Hello there, im back. Why? Unemployment. Well not really, the holidays have been fantastic. Whoever said too much of a good thing is bad should have their head examined. Then bashed in with a dose of shut-the-hell-up. I could get used to this but there's only a month left before the island beckons. Still, ill be writing in here again if only to keep myself active and obtain healthy amounts of self indulgence while im in army.Went to the Coldplay concert on monday with Sam. Thankfully he got us some good seats, fairly near to the band, slightly elevated, perfect for some photos but neither of us brainiacs thought about bringing a camera. Pictures taken by wiser people can be found here if you're interested.
Now, though i do really like them, they aren't actually my favourite band and id be hestitant to say i was a fan. Im a 'fan' of few bands so id pay an insane amount to watch Pink Floyd, but you can't ressurrect the dead or get old men to do things, so life goes on and you get what you can.
I've never considered them lyrical powerhouses apart from afew songs; too overtly sentimental or obvious for my liking(Think 'big fish in a little pond' from Lost!) but i have to admit they've got a knack for making great catchy tunes with those soaring sing-along choruses. It works against them as well though because it often becomes wearisome and formulaic. First 2 albums were solid but X&Y was a little self-indulgent and somewhat forgettable.. Viva La Vida though? I really like that album. Alot of old coldplay fans didn't like the new sound and understandably so with what they were accustomed to, but i think it was Coldplay with an amplifier. It introduced a much needed layered sound, synthetic distortions, and some added instrumental flair. Ballads tend to sicken me after awhile. Thankfully the list for the concert had just about all the songs from it(they missed Yes but i wouldn't moan about that one.)
A really good band called Mercury Rev opened for Coldplay and i tell you what id have been happy with a full concert by just them. The singer's vocals aren't shabby at all and their psychedelic style sits very well with me. Ive read that Mercury Rev actually influenced Coldplay with their Deserters album so its weired the way things come back around. One minute you're inspiring the next generation, the next you're getting them coffee. No one does stadium anthem pop quite like Coldplay though. The concert was just fantastic.
The sound and lighting was brilliant for one thing and Chris Martin's vocals were effortlessly evocative. Part of its success has to lie with the fact that the songs on Viva, and much of Coldplay's music really, are rousing anthems that lend themselves to stadium concerts like this. Credit has to go to Chris Martin though, that guy ran himself silly and knows how to charm the crowd and get them involved. At one point he mentioned how sincerely grateful he was to everyone that made the effort to come. Heartfelt but a discount would have been gratitude enough Chris. This set me back 200, damnn. It was worth the price though, they did a large set.
These are the songs they played:
Life In Technicolor
Violet Hill
Clocks
In My Place
Yellow
Glass Of Water
Cemeteries Of London
42
Fix You
Strawberry Swing
God Put A Smile Upon Your Face (Remix)
Talk (Remix)
The Hardest Part
Postcards From Far Away
Viva La Vida
Lost!
Speed Of Sound (Acoustic)
Death Will Never Conquer
I'm A Believer (Acoustic)
Politik
Lovers In Japan
Death And All His Friends
The Scientist
Crowd was good. Not surprising since they have some rabid vocal female fans. Tell them your tired of hearing about that jaundiced baby in Yellow and you'll get a chris martin poster smacked into your face. No one was sitting down which suits me just fine. For the amount we paid i'd groove to fucking Hannah Montana. Well, no, but you get the point. The girl beside me was well enthusiastic about it and it was pretty infectious. I was moving around soon enough too albeit in a much more manly and radical way. I sneaked afew glances around in the dark from time to time and saw afew people caught in two minds between dancing and not dancing. It was interesting to see, it reminded me of the jerky trembling zombies Will Smith finds in I Am Legend.
The songs that really stand out in my memory(and its a terrible one) are Viva la vida, Lost!, and Lovers In Japan. That last one i mentioned was quite something, with even confetti raining down, and would have been perfect for the couples present. Viva was a great sing-along and the crowd got really into it, same for Lost; lighting, sound, amosphere, all blended together seamlessly.
The only low point of the day was that i paid $12 for packets of ribena. That's right, $12. Fuck.Me. And it just made me more thirsty so i had to get a $3 hundred plus can.
