My Coldplay.com - A Coldplay Blog

Pictures from Coldplay’s first Chicago show are in the gallery here [including some gorgeous ones by Radim Rotek]. Reviews and videos are below.

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 :D. 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.

[thanks Ultravioletlight25]

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All I can say is:

EPIC

Of course, the absolute highlight was Chris stopping mid-sentence to say something about our banner. I thought I was going to die right on the spot. And then at the end to have Jonny look right at us and smile…swooon.

The show was great. The crowd was electric.

I’m on cloud nine!

[thanks mel4cp]

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We didn’t get to Heaven but we made it closer than fucking possible without actually sleeping with one or all of the bandmembers!

Wooohooooooo! Aw this was the shit guys. Mel and I held up our sign while Chris was talking, then the guy next to us screamed “CHRIS” to try to get his attention, for our sign. What a nice fellow. It worked. Chris stopped mid-sentence and said “Look at that Jonny, your own fucking banner. See I told you you are a guitar hero like Slash. Only with less…sexual…prowess.”

Uh, Chris… Jonny’s sexual prowess is a huge reason he got the sign. Hello. But yeah, Jonny looked at the sign and smiled. He looked shy of course. But we gave Chris an excuse to praise Jonny, which is more than I could have ever asked for.

The sign was professionally made. Mel ordered it online. It said “REIGN OF JONNY.” This was all Mel’s idea. She is a genius. Thalia helped design it. We also have another sign we plan on whipping out tomorrow when they go on the catwalk. I’ll let Mel tell you what that one says. It’s her pride and joy.

Oh, yeah. We also held up the Jonny sign at the end when the band was clapping over their heads. We waved too. Jonny looked right at the both of us and smiled at us. Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhh…..

I brought 3 ziplock bags and we filled them up with butterflies. I have a cool video of the butterflies falling down on us. One of the only ones that actually came out clear. But I have an OK Green Eyes video too. And OK bits of GPASUYF and Chinese Sleep Chant. I will put on youtube tomorrow prolly.

[thanks KissesBirds]

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Bag O’ Coldplay

THE COLDPLAY CONCERT WAS AMAZING. So. Freakin’. Awesome. They played one of the songs of their new album, Lost!, twice because the second one was being recorded for a video. So if you see it, just know I’m in the audience. Fun!

From http://myladyteri.livejournal.com/277204.html

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That was the greatest fucking show i’ve ever gone to in my life!

[thanks vivacoldplay]

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Coldplay 7/22 at the United Center
-A.S. Matt had told me that he was working on the film crew for Tuesday’s Coldplay concert, because they were shooting a music video for “Lost!” This excited me, because I have a pension for finding the camera for these types of things. It turns out, that I had a lot more to be excited about.

Chris Martin referenced Kanye during a song and it had me hoping that he would play “Homecoming” in honor of being in Chicago.

The concert opened with “Life in Technicolor,” which also opens Viva la Vida. The instrumental song was a great way to kick off the concert, and it segued nicely into “Violet Hill.” Even though the new songs absolutely rocked live, it was time for a hit. The crowd exploded as Chris Martin played the intro to “Clocks.”

It’s always great to see a band that has so many hits, because it seems with the start of every new song comes a newer and louder set of cheers. The intro to the new album’s title track, “Viva la Vida,” had the whole crowd screaming and clapping along. Soon after it was time for the song that two of my fellow concert goers had listed as the song they wanted to hear most. Eric Blumenfeld of Kinetix and their sound/light man Adam Shapiro both got their wishes granted as the band pumped out “Fix You.”

Drummer Will Champion plays keys and guitar in addition to having an awesome rock name.

A great rock show only got greater as the night went on. The band went down to a small stage at the end of a runway in the middle of the crowd and played a couple of songs. Then they came back on stage and Chris Martin explained to the crowd that they were going to attempt to shoot the music video. He told the crowd they’d play one song to warm them up, and then play “Lost!” He said if it went well, they’d play it again.

“Yellow” got everyone in the stadium on their feet and singing along, and the first version of “Lost!” sounded awesome. Then they played it again, and that’s really when the crowd freaked out. To thank the crowd for obliging them with so much energy, the band did something special. They walked all the way to the back of the stadium and played “The Scientist” acoustically, with the whole band on one a capella mic and drummer Will Champion manning a guitar.

Martin is the picture of cool on stage and also has a sense of humor.

The band made it back up to the stage for an encore that included “Lovers in Japan” and “Death and All His Friends.” An appropriate ending considering it was the Viva La Vida Tour. The band took their bows and left the stage.

A few minutes later Chris Martin and Will Champion returned to the stage. Martin told the crowd that he didn’t know what they were going to do and that half of the band had already left to go get prostitutes. With Champion on piano and Martin on guitar, they two played “Green Eyes.” It was a nice smooth tune to send the happy crowd into the night.

[thanks http://festivalcrashers.blogspot.com]

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Matt also says…

So last night, Chris Martin announced that the Wednesday night crowd was slightly better than Tuesday night’s crowd. (Haha). Also, you forgot to mention that Will Champion also sings and that I had dinner with him Tuesday night… AND, one last thing, for the encore last night, the entire band came out but the bassist got pissed they played a song with no bass and he stormed off. Chris Martin even tried getting the crowd riled up to get the bassist back out to the stage but he refused.

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Review: Chicago Sun Times (*Chicago show #1)
by Jim DeRogatis

Coldplay throws party for 20,000 Chicagoans
Brits try hard to stay up close and personal with their fans

Even after several million albums sold, British art-rockers Coldplay are still conflicted about their status as an arena act, and that’s one of their most endearing traits.

On the one hand, front man Chris Martin and his bandmates do everything they can to maximize the big rock spectacle, the grand theatrical gesture and the musical bombast.

On Tuesday, the first night of a two-night stand at the United Center, the musicians came out dressed in pseudo-Napoleonic uniforms and began to perform in front of a giant backdrop of Delacroix’s French Revolutionary painting, “Liberty Leads the People,” which happens to be the cover of their new album, “Viva La Vida.”

Several big globes hung from the ceiling and flashed video images of the band as it played; at times, the group deployed more lasers than any band since Genesis, and during the song “Lovers in Japan,” a seemingly endless rain of colorful paper butterflies fell on the crowd.

On the other hand, Martin has never been afraid to let his inner geek show: He’s the anti-Bono, dancing like an awkward little urchin instead of striking cool larger-than-life poses, and never hesitant to do his Schroeder routine at his black upright piano.

Throughout the 90-minute set, the bandleader frequently thanked the fans for their support, sounding genuinely surprised at his own success. And he, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman and drummer Will Champion did everything they could to get up close and personal, running to the end of the platform on stage right, performing two songs at the end of the platform on stage left and eventually hopping down from the stage altogether to briefly perform acoustically in the midst of the fans in the first tier off the floor.

None of this made the show as intimate as the one the group played at Metro to celebrate the release of its last album, “X&Y.” But it felt as special as any party for 20,000 can, and the goodwill the band created extended to the audience indulging two renditions of the new song “Lost” for the benefit of a video filming, as well as the heavy sampling of the more arty, less anthemic songs from “Viva La Vida” sprinkled between guaranteed crowd pleasers such as “Clocks,” “In My Place” and “Yellow.”

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Thanks to angie for this report

OK Lori and I went down to the United Center early this afternoon to see if we could catch them coming in for sound check. WE walk around to where the loading dock is and we see Miller walking up the drive way, by the time we could get over there, he was gone and not sure where he went. The guard was also gone. We were waiting when some guy on a bike comes uo and starts talking to us. Then while he’s there, first a white van with tinted windows pulls in and Lori is freaking because she could see someone with a hat on. It drives down to the back entry and people are getting out and going into the venue, they are too far for us to tell who it is. Then comes 2 black GMCs with windows so dark that you can’t see anything inside. They drive down the ramp and the big doors open and they drive into the venue. A little while later, they come back out empty and park down there. Shit that was the band. So we are kinda easing our way down the drive way and here comes the security man who tells us to get back to the side walk. Then Lori says hay isn’t that bike dude down there! OMG he must have been sent here to distract us! Security man drives down to him and tosses him out. We couldn’t ever figure out how he got down there. We went and picked up Mel and when we got back to the venue, we drove up and turned around at that gate just to fuck with security guy. A cop comes up to the window and says we can’t go there and we say “oh we’re just turning around” and security guy tells the cop “They know they can’t be here I already had to throw them out.”

Mel and Lori had awesome seats, I had shit seats. I got busted twice by security for taping. Mel and Lori had a sign about Jonny and Chris started talking about it! They would tell you about it themselves, but I think they’re dead.

When we got there we saw signs saying we would be filmed but thought it was bullshit. Live Lost video woot! After they played The Scientist in the acoustic set I had lost all hope for Green Eyes. The Will Chris version was a total surprise. BEAUTIFUL! But Green Eyes without Jonny is just wrong wrong wrong! Shame on you Christopher Martin.

I was in section 5 and could not see anything. I just held my camera up as high as I could and shot video. I need to download it off my camera and see if any of it is worth a damn.

I have better seats for tomorrow night so rock on.

Mel got Jonny’s set list. It has Lost! (times 2 ) on it and no mention of Green Eyes so that was just a special treat.

I must say the Yellow sing along was rather spectacular!

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I am having such a Coldplay Hang Over– I know last time I posted to you girls about going to the show I was only going with my fanhubbie on Wed., but at 3:30 he drove downtown to the United Center and bought tickets to Last nights show for us & all 3 kids !!! And we got AMAZING front row seats at the top of the catwalk….When I heard Chris mention y’alls sign my husband said ” that must be those crazy Jonny fans you were telling me about!!” I had a big poster that said “Viva La Coldplay” and Chris came over and looked straight at it and gave us a thumbs up….my 11 year old screamed like a banshee when that happened - the people around us gave us high fives and congrats etc! My husband was game for a little post show stalking so we drove over to the Ritz-C to check and see if the bar was open (it wasn’t) but as we pulled up in front of the hotel we had to swing out a little wide to avoid a black SUV and out from the back pops……………………………………Jimm y Buffet. Awwwwww, bummer. Not the celeb sighting we were hoping for. If you guys are still meeting preshow in front of the MJ statue let me know time etc. and we’ll look for y’all tonight. Our seats are sec. 122 which is just beyond the catewalk, Front Row. I’m going to bring a banner that I can hang on the railing but I havn’t thought of what to put on it yet…Any Thoughts? Maybe something clever to complement yours. Where are your seats? Holler back soon and hope to see y’all at the show….I cannot wait for another awesome night!!!!!!!!!!!!~~

[thanks Kelly]

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Paying for parking at the venue: $10
Hotel, Flight, Ticket to Show, and Banner: $400

Stalking Coldplay members and getting to meet them: Priceless!

[thanks Carolyn Marie]

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The show was AWESOME!!! Even with seats at the 300 level I had a great time. I brought my binoculars so I could experience the whole stadium and effects and then look through my binoculars at times to see what the band was doing. I am so glad they mixed it up so much with songs from many of their different albums and some accoustic stuff and some very danceable stuff. Even though I was in the 300s, the people behind me stood up for most of the concert. So, that was cool. At least the people around me were into it.

All the Viva la Vida songs that were played sounded great and Chris’s voice was spot on yesterday. In comparison to some of the performances on tv…he made all the notes- I was so happy for him! And you could hear that he made them, because the microphone sounded like it was right next to him. You could hear voice very clearly in a lot of the songs.

They played In my place….which I love!!! and he and everyone else got into it. Yeaahhhhh….how long can you wait for it….yeah….

The effects were really cool…lasers, the balls, butterflies and them rocking on the catwalks. We had tickets in the 300 level so you could see all the people and the stage was directly across from us. This was great. I felt like I experienced the show as a whole and I was able to see all of the guys. Usually when you are too close to the stage, you end up only getting to see one or two of the band members. This time I was able to see all of them as a whole group, a whole band.

I am glad that there were many times where the band got closer to other parts of the audience. It is cool that they are making this effort. And I think they are really doing it for the benefit of all the fans. This time around I was not able to pay for closer tickets, but that they make an effort to sing closer to all the people in the arena makes me happy. Since they can’t or don’t play in smaller venues anymore, this is a nice touch that they are doing. It also brings more variety to the show itself which is nice.

All in all it was a great show. I was happy with everything that they played. I didn’t read any other shows setlists or reviews as to be satisfied with what I got. I felt like they played a variety of stuff and was happy when they kept playing more and more songs. I wasn’t sure how long they were going to play for.

Btw…Chris, if you see this you can play a two-three hour show if you want to. He mentioned something about playing 1 1/2hours… I don’t ever mind more …althought it did feel substantial.

I saw the sign that the coldplayers made….with my binoculars…and I thought to myself…hmmm I wonder it that was made by anyone here. It was! That is pretty cool! You know Chris is Jonny’s self esteem booster! Kind of cute.

That was so awesome that they taped “Lost!” I love that song. It sounded so great in concert! I was dancing, waving, singing and clapping throughout both times that they played it. For some reasone I was thinking they were going to tape Yellow when they mentioned the taping…but I guess that was just to pump us up. I thought it was cool when Chris said that we all did a great job…more than he expected.

Hopefully they will use that video.

On one last note… do they usually play Green Eyes or an encore?

I would like to thank Coldplay, especially Chris and Will, if they ever read this. It may just be a total coincidence…but they played Green Eyes for an encore and I asked the oracle to play that song instead of Fix You yesterday. I have no idea if they read those things…but if they do… You made my day yesterday. Again it is probably a total coincidence…but Thank You. Chris and Will’s vocal harmonies on that song were awesome…really sounded great in one part. That is also cool that Will plays piano. And I love that song, because it is so acoustic and Chris sings it from the heart. It also reminded me of the time that they sang at the UIC pavillion. I hadn’t gotten the AROBTH album yet, but heard that song in concert and loved it…it felt personal…Chris was very chatty back then…

I yelled Thank You throughout the song…but I don’t know if they heard me…I was all the way in the 300s. Chris also mentioned Kanye West in his lyrics and that was weird and probably coincidental again…because I also asked for Chris to sing with Kanye West….

Weird…

Anyways, thanks Coldplay for the great concert. Can’t wait to see you guys again…hopefully in the near future. Come back to Chicago or its surroundings…it is always welcome to you! Too bad the band has gotten so popular that I haven’t gotten to meet all of them yet. Hopefully one day I can.

[thanks gvargas]

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Alright. So that was pretty awesome huh?!

I got to the United Center and got in at about 5 with Oxfam, and I heard Coldplay doing their soundcheck, and I wanted to run out to the stage and yell, “I love you,” but that was against the rules.

Oxfam was great, all the people were amazing.
Oh and btw, I talked to someone on the tour with Coldplay and he said that Coldplay will stay in the city that tthey are playing in until like the night before the next show or something, so they won’t leave chicago right after.

[thanks icedude2010]

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Saw the first Chicago show (My first for this tour). Long story short I thought it was both a terrific show and represented an improvement by the band in many respects from the other times I’ve seen them live. Some thoughts:

-Good setlist. The new songs really came alive played live and the old ones all sounded tight as well. Was impressed that they lengthened the set as well. Also by my count, no two shows yet on the tour have had the exact same setlist which is cool.

-Both Jonny and Guy seemed more energetic than I had seen them ever before. These two have really stepped up their stage style IMHO.

-Chris’ voice was MUCH better than both times I saw them during Twisted Logic. Also about him letting backup tapes “do most of the work”, it seemed to me that when backup tapes were extensively used, he was busy playing guitar. Most of the songs where he wasn’t playing something (and thus would be free to do some of the work the backing tracks did) were those songs not using heavy backing.

-Side stage bit was cool but totally lifted from the first encore of Popmart (thankfully sans giant fruit)

-Acoustic set was a bit weird. IMHO heavily traded sound quality for the novelty of playing in the audience.

Overall, best Coldplay show I’ve been to (out of 5 total). It seems to me the new live show seeks to actively adress some of the critisisms that have been made about Coldplay as a live act in the past, and again IMHO, they’ve succeeded in that regard.
Anyway-reasons why I feel the new live show is bar far the band’s best

LENGTH-I know some people still have a problem with the length of the set, but I feel the band is, at the very least, trying to improve in this regard, and at best, have put this complaint to rest. To be fair, I always felt this complaint was unfounded during Twisted Logic given the size of the band’s catalog. It’s unfair to compare them to veteran acts that have 20-30 years of material to draw from. (and are also generally more expensive) Coldplay are one of very few major headliners I can think of who’s top priced tickets have a face value under $100 U.S. 20-22 songs (which is what the new set is) is to me, very reasonable for a band with four LP’s in their catalog

JON & GUY-these two are much better stage performers now then they’ve ever been in the past. They’ve both really stepped up IMHO

CHRIS’ VOICE-Much better then either time I saw them during Twisted Logic

NEW SONGS- VLVODAAHF is my favorite LP of the 4, so any show with music from that record is cool in my book.

Once again, I in no way mean to belittle anyone’s opinion, but I love the new shw and would take it over the old one any day.

[thanks fakfak]

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Jason loves to surprise me. One day a few weeks ago while I was on a walk with a friend, he busily scurried around to paint the nursery, then he patiently waited for me to go in there and notice, which was about 10 hours of waiting! (I would never have been able to wait that long!) Another morning, after talking the day before about the fact that Coldplay was coming to Chicago, he surprised me by sharing that he got us two tickets. (WOO HOO!) His love of surprises is a very childlike trait! And it’s sure fun to be on the receiving end.

The concert, Coldplay’s Viva La Vida Tour, was this last Tuesday at the United Center and to say it was awesome would be a huge understatement! What a delight to hear their distinctive tunes live… unbelievable! For those of you who’ve downloaded our recent magazine about music, you already know what Jason and I think of live music.

Not a surprise, it was a sold-out show. The crowd was eager. As we waited for the concert to start, Jason and I shared smiles and comments about a very cute couple in front of us to the left. They happened to be baby boomers, showing oodles of anticipation, literally sitting at the edge of their seats. They passed the time with their digital camera, taking turns reaching out an arm to capture both of them in that classic couple pose. Their enthusiasm was oozing.

Meanwhile, of the 24,000 people there, I was lucky enough to sit next to what must’ve been a relative of the Adultitis Guy. He was a Gen-Y’er, half the age of the couple in front of us. He was there with his girlfriend and although he didn’t seem unhappy to be there, his true colors were soon to shine when Chris Martin took the stage.

Here’s how it went down. The concert started with the acoustic tune Life In Technicolor. Everyone screamed… and immediately the woman in front of us jumped anxiously to her feet, screaming and cheering with her hands in the air. She was pumped! (As were we!) This was the moment we all had been waiting for (especially through two very horrific opening acts). Except for a few slow songs, in which everyone around us sat for a rest, the woman ahead of us stood for about 90% of the concert, much to the chagrin of my neighbor to the left. He sulked, sighed, shook his head, shrugged his shoulders, and spent much of his energy being distracted. In his defense, her standing prevented him from seeing the stage, but there was one very simple solution. So badly I wanted to turn to him and say, “Buddy, let it go and stand up, already. You’re at a rock concert for Pete’s sake! Live a little!”

Doesn’t it all come down to your attitude? I’m sure his concert was somewhat, if not totally, ruined because of this childlike woman who seemed to squeeze every ounce of enjoyment out of each chorus and hook. Such a shame to pay so much money and end up pouting… what a childish display!

In life, circumstances are often out of your control, but wisdom and peace is found when you make the effort to change your attitude. I wish, for his sake, that this 20-something would’ve had the perspective to do so.

This whole display reminded me of how unimportant age really is. It means nothing! It’s all about your attitude and actions, not how many candles cover your cake each year. Ironically, the wisdom to let go and be more childlike often comes with age.

I want to die young at a ripe old age. -Ashley Montagu

I found a clip on YouTube of a song from our concert. Chris (the lead singer) often reminds me of the Charlie Brown dancers. His childlike movements are so much fun to watch! Enjoy…

http://kimandjason.com/blog/

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VIDEOS [more videos here]

Life In Technicolor/Violet Hill [thanks vivacoldplay]

Clocks/In My Place [thanks vivacoldplay]

In My Place [thanks angie!] I’m liking the butt squeeze…

Viva La Vida [thanks faithakiyama]

Yes [thanks angie!]

42 [thanks mel4cp] Excellent quality

[thanks angie!]

[thanks TimaysAWESOMEname]

Fix You [thanks angie] Giant Guy = *sigh*

Strawberry Swing [thanks angie!]

Another version [thanks mel4cp]

Lovely closeup of Jonny and Chris [thanks mel4cp]

Chinese Sleep Chant [thanks angie!]

God Put A Smile Upon Your Face [thanks Angie!]

Speed Of Sound [thanks vivacoldplay]

[thanks faithakiyama]

Yellow [thanks vivacoldplay -great banner moment for mel4cp!]

Lost! [thanks megachan9]

Coldplay - Lost - Chicago 07/22/08 - HiDef from Dariusz Leonczyk on Vimeo.

Another version [thanks mel4cp]

The Scientist [thanks angie!]

Death Will Never Conquer [thanks angie!]

Politik [thanks vivacoldplay]

Lovers in Japan [thanks vivacoldplay]

High quality version by angie!

Death And All His Friends [thanks vivacoldplay]

The Escapist

Green Eyes (Chris and Will Only) [thanks vivacoldplay]

[thanks faithakiyama]

Another version [thanks skeletronat0r]