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

[iUSED2RULEtheWORLD]

[SwallowedInSea]

Roadie 42 certainly thinks Anchorman will confirm the EP news soon.... eeee I'm so excited!!!

[busybeeburns]

Albert Hammond Jr interview
September 2, 2008 7:22 pm
We catch up with Coldplay's latest support act

http://coldplay.com/newsdetail.php?id=114

With Albert Hammond Jr supporting Coldplay on the current European leg of the Viva La Vida tour, we gave The Strokes' guitarist a shout before the Strasbourg show to find out more about his solo project.


Albert, second left, and his band

Hi Albert. So, it's the first gig of the European tour today.
Yes it is. I'm about to do soundcheck.

Are you excited?
Are you kidding? Yeah, I'm very excited.

It must be quite strange to be supporting when you're used to being in a big headlining band yourself?
No, it's not strange. I feel really lucky, happy and excited. You have all the excitement of the venue and being a part of something that's so big, but without the pressure. It's not your show, so even if you fuck up terribly people will just be like, "Oh well, the support band wasn't so good". But when it's your show - people have come to see you so you feel that pressure to really deliver for your fans.

Do you approach a support gig differently to a headline one?
I guess my goals are always big. I try and make an impact on people, to leave the crowd feeling excited for what's coming next. I'll just be pushing and trying to do my best.

When you're with The Strokes, do you guys pick your support bands?
Yeah, we do similar things to Coldplay. We do shows that we can sell-out alone, so then we can bring in whoever we want. We'd much rather do it that way.

Presumably you'll hope to win over some new fans on this tour?
Yeah, that's the great thing about opening - you can reach people that might not have heard you. You're playing to a different crowd every night and to an awful lot of people. If I saw an opening band and I liked it I would assume that the headlining band like them too. I never see an opening band and think, "They must hate them!" Ha ha!

But you do hear about tours where support bands get bought on by their labels.
For sure, but you can always feel that vibe. The whole fun thing that made me so excited about doing this tour is that I know some of the guys from Coldplay. They're a good bunch of guys and I'm looking forward to hanging out, playing music and having fun.

It's quite a long tour across a lot of countries.
Yes, 22 shows in like 30 days.

Are these countries you've been to with The Strokes?
I think I've been to most of them with The Strokes and last year with my solo stuff, but a lot of the smaller cities in these countries I've never been to. So it'll be interesting to see what they're like.

Do you get time to sight-see when you're on a tour like this?
I imagine we will have a chance to walk around and see some things. I hope so.

For those who don't know your solo music, can you give us a rough idea of what it sounds like?
It's melodic music - I like melody and I like rhythms. I think it'll be a fun half a hour before you see Coldplay - I think it's a really good match. That's what I remember telling them when I was saying that I wanted to open for them. I thought we'd make a really good match musically. I felt it would feel like a great show.

So did you ask if you could support them?
Yeah, we were actually making our records at the same time and we were going to be putting them out at the same time, so I was saying "Let me come out on the road". But I was actually surprised that I got the gig. Every band would want to come and do this tour. It's an amazing experience. Even though I know them, I still feel very lucky that I got it.

When did you meet them?
I think the first time was backstage at an Oasis show in New York, when I met Chris and Guy. And then I met Jonny and became really good friends with him. Every time he comes to New York and every time I go to London we always go for dinner. He's great. We just really click as friends.

Some people would imagine that someone like you who's in a massive band might be too proud to support a band like Coldplay.
I don't really like that mentality. I don't understand it. We're all doing the same thing, just trying to get by playing music. I'm excited for them that they've reached the level they have. And it's fun to be apart of it.

Presumably you've been to see Coldplay live before?
Yes, many times. A few years ago I almost actually came along for a week of shows with them. I had my bag packed and everything, then I had to goon tour. But the last time I saw them was in New York earlier this year when they did the free show at Madison Square Garden.

What did you think of the New York show?
It was great. I love how they go on a little stage and then go to the back of the crowd. You can see it's really fun for the fans. It's really cool to still try to find a way to make something feel intimate, especially at the back where the people usually never see the band. And then, of course, all the lights and stuff are something you have to do on these big shows, but they do a great job of it. It's very beautiful.

Do you think you'll be playing music with them on this tour? Either backstage or onstage?
I have no idea. But I hope to hang out, yeah.

And finally, what's your favourite Coldplay song?
Probably Fix You. I remember I was on tour and I hadn't heard the song and I saw the video. It really got me. The video really works with the song. I was just like, "Wow! This is amazing!".

Well you'll get to hear it 22 times in the next 30 days.
Yeah! I'll have it memorised. I'll be able to do the lights.

To find out more about Albert Hammond Jr, click here to check out his MySpace.

[ApproximatelyInfinite]

i'm still bitter that he's not doing an american leg with coldplay

[Mimixxx]

I didn't realise until today how intense this leg of the tour is! 22 dates in 30 days and they're playing like France, Germany, France, Spain...jumping all over the show. They'll be knackered

[Carlaatje]

don't forget holland so excited!

[busybeeburns]

Newsreel special: Live Lyon photoblog
September 4, 2008 8:35 am
We're off to Lyon with the band

Good morning. We're pleased to announce that we're heading to Lyon with Coldplay today, from where we'll be updating the site with behind-the-scenes footage throughout the afternoon and evening. So keep it locked (as they say) to Coldplay.com.

Anchorman

[Lauve]

Anchorman

[Jenjie]

I've created a thread for Anchorman's live Lyon updates. It's here

[melanieau]

Roadie #42 - blog #24
September 9, 2008 8:50 pm
#42 reports from the first European shows

Well then dear reader, that's the first week of European touring done. After the US leg finally beginning to feel as though it was settling into a groove, the less experienced (or slightly more optimistic) roadie might be forgiven for expecting this run to be simply a case of coasting along on auto-pilot from where we left off. Obviously though, this being Coldplay, everything is getting a fresh appraisal. New approaches are considered, embellishments added, whole sections dropped and replaced, then completely reworked.

The band have undergone huge growth with this record and it's clear that they're continuing on with that trajectory. The tour is like a toddler on a growth spurt. Every time we find it a nice pair of shoes that fits and send it off to school happy that we've kitted it out properly, it wakes up taller, bigger and bursting with even more energy. There's not time to sew the name tags into the shirt before they've outgrown it.

It can be overwhelming at times and certainly, for those in the crew who haven't experienced a Coldplay tour before, it's taken some adjustment. Much of the job seems to be about anticipating what might come next, or what the band might ask for. It means a lot more work, as inevitably for everything that actually happens, you end up organising and preparing three or four things that don't. In all honesty though, it's so much better than touring for this length of time with a show that's "set in stone". Boredom creeps in easily and tedium can be far more exhausting than anything else. That's not to say that the panic of hearing "can we make this happen, so we can do this song tonight?" gets any less intense - just that everyone knows that it's (usually) worth it. Either way, I'm nominating this tour for the "most tweaked setlist of all time" award.



The B-Stage is the epicenter of change right now. It begins the week with the techno tunes dropped completely, to be replaced by The Hardest Part down there at the end of the walkway just on piano. This version of the song didn't even exist during rehearsals - it just arrived unannounced at the end of Speed of Sound one night, completely out of the blue. This is a good way to push that off-the-cuff moment into a fully formed part of the show and to give it maximum impact.



Later in the week on the B-stage, Talk gets a techno treatment and God Put A Smile gets revisited.

Cemeteries Of London gets its live premiere this week. The European crowds (particularly Spain) grab hold of the flamenco claps and provide a whole percussion track of their own. There's a couple of unreleased tracks popping up as well. Postcards From Far Away now bookends the B-stage (at least until the next idea comes along...) They're also playing Glass Of Water in the soundchecks with a view to giving this a live run.

Manneheim's soundcheck begins with Will at the piano. He has a beautiful, simple melody which floats in the arena echo to give a very atmospheric soundtracky feel. Guy joins in as Chris picks up Jonny's guitar to give his pedalboard a try. Jonny arrives and quite reasonably decides he may as well play drums. I really hope this evolves into a new song. The soundcheck rolls on with an impromptu jam on Back In Black. I have no idea where the band's current AC/DC fixation comes from, although I'm looking squarely towards stage right where Jonny's guitar tech Matt McGinn is no doubt grinning broadly. The rockier feel continues as old In My Place B-side The One I Love comes off the shelf for a play.

Warm evenings and big truck parks out the back of the venues mean that football is replacing table tennis for post-soundcheck entertainment. I have a wander out the back of the Strasbourg venue to phone home and spot Jonny and Will having a kickabout in front of Albert Hammond Jr's bus. Passing crew join in from time to time until the fellas get called in to do some interviews. Like schoolkids being forced indoors to do their homework, they collect their ball and troop off.



I'd forgotten what a difference it makes having the audience on the floor all standing. The American shows had all been fully seated. Here, people have to queue up early to get a good spot and stay there until the band get on. This does mean they don't get to sit around in the bar, or go get food, but it means that they're like coiled springs by the time the house lights go down - and once they do, the vibe is explosive. From my days as a gig goer (long since over, gentle reader - unless it's Radiohead) it never felt quite right being sat down. Being squashed up with a few thousand sweaty strangers cheering at the top of your lungs because you all loved the same band always seemed to be a huge part of the experience to me. I can definitely see pros and cons in each approach, so it's nice to get a mixture.

So far, the European crowds have been nothing short of amazing. We're in the land of football chants on this continent and they've taken the "Wo-oh-ah-oh-oh-oh" of Viva La Vida warmly to their hearts. It starts before the show, it carries on after the song and most nights, it's still going well after the band have left the stage, the house lights have come on and roadies have been dismantling the show for a good ten or fifteen minutes. Here's to Coldplay's first terrace anthem!



Part of the lot of the tour manager is the fact that no matter what's going on and no matter how in the dark you are as to why it's happening, it's still you that everyone looks to for answers. This is demonstrated admirably when we come in to land at Lyon. Not only are we coming in during a rather heavy thunderstorm, but the pilot gets halfway through our descent before pulling rather steeply back up, then banking away sharply. All eyes in the band party turn to Franksy, with a range of expressions from confusion to concerned alarm. "Oh, THAT Lyon, the one in FRANCE - oh bugger" comes the cheerfully unruffled response. It transpires that air traffic control forgot about a plane they left sitting on the runway. Probably just as well we had a couple of goes at it.

Climbing the steps onto the plane in Barcelona is also somewhat eventful, as another nearby plane is boarding when two passengers spot the band and run across the open runway clutching posters for the band to sign. Immediately a security vehicle squeals down the tarmac to scoop the two off the flight-path. I believe the word fan is short for fanatic. How do you shorten "Loony"?

I should also mention that Yellow has been shuffled into the encore position. I can't remember them ever having done this before. It works well this way, though. I'd guess that for a pretty large proportion of the audience, it's the song that first got them into the band. As the set closer then, it works a little like one of those twisty turny films where the last scene begins and you think "isn't this where we came in?" It's joyous and celebratory at this point in the show and it's heartening that they clearly still enjoy playing it.

The shows have been simply unreal, night after night the crowds have been phenomenal and the vibe completely electric. It's been a tour of shows that it seems they'll never top. Every few nights comes another. I can't wait to see what's next.

Talking of which, I might resurrect my old tour game of trying not to look at the itinerary and seeing how far I can get into the day before I work out what country we're in. Actually, thinking about it, I seem to remember managing four days without knowing where I was on a tour many moons ago. In fairness though, I did drink a lot more back then...

[Mimixxx]

What a GREAT post from #42!

[crazyduckette]

:

Quote:

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'd forgotten what a difference it makes having the audience on the floor all standing. The American shows had all been fully seated. Here, people have to queue up early to get a good spot and stay there until the band get on. This does mean they don't get to sit around in the bar, or go get food, but it means that they're like coiled springs by the time the house lights go down - and once they do, the vibe is explosive. From my days as a gig goer (long since over, gentle reader - unless it's Radiohead) it never felt quite right being sat down. Being squashed up with a few thousand sweaty strangers cheering at the top of your lungs because you all loved the same band always seemed to be a huge part of the experience to me. I can definitely see pros and cons in each approach, so it's nice to get a mixture.

---

This makes me angry, at why they made the UK dates seating only. UK crowds DO NOT LIKE seating gigs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Texasluvsjonny]

Nobody wants fucking seating gigs

[Lore]

YouTube - Roadie #42 - blog #24 The Hardest Part

[Mimixxx]

Yay, Lore to the rescue. I couldn't figure out how to do that :embarassed: