being treated to two nights of performance. I caught Coldplay’s second Windy City set, which Chris Martin promised was better than the first. And after two encores, two album-length takes on new single “Lost!” and two full hours of music, I can’t call him a liar.

Essentially, Coldplay excels at being recognizable. Their concert was the first where I knew every single song, even the deep cuts from the new disc — “Death And All His Friends”; a rollicking, pitch-perfect “42? — and the old ones cloaked in electronica and drum machine reverb — “God Put A Smile Upon Your Face,” from Rush of Blood. Outside of that, two songs tested unfamiliar waters: a traditional folk tune sung by drummer Will Champion and a two-minute take on “The Dubliners,” a new ditty that approximates an Irish drinking tune. The set was otherwise infectious, from a rousing rendition of “In My Place” (with crowd-sung “yeah”s) to a laser-assisted romp through the concert stock of “Clocks” (improvised harmonies included). And the decision to only play singles from X & Y — that’s the wide-eyed balladry of “Fix You” and the contemplative piano pop of “Speed of Sound” — was a wise one, as too much mediocrity would have chipped away the artistic armor of Coldplay’s new material.

That said, two brand new songs provided the night’s lowlights. The first was “Yes,” which was overly-reliant on synchronized stereo strings and plagued by Chris Martin’s ultimately-too-weak lower register. Then came the aforementioned double-take on “Lost!,” whose central organ riff was overwhelmed by an attempt to accurately approximate the song’s jungle-thump beat. (The band played two takes because they’re filming concert footage for the song’s upcoming promo video, but one good rendition in lieu of two formulaic attempts — both dependent on Martin’s anti-rock-god flagellantism — would have been better.)

Blunders aside, however, the show was an exercise in slightly exceeding expectations — which is more than enough from a band who tires of playing their material well after you tire of hearing it. Throughout the set, six giant orbs projected images of the band members high above the stage, and an arching video screen flashed images congruent to their simultaneous song: Bush clips during a soulful and more-relevant-by-the-day “Politik”; Eastern imagery throughout “Lovers in Japan”; even psychadelic fruit displays on “Strawberry Swing.” Then there was Chris, as self-deprecating as ever, who despite fame and fortune seems convinced he could lose it all as quickly as it came. But that’s the science of Coldplay, the science outlined in the lyrics of “Lost!”: “You might be a big fish…[but] along may come a bigger one.” The band’s just big fish for now, but that’ll do for a sea of people on a given night in Chicago.

Coldplay was in top form!!! They were awesome and Chris sounded amazing!!!

Now some highlights:

When I got to the United Center there were cameras in my section. I was in Section 101. Security told me Coldplay was filming something. Later, during the show Chris said they were performing an old song and then a new song. I don’t remember exactly but he said that the filming was for the new song. He said if we did good he would do the new song twice. The second performance of the song would be for the film. The old song was Yellow. The new song was Lost!. So we got Lost! twice during the concert. I am guessing Lost! will be the next single?

Also The Scientist (acoustic version) was performed from the back in Section 109.

And after they played the Escapist, it should have been the end of the show but Chris and Will came back to the stage. He said something about the other guys had left to a whore house . Anyway Chris and Will performed Green Eyes.

Fix You was performed very early during the show.

Here is the setlist as best I remember:

Life In Technicolor (intro)
Violet Hill
Clocks
In My Place
Viva La Vida
Yes
42
Fix You
Strawberry Swing

OFF STAGE AND ON THE FLOOR LEVEL
Chinese Sleep Chant
God Put A Smile Upon Your Face (techno version)

BACK ON STAGE
Speed Of Sound
Yellow
Lost!
Lost!

BACK OF ARENA IN SECTION 109
Scientist (Acoustic)
Death Will Never Conquer (sung beautifully by Will )

BACK ON STAGE
Politik
Lovers in Japan
Death And All His Friends
The Escapist (outro)

UNPLANNED ENCORE
Green Eyes (Chris and Will Only)

Unfortunately I must say that the crowd in my section was just awful. During the first few songs i.e. Violet Hill, Clocks, and In My Place, the crowd was ok. Then once Viva was played the crowd got a little better. However, things went downhill from there. First, can you believe that no one in the rows behind and in front of me in my section sang the Oooo part at the end of Viva La Vida I was furious. Then when the boys began playing Yes and 42 the crowd in my section sat down. Some people in front of me pulled out there blackberries and were doing some work! A lot of others went to get a beer or go for a bathroom break! I was horrified. As for me, Yes is one of my favorite new songs and the boys did not disappoint. I loved it. They do an extended instrumental part at the end of Yes that sounds very good. I am trying to remember but I think that it was at this point that the boys played Fix You which surprised me because based on the few other shows so far, Fix You generally comes at the end. During Fix You, all seemed well because everyone got up and started singing. Then Strawberry Swing was played and everyone in the rows near me in my section sat down again. Strawberry Swing sounds amazing live. It’s very upbeat. The crowd came a little more alive when the boys moved to the floor of the arena for CSC and GPASOYF.

However, finally, the crowd went completely wild once Yellow was played. I think that like in San Jose, that this was the point that the crowd really got into the concert. During Yellow people were screaming, dancing and clapping. I think Chris looked relieved. As I mentioned earlier before Yellow was played Chris said that they were filming a video for there next song. So I think that this may have contributed to the crowd finally coming alive. During the second performance of Lost, everyone was into it cheering and clapping to the beat of the song.

Then the boys moved the back of the arena for an acoustic version of the Scientist. The crowd again was happily singing and clapping. At the end of the song though Chris said that they were trying new things in Chicago and he said that it was the first time they performed the Scientist in that version and that it would probably be the last. Not sure what he was talking about though because the song sounded amazing.

Also, I was so excited that Chris and Will came back at the end of the show for one more song. I totally lost it and was screaming so loud that I think that the people in my section might have been slightly annoyed. Oh well I was there to have a good time not just sit there.

So in conclusion the show was just amazing. I am going to see them tomorrow again.

Life In Technicolor (intro)
Violet Hill
Clocks
In My Place
Viva La Vida
Yes
42
The Scientist
Strawberry Swing
Chinese Sleep Chant
God Put A Smile Upon Your Face
Speed Of Sound
Yellow [electric]
Lost!
Green Eyes
Death Will Never Conquer
—–
Politik
Lovers In Japan
Fix You
—
Death And All His Friends
The Escapist (outro)

More from solarboy

Green Eyes and Death Will Never Conquer were done from the back section. Yellow was the electric version. Fabulous show.

Avril lavigne and her hubby from sum 41 were sitting right behind us and i think the killers were there also. they played green eyes….it was truly a highlight for me.

There wasn’t anything that incredibly different about this show from the previous ones. Chris made some Vegas references. Said Lost! wasn’t supposed to be gambling advice. Sang Green Eyes better than the album, I thought. Wonderful performance that. Viva La Vida was way better live than I was lead to believe on television. Uhm, the Bill O’Reilly thing was funny. Guy was on the casino floor taking pictures during the day. No one really seems to notice him all that much. Chinese Sleep Chant was pretty cool with the lasers and stuff.

What I was most impressed with was that they were able to fire up a (mostly) Vegas crowd. Crowds here are usually pretty shit.

Will’s drums sounded better when I saw them back in Dallas during the X&Y tour, but I’m just nitpicking. Oh, how has no one mentioned Guy’s robot vocoder voice during Chinese Sleep Chant? That was awesome.

---

I went and I thought it was a great show! The only thing I would have loved to hear another slow song like Amsterdam but that isn’t a complaint.

Chris also did seem very tired, both my husband and I thought so. I can see why though after the non-stop schedule. He forgot like a line to one of the songs (I honestly cannot remember which one right now) an he said “Wow, that was really embarrassing!”

I loved hearing Green Eyes and Death Will Never Conquer…..will has a spectacular voice, who would have thought….!

Coldplay performed their 3rd US arena concert at the HP Pavillion in San Jose. Pictures are in the gallery here, including some cool pictures by julianasur, and dixonr315 and benha who all attended a pre-show meet and greet [courtesy of iTunes - the lucky dubbers!] . Fan comments/reviews/videos are below.

Setlist [Thanks IneedYou23]

1 Life in Technicolor
2 Violet Hill
3 Clocks
4 In my Place
5 Viva la Vida
6 42
7 Yes
8 The Scientist
9 Chinese Sleep Chant
10 God Put A Smile Upon Your Face
11 Square One
12 Speed of Sound
13 Strawberry Swing
14 Yellow [full band]
15 Politik
16 Lost
17 The Hardest Part [acoustic]
18 Death Will Never Conquer
19 Fix You
20 Lovers in Japan
21 Death and all his Friends

Some Fan Reviews/Comments

warning… this is rather large…

soo just got back from the coldplay concert in san jose. woo! and, yes. it was my first concert.

And it was a really good first concert =)

i’d been having second thoughts about going up until like a few days ago because i was just nervous. it sounds really stupid, i know, but i didn’t know what to expect and i don’t really like loudness or crowds. and i wouldn’t be able to drive because there’s no way my car would make it down that far. and the idea of hugo driving scared me since he hasn’t driven in forever.

but i convinced myself to do it so we rented a car and hugo practiced a little and he was really ok. so after work today we drove down to san jose. we managed to get parking really close which was awesome and only had to wait in line for about half an hour. our seats were pretty good cuz i got them pre-sale through best buy. we certainly weren’t super-close to the stage but it was decent and we weren’t in the high-up top section.

so we were in 113, two rows up from… how do you describe it? another doorway, set into the wall, for the section below us you know? ok.

(the pictures are pretty blurry cuz they’re from hugo’s blackberry. it’s pretty humorous, actually)

when we sat down, there were very few people there because it was still early. but, apparently, there were people above us because someone dripped quite a lot of beer onto my knee and the floor around me. and a few drops onto my head. i smelled lovely. but it wasn’t a big deal, really. i wasn’t going to let something freak me out now that i’d made it there.

the first openers were this band… they were from san jose and had won this contest to open for coldplay. picture atlantic: http://www.myspace.com/pictureatlantic. They were pretty good, energetic. you could tell how excited they were. the singer was like “yesterday we were playing for a crowd of 40, today we’re playing for 1500! thanks for voting for us!” it was cool.

the next openers, shearwater (http://www.shearwatermusic.com/), were like the ultimate opposite. they were so like looooowwww. the music was ok but they didn’t engage w/the audience at ALL. they said like one or two sentences to us the entire time and it was like blaaaaah. and i couldn’t help but think damn if this is what concerts are like, you can count me out thanks.

but then coldplay came on, all flashing lights and a huge backdrop of liberty leading the people and it was AWESOME.

Chris Martin was wearing the exact same suit that he’s worn every time he’s been on tv over the past few months. it was a little odd. (that little white spec is him. i swear they were bigger in real life)

they played viva la vida like the 3rd or 4th song in. it was awesome. that song is the whole reason i was there. it like… music is magical. and i know that sounds uber-corny, but it’s true. it changes your perception of things, it just… i can’t even describe what that song has done for me. nor do i think i want to, since i’m starting to sound more than a little creepy.

anyway. i discovered that i like coldplay more than i thought. i mean, i’d always enjoyed their songs and all. but they are so much better live. they sound awesome. and chris martin, i dunno, i’ve always thought the media paints him out to be kind of an asshole. but he was really cool. i mean, as cool as a rockstar performing to a bazillion people can seem. he was talking to us, thanking us for being there since, as he saw it, it was a friday night in the summer and there were so many good tv shows on and so many strip clubs we could be at. (it was funny, not asshole-y)and he joked around about how some of them were slowly approaching 50 and how nice it was that we’d come out to see a slowly aging british soft rock band. nice, self-deprecating humor. who doesn’t like that? and at one point he was like “ok, i’m going to get corny. and it’s the beginning of the tour so i’m allowed to get a little corny,” (or something to that effect) and started nearly gushing about how awesome the audience was and how no one ever recognizes that.

he messed up lyrics once or twice and actually stopped and laughed and went “damn messed that one up again. o well.” and then kept singing. he was quite funny and enjoyable. it made it feel like it was an intimate performance for over 1000 people.

they had these really cool like giant… ball things that hung from the ceiling that were like tv screens of them on stage as well as colors and images and things depending on the song. i don’t know how to describe it any better….

so, things were going awesome and i was enjoying myself immensely. and i was looking at all those people crammed up at the stage (because by the time they came on, obviously, the place had become absolutely packed) and i thought “it could be kind of fun to be up there right next to them.” and then i thought “no. that’s just because you can watch it from here and think that. if you were there you’d hate it.”

it was nearing the end of the show. they played ‘politik’ for the last song and at the end, Chris Martin was like “i don’t like playing that song at the end. let’s change that.” they started to walk along this side-stage thingie and it looked like they were going to exit but then they started to run along the aisle on the floor, and then up the stairs right next to our section! we got all excited, thinking they’d exit by us. but then they stopped at that doorway thing right below us! and they had microphones all set up and started playing unplugged! it was FREAKING AMAZING! they were like “uh, we wanted to try something a little different. obviously. if you don’t like it, you can make a lot of noise and we’ll come out again and try and fix it.”

i was 15 feet from coldplay. well, the back of their heads anyway.