"It's Such a Perfect Day ..." (My Coldplay Concert Review)

Last Wednesday, Caitlyn and I attended Coldplay's concert at the United Center. We had front row tickets on the the third level that were smack dab in the middle of the stadium. The concert was amazing! Chris, Jonny, Will and Guy rocked the house, playing most of the tracks off their new album, "Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends". They also shot a video for the song "Lost!" which required them to play the song twice. The sing-alongs to "Fix You" and "Yellow" were enormous and overtook Chris Martin's vocals.

Unfortunately, I ran into huge problems with my camera (it just decided to freeze up in a weird half-way focus position) and the section we sat in was filled with a bunch of people whom I will simply call lame for a lack of a better word. Most normal, music-loving people attend a concert to have a good time because they're genuine fans of the band ... they have looked forward to the concert for a long time ... they have paid A LOT OF MONEY for their ticket ... they want to show their appreciation by getting up off their seat and clapping their hands, dancing if so moved ... singing aloud ... you get what I'm saying, right? There were people in our section who didn't even get up when they ripped into "Viva La Vida" (which sounds much better live) and "Clocks". It just really bugged me. It sounds a little harsh, but if you want to sit the whole time, stay at home and listen to the CD. (I've been throwing around this idea in my mind ... rather than a word scrabble verification, I think Ticketmaster should institute a trivia question quiz for people purchasing concert tickets for various bands so that only real fans can get tickets). Okay, thanks for letting me vent.

Again, the concert itself was great. This was my second time seeing them performing live. I first saw Coldplay when they came through town in '06 on the Twisted Logic Tour. The sound was much improved this time. I've become a huge fan of Jonny Buckland, the lead guitarist (I don't know what it is about those British boys). Each member of the band is an accomplished musician in their own right and they play more than one instrument. Caitlyn and I have joked around about plotting ways to fly across the pond to follow the band on the European leg of the tour. Perhaps, we can volunteer for Oxfam and get into the shows for free!

Here are a few of my pictures and a link to the rest on Flickr: Coldplay in Chicago (072308) Viva La Vida Tour.


Jonny and Chris during "Viva La Vida".

The band performing "Chinese Sleep Chant" on a side stage. It's too bad my camera was only semi-operable because normally this would have been an amazing shot :-(

Jonny, Will, Chris and Guy in Section 109 of the UC performing "Scientist."


Will on vocals for "Death Will Never Conquer."


Chris and Guy after the paper butterfly effects of "Lovers in Japan."

"The sky could be blue, I don't mind, Without you it's a waste of time, Could be blue, I don't mind, Without you it's a waste of time."

Strawberry Swing by: Coldplay

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