you're in control, is there anything you wanna know...

I've been meaning to post about this since Wednesday night.

Alli and I were able to make it out to Sandstone...ERRR...Verizon Wireless Amphitheater Wednesday for the Coldplay concert.



Say what you want about Coldplay...those guys are good. I've been listening to them for a few years now and I really enjoy their music (part of my "I love everything British" motif, I think). There are others who might say they are a bunch of wankers, but I think that they are one of the best bands in the world.

They certainly perform like it at least.

What an amazing show. Despite having to wait over an hour for the show (what was up with that?) after the less-than-great opening act, Coldplay delivered with an electric show that was well-performed, well-lit, and interactive.



Opening the show with the opening track ("Square One") from their latest album, X&Y was apropos (and really cool because they had this digital timer behind them during the song, which was sweet) and the show took off from there. Following "Square One" was "Politik" from A Rush of Blood to the Head (their last album). What followed was an eclectic mix of songs from all 3 of their albums (Parachutes being their debut effort). It was the set list that was peppered with their hits (Yellow, The Scientist, Speed of Sound), fan favorites (Green Eyes, Kingdom Come), and songs that should have been more widely listened to because they are just so stinking good (Everything's Not Lost, White Shadows, Low).



The show only lasted an hour and a half, which seemed a little short to me (especially since we spent almost that long getting home from the show), but then again, I could have sat there and listened to them all night, playing their entire catalog, covering Johnny Cash (no wait, they did that) and anyone else.

4 personal highlights of mine from the show:

1. Getting to take my camera in WITH telephoto lens (OK, so they didn't find it in my bag...what was I going to do, NOT use it?)
2. During "Low", they had everyone flash their cameras at once and they used it as a background on their screen backdrop...that was pretty cool.
   
3. White Shadows (this remains one of my favorite tracks from the new album...I love it)
4. The whole encore

#3 was particularly cool because during "In My Place", Chris "Mr. Gwyneth" Martin darted off the stage into the crowd and climbed up on top of the sound booth, which happened to be about 20 feet from where we were sitting. It was madness when that happened, but I managed to get a couple of pretty cool pics from it:



All in all, it was totally worth the hour-and-a-half it took us to get home. I would go see them again in a heartbeat, but I'd like to have a little better seats next time...just to be a little closer. Even still, the show was awesome. Probably jumped into the top 5 concerts I've ever seen (the other four? now that's another post...)

If you'd like to see more pics from the show, check out my flickr set here.

Full Set List:
Square One
Politik
Yellow
God Put a Smile Upon Your Face
Speed of Sound
Low
Don't Panic
Everything's Not Lost
White Shadows
The Scientist
Green Eyes
Kingdom Come
Ring of Fire (Johnny Cash Tribute)
Clocks
Talk
ENCORE
Swallowed in the Sea
In My Place
Fix You