Small Reminders/Updates on Coldplay.com (feat. Roadie #42!)

[Christa42]

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Originally Posted by NumbersGirl;5107300
Agreed! And with all the presale tickets being sold to AMEX holders, I almost feel like I have to break down and get a card (for no other reason).

Based on the dates posted thus far, it looks like they'll to some east coast / east-midwest shows in the fall, and come back around the following summer for the "shed" gigs (similar to the schedule for the Viva tour). I mean, they haven't even listed New York dates, and I highly doubt they'd leave that out ( + Detroit). I just hope they don't end up having dates at the same time as Radiohead (who haven't announced theirs yet either)... I'd scream in frustration.

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some very good points, at first I was surprised about the whole NY thing but realized they will prob come back around, NJ is a stones throw away(the acoustics stink there) , but New Jersey is Not New York. and the whole Radiohead thought kills me, but Coldplay is smarter than that

[NumbersGirl]

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Originally Posted by Christa42;5108208
and the whole Radiohead thought kills me, but Coldplay is smarter than that

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And apparently you are right... the new European dates Coldplay announced today are during the gaps of Radiohead's European tour. I just hope they maintain that pattern for the second leg of the US tour.

[suzanafg]

Roadie #42 - Blog #157
9 December 2011
#42 reports back from the first two arenas shows and the tiny Dingwalls gig

Greetings. I’ve one foot out the door to the O2 show, so not much time to catch up on what’s been a pretty eventful week. The arena shows finally kicked off in Glasgow on Saturday. I’m pretty sure that the first UK arena on the Rush Of Blood tour was the SECC in Glasgow. We’d done a bunch of shows, but it was the first one where we had the “Cinemascope” bendy screen above the stage.

This time, the production is somewhat different. The cinemascope screen back then was to try to ensure everyone got a great view of the show no matter where they were. This time however, things were somewhat different. This time, the production is more about making the audience *part* of the show. Indeed for several songs in the set, the lightshow isn’t something to wow the audience into submission - instead, for a good portion of the night, the audience *are* the lightshow.

Coldplay glowbands - Glasgow SECC - 3 Dec 2011 - YouTube

It’s a good turnaround. At its worst, tour production can be about a designer building a monument to themselves and putting the band somewhere within it. By working with the right people, these guys have thankfully avoided that throughout their career. Now they’re at the height of making the show about the crowd. Quite who has the best seat in the house is now entirely debatable.

Glasgow isn’t without its own first night gremlins. There’s howlingly bum notes, equipment failures and all the usual merry gang that accompanies getting it all out in public for the first time. But what a crowd though. I remember my favourite live album when I was growing up had in its liner notes a special thank you to the Glaswegian audience, crediting them with backing vocals. I always wondered quite how amazing a Glaswegian crowd could be - and every single time I come here I’m reminded.

The following show at Manchester MEN arena marks the first “back to back” meaning that the gear is loaded out from one show until the early hours of the morning, driven to the next city and set again up a few hours later. It will surprise nobody that there are plenty of tired folks around come showtime. The band walk on though, and the shape of the arena (and the fact that there are folks behind the band too) makes the wristbands look completely stunning. The video in the digi tour pack gives you some idea.



Before the show, I bump into Jonny’s dad, who’s wandering around taking it all in. I muse that he’s probably seen them in some smaller places than this. The first time he saw Coldplay was at Telford Warehouse, which is essentially the back room of a pub. Wonder what he thought as the show took flight tonight?



I have to say, that through the festival shows, I was a bit worried that the Viva chant was going to overshadow everything. Fans would start singing it before the band came onstage and even in the gaps during the show. It’s clear though that Charlie Brown is going to become an absolute highpoint of these shows. I also checked Twitter on the way home and pleasingly, someone had posted that “Paradise seems to be the most whistled song as everyone walks out”. Looks like the new record has brought its own magic with it.



So from huge arenas, to….. a 450-capacity club of course!

The band are doing a show for Jo Whiley on BBC Radio 2 at Dingwalls in Camden. Both Jo and the venue are hugely instrumental in the band’s early history, so it’s a special day. The soundcheck is hilarious. Half the BBC appear to have come down, prompting the question as to whether there’ll be any room for punters later on.



Chris asks jokingly whether we should “check the B-stage now”, before realising that the B-stage on the current arena show is a good deal bigger than the stage they’re currently on.





The setlist gets a slight alteration before showtime. The news somehow doesn’t make it through the information superhighway to me, which leads to the band being onstage and my keyboard corner being in complete chaos and confusion. Thankfully, this isn’t a live broadcast, so it’s not a major issue.

Things going south can put you in a strange mood for the gig though. I spend the rest of the show in “under fire” mode, constantly waiting for the next hostile visit from the fuck-up-fairy.

I’m led to believe it was a blinder of a show. Maybe I’ll watch it on the telly and see….

R42

Source

[busybeeburns]

my tweet about Paradise made it to the blog

[Christa42]

You made it to the big time Boss Man!

I love how he says "Record"

great pics as always, I want that camera

[NumbersGirl]

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Originally Posted by Christa42;5109006
You made it to the big time Boss Man!

I love how he says "Record"

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In regard to Paradise? I think that really is the technical term for it though in the music industry, even though it sounds weird (to some of us, since we associate record with being the album as a whole instead of just the song). If you watch some of those "best of" compilation shows on VH1 where they get musicians' input, they always refer to the songs as "that record". Took me awhile to get used to that.

[coldplayisawesome]

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Originally Posted by NumbersGirl;5109501
In regard to Paradise? I think that really is the technical term for it though in the music industry, even though it sounds weird (to some of us, since we associate record with being the album as a whole instead of just the song). If you watch some of those "best of" compilation shows on VH1 where they get musicians' input, they always refer to the songs as "that record". Took me awhile to get used to that.

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i thought he did mean it as the whole album, since he also talked about Charlie Brown and stuff.

[NumbersGirl]

Quote:

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Originally Posted by coldplayisawesome;5109822
i thought he did mean it as the whole album, since he also talked about Charlie Brown and stuff.

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“Paradise seems to be the most whistled song as everyone walks out”. Looks like the new record has brought its own magic with it.

[zzz]

Love Is All It Takes by Nathalie Mitchell
12 December 2011 5:57 pm
A song written, in part, to thank Coldplay for organising Under 1 Roof

Love Is All It Takes - Nathalie Mitchell - YouTube

Good evening. Natalie Mitchell is a 24-year-old young mother from Brixton, London, supported by Kids Company (the charity Saturday's Under 1 Roof show raised funds for).

Nathalie has overcome some severe challenges in her life to go on to produce some extraordinary songs. Her Debut single Love Is All It Takes was inspired by her journey to survive, her life as a teenage mother and the support given to her by Kids Company. The song is also written to thank Coldplay for organising Under 1 Roof.

Camila Batmanghelidjh, the founder of the charity said, "Music plays such an important part in the lives of young people Kids Company supports, whether using it as a form of therapy, helping them to re-engage with education, or to initialise structure that has been absent from their everyday lives. By giving young people opportunities we discover so many talents that would otherwise go unnoticed."

When talking about the single Nathalie said, "I can't believe I have been able to follow my dream and make this song. David who helped create the track, I can't ever thank him enough. I've have also wanted to thank Kids Company for so long and this has been the best way I could ever do it. Kids Company has actually saved my life, it mended my heart. I don’t know where I'd be without them. As a mother my children mean the world, and now thanks to Kids Company we have a chance at a better life."

Love Is All It Takes is released on 20th December 2011 and will be available from iTunes.

Anchorman

[Twisted mind]

Very nice song

[Christa42]

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NumbersGirl;5109501
In regard to Paradise? I think that really is the technical term for it though in the music industry, even though it sounds weird (to some of us, since we associate record with being the album as a whole instead of just the song). If you watch some of those "best of" compilation shows on VH1 where they get musicians' input, they always refer to the songs as "that record". Took me awhile to get used to that.

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ha,well I'm so old that's what we called them when I was a kid

[Tash]

Roadie #42 - Blog #158
12 December 2011 11:02 pm
#42 muses on a triumphant TV performance and two homecoming shows


Back in 2002, very shortly after I joined the Coldplay travelling circus, we found ourselves in a tiny club in San Francisco. I remember the soundcheck having been somewhat eventful, almost ending in fisticuffs over nothing of any great import. Shortly before showtime, I dived into the dressing room to clarify something about the setlist. Chris was in mid-stream, giving an impassioned monologue - to whom exactly, I don’t remember - I was more concerned with getting the information I needed without interrupting.

As I left though, I caught a phrase that he was hammering emphatically. “…It’s still all about bringing passionate music into the mainstream, which is what we’ve always been about…”

The phrase came back (somewhat shortened) minutes later when the intro tape finished and they smashed into Politik. Chris yelped the phrase over the opening chords (he used to yell all manner of random stuff at the start of that tune back in the day I seem to remember).

I’d been with the band a mere month or two at this point, but I took it as a statement of intent. It’s stuck with me to this day.

Back then, of course, they still dressed like scruffy students and the majority of the public didn’t really have a clue who they were. They might have heard of Yellow, but for the most part, Coldplay “belonged” to a relatively small group of people “in the know”. This meant that they could be loved not just by real live human beings, but also by those who appoint “credibility”.

The band no longer dress as scruffy students (but then why should they, having graduated over a decade ago and covered thousands upon thousands of miles since?). They’ve also committed many crimes deemed heinous and unacceptable by the tastemakers. They’ve sold a very large number of records, they’ve fallen in love and got married - and most disgraceful of all, they’ve demonstrated a willingness to promote their music.

I don’t really see any change to their intent. The music they play now is no less passionate than when I met them. If anything, I’d say they’re more focused in their intensity and power. They’re a different band in many ways, but they’re still carrying the very same flag. They’re still making passionate music, and as for bringing it to the mainstream? Well, that brings me to the point of all of this.

Coldplay's glowing gig - The X Factor 2011 Live Final - itv.com/xfactor - YouTube

Last night they played on the final of the X Factor. (For those outside the UK, I’m sure you have seen similar shows - think American Idol, or whatever your nation’s equivalent might be).

There has been a lot of discussion over whether this was a good idea - not least within the Coldplay camp itself. I remember first hearing that it was a possibility. “Man, you’re handing haters some pretty huge bullets there…” was my first thought.

The downsides are obvious. It now becomes effortless for the cool kids to lay out their case against the band. For some, the X Factor is the devil. It is regularly painted as the source of all evil in the current music industry. Indeed, as an angry young man back in my own student days, I’d have ranted at length against it, I expect.

I even struggle with all those feelings when I arrive on the day. It was partly the nerves of a tricky live show in front of 15 million or so. It had struck me that in many ways, fucking up tonight could be more of a big deal than if Glastonbury had gone wrong. The TV audience is much larger and indeed is not at all Coldplay’s crowd - many would be watching hoping to be able to hate them.

All of this was making me uneasy - it was a pressure gig, for sure. It put me in a frame of mind that really began to question whether this was a good idea at all.

Like many of the band’s crazier schemes though, it makes sense to me only when it finally takes place. The barrage of VT finishes and the floor manager cues the band. The room lights up as the song kicks in and it soon becomes clear that they’re absolutely nailing it up there.

Once they take flight, it’s impossible not to be carried along with it. I’m taken right back to that San Francisco dressing room in 2002. They’re doing what they’ve always done. They’re making the very best music they can and they’re putting it where as many people as possible can see it and make their own minds up.

My Twitter timeline has a good selection of snarky cynics, but when I leave the venue and have a quick read, even they have posted messages at having been sat wide-eyed at the performance. Doubtless, there’s plenty of people who didn’t watch who’ll carry on thinking that this marks the band’s ultimate sellout. There’s probably some who watched it and weren’t that impressed. I’ll bet you there’s a hell of a lot more that watched who were very surprised with what they saw.

Now, I’m as cynical and sarcastic as the next person (in fact on a good day, I’m as cynical and sarcastic as the next five or six people…) but I couldn’t help but be proud of the fellas last night. They haven’t just got away with it - merely turning in a decent performance at a controversial choice of show. They’ve taken a risk and then they’ve absolutely “smashed it” (to coin a phrase…)

These views of course, are my own. Your own may differ. For all I know, the band’s may, too. (I was out the back door within 15 minutes of the performance and won’t see anyone until tomorrow.) I’ve a feeling though, that it’ll go down as a bit of a watershed moment.

But that’s not all that’s been going on. We’ve had a couple of rather large hometown shows, too.





The first O2 show sees the return to the setlist of Don’t Panic. And a rare lead vocal from the Bucklander.

Don't Panic at The O2 - YouTube

As befits a hometown show, there are friends and family aplenty. Every corner you turn sees another member of the touring party showing a small gathering of their clan around the sprawling roadie village beneath, beside and behind the stage.

String Maestro Davide Rossi is in attendance and, as ever, brings his own ray of sunshine to proceedings. Various band parents are here too and the whole home and family vibe means it’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.

This is enhanced the following night when we have another show in the same venue, but of a completely different kind. It’s the Under 1 Roof show, in honour of a charity, Kids Company, that the fellas have been heavily involved with for some time now.

The phrase “Under One Roof” and the logo has been sprayed in graffiti all over the studio for the past couple of years. It's also appeared in the bottom corner of many pages of Chris’s notebook and even on handwritten setlists we’ve been given. Finally seeing the event come into being then, is a huge deal.

That’s not to say it’s all smooth sailing. There’s a very strong Muppet Show feel to the whole day, as everyone races around trying to work out just exactly what the hell is going on. There’s a whole bunch of additional folks on the bill tonight, from Tinie Tempah to Rob Brydon, to Steve Coogan's a(-haaa)lmighty Alan Partridge.

Partridge is an absolute comedy legend to so many of us. Chris appears to know the scripts to every single episode of his shows word for word, so to have him share a stage is a huge deal.

It’s good-natured chaos for the whole evening and ends with a duet that I’m certainly not likely to forget in a hurry…



It’s becoming difficult to keep up with just how many high points keep popping up through this campaign. It really is shaping up to be quite a ride.

R42

[Coeurli]

^ Wow, I couldn't agree more with R42 about the whole X-factor polemic & performance.

[Safy]

Thanks for posting ...

This is the best R42 blog I read for a long time..He wrote it so passionately

[craigwdasc]

Totally agree with Roadie 42. They took a huge gamble; risking yet more hate but in the end stealing the show IMO. Hopefully that will silence a few critics who were quick to brand them "sell outs" as R.42 says. It was great promotion for Charlie Brown, deservedly so, it's a fantastic song and amazing live. Plus, the Xylobands (I really hope that name catches on!) are causing quite a stir. I'm sure many big name acts will follow Coldplay's lead and use them at concerts. (Olympic opening ceremony perhaps?)