Coldplay @ Madison Square Garden, NYC - pics

yay for mainstream pop rock!

thats actually a great way to do tickets so they dont all end up with scalpers. have everyone who wants some enter a raffle and then if they win their credit cards get charged.

Terrible. Awful. I really wish people would stop pretending this band is anything but pure top-40 smut... and not even good top-40 smut at that.

doesn't Viva La Vida mean live the life?

why didn't they fill the whole venue?

thieves.

Coldplay coming into the crowd for "Yellow" was the worst idea ever. I happened to be seated a few feet from where they stopped to perform the song, and got trampled by the camera phone hordes bumrushing the section I was sitting in to get closer to the band. It's not the Beatles at Shea, folks.

pussy rock

It was nice to hear them live and yes, it was worth the treck of going all the way to MSG. But really, this show got so much press and it was only an hour and 15 minutes long! AND NO ENCORE? What was that all about... I am happy I went, but c'mon! There was too much hype about this show with all the selectivity, and I feel somewhat let down.

was this show in the WaMu theatre or the arena? I'm so sick of the models and other nyc bullshite hype attention given to this band. what an elitist joke.

anyone have a setlist???

what's up with Chris Martin's "Michael Jackson" look?

I also thought it was kinda tacky for him to keep reminding the crowd that it was free. Don't these guys have enough money? Anyways, does anyone know who performed before them with the video setup and the electronic music?

wow you dude are fucking idiots.

this was easily the 3rd in my top three favorite shows ever, "mainstream rock/pussy rock/top-40 smut (whatever the fuck that's supposed to mean" or not.

seriously enjoyable and the sing along during Fix You was fucking phenomenal.

BV, no point of posting this when the majority of people responded are going to be pure fucking assholes.

and the funny thing is, the crowd at this show was WAYYYYYY more energized and more enjoyable to be around then the R.E.M. crowd. i felt almost sad being at that show on Thursday. This is a what show is supposed to be like.

Why no sharing of videos? Stop the censorship.

Set list anyone???

Has anyone else filled the Garden for free? because i dont recall that happening before. so who gives a shit if Chris Martin wanted people to remember they were at MSG seeing one of their favorite bands for free?! it was a pretty cool thing to do so if Martin wants to bring it up, so what. and obviously he needed to remind people more...are you really complaining about set lenght and lack of encore at a FREE show?!! and yes Coldplay is pure top 40 pop rock. but whats your point? the songs are good.

I agree. this show was great. it provided the perfect relief and stress release after a long day of work at the hedge fund.... bud light rules!

Jon Hopkins (aka Jonny Greenwood's little brother, aka the guy who co wrote Life in Technicolor/The Escapist) opened.
I thought he was great.

i saw them at jones beach a few years ago and actually enjoyed it. what does that make me?

Who the fuck cares what it makes you. Last night was great. They sounded really good. The new stuff is quite good. I felt like that show had a more intimate feel than most hip "indie" shows I've been to these past few years. People in the room actually enjoyed the music, and weren't there to show off their new outfits.

Wait, Jonny Greenwood's brother is also called Jon?

Confusion at the breakfast table.

^^ yeah, he plays a mean mutha of a strat

Take off that god damn jacket. Geez, you look worse than My Chemical Romance.

Yes, they are both named John/Jon. When they were wee lil' pups, mom said, ok, Jon, you play a Strat and Johnny, you're playing the fuck out of this Tele. Got it? Now go get famous!

it's very en vogue for hipster d bags to slag Coldplay

whats the guy from Modest Mouse doing playing in Coldplay?

Im not a huge Coldplay fan - but i do like them 0 the new album is quite good - hipsters can go fuck themselves with that unlistenable Times New viking LP that they usually display like some lame ass bowling trophy.

^ exactly. if coldplay had a loft on bedford, they would be the coolest fucking thing since sliced bread.

you guys are soooooo lying.
Vivian Girls opened last night and they were AMAZING!

how did BrooklynVegan attract so many z100, ktu listeners?

kids...it was a free night of good music. quit yo bitchin already. i thought it was alot of fun and enjoyed martin's antics and staging experiments. yipee!

You know it's all downhill when Chris and Co. start dressing like pirates!?

All hail the new Billyburg supergroup..............Vivian Deacon & The Girls!

They have become very commercial, can't argue with that. It is reminiscent of U2 when they went from a small Irish band to a mega hit band (CP has been compared to U2). At the moment I didn't think of Chris M's comments about it being free so manipulative, but, yeah, in some ways, it was kind of obnoxious to remind us more than once about it, but on the other hand...IT WAS FREE and FUNNNNN! He had great energy, a bit of wit and his whimsical bouncing and attitude made it great. Sure an encore after only 70 minutes would have been better! I was sooo hoping they'd play, I saw sparks, the scientist, politik and green eyes! (personal faves), but alas, how can I be disapointed when it was FREEE!!!!!!

lets face it all this REM, Cure, Coldplay, MMJ is just the warm-up for the real show.

you know what Im talking about, right guys?

FUCK YES APW SO PSYCHED THE ROOTS ANIMAL COLLECTIVE RADIOFUCKINGHEAD WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

(that was sincere, i promise.)

^^^ go away

what time did indian jewelry open up the show at?

11:00

Radiohead 4 LYFE

"new stuff is quite good"??

"Chris Martin's staging experiments"?

Oh, man... thanks for the laughs.

after making me sit through two shit openers, you damn well better play longer than an hour and certainly better play a fucking encore

blow me, chris martin.

your voice sounds like shite live anyway

still, thanks for the free show!

Whatever haters say, it was a FREE show, so stop your nit picking.

My complaint, though is that I couldn't get free tix, but Charlize Theron, Kirsten Dunst and Helena Christensen could? That's not cool...

chris martin is a wuss.

he whines about this and that, like he's got it so tough with his "concerns," but he's just a bono wannabe and his band's a wannabe clone of u2.

they even attract the same sorry models that you usually see at u2 shows, but u2's off right now, so someone has to pretend to fill the void.

re: the scientist... it is a good (enough) song, but when they play it live and martin's spastic all over the place routine on the piano, he looks like that jackass from keane.

in the end, they are just a bunch of hypocrites. I don't care if they make a lot of money, but they act like self righteous like sting does about the rainforest... like they're really slumming it and know about the downtrodden in the world, just as much as sting is hanging out in south america living with the people, and putting himself in front of loggers to save trees.

chris martin, the new album title is enough to sink it before it swims.

and it's about time you did something free for your fans... because they've only been giving you their money for almost a decade now.

figures their first #1 single sounds like a ripoff of new order and u2 with a heap of sugar on top.

wankers.

11:17

you need a punch to your fucking skull.

AND THE AWARD FOR BEST BV TROLL OF THE DAY GOES TO....

ANON 11:26AM!

KEEP BEING AN ASSHOLE.

"viva la vida" the single rips off after the curtain by beirut.

but thanks for telling me to live life, chris martin. i'd forgotten that, you know, that's what i was doing.

HAH you losers were told this would be a piece of shit show. You get what you deserve. Fucking total tools. And yes even though the show was free you are still a bunch of morons for going to see this. This band just sucks now.

They actually sounded quite good; his voice was far better than during the "Twisted Logic" show I saw last go 'round. Highlights: most of the crowd not knowing what to do during the middle part of "42" and the entirety of "Chinese Sleep Chant." They're a good band, not quite great, but most of the fans are deplorable. More songs like the aforementioned would do well to thin the herd.

THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE THOM YORKE

really? the fact that people actually take the time out to bash a free coldplay show that they weren't even at really must be losers with alot of time on their hands or are just pissed they didn't win.

Hey Anons 10:26, 10:30 and 10:36am...thanks for giving me hilarious laughs this morning at work.

To quickly respond, if this was easily one of the 3 best shows you have ever seen in your life you should stop whining to BV about the assholes on here. You should spend more time actually going to shows. With a comment like that you have obviously been to about 4 shows your entire life. Also, the reason you cant name another band who filled MSG for free is cause no one else plays MSG for free ya dipshit. Many bands could fill the Garden for free if they actually played a free show there dummy. And finally,it felt "more intimate" huh. Pffft hahahahahaha please all 3 of you kill yourselves. You are exactly what is wrong with music today.

they sounded ok. You get a chance to play MSG and you only manage 70 min. Shame on you. Free or not. They also tried too many arena rock star moves like setting up and playing tunes at the end of the stage (that failed as they couldn't tune their guitars correctly) playing in the crowd (cool idea but he even fucked up the beginning of the YELLOW), and too bad the confetti only landed on the people in the first 40 rows. They actually screwed up a few songs restarting one and doing the ending of one over. I really felt no intensity at this show. Best part was the big ball hanging from the middle and the images coming thru on it. Other than that a pretty basic show. I expected more.
Mike D was in the house though. Saw him wandering around in the 300 level? Wonder what he tought.

Even though he's British, Chris Martin looks like he has a big one.

That show was pretty great. For free it was incredible.

Saw M.I.A. there wearing an Oxfam shirt on the side. She was headbanging like mad to the big guitar finish on "God Put A Smile Upon Your Face".

Those stage outfits are sorta corny though.

congratulations, chris martin - youve officially stripped Bono of the title of the world's biggest turd.

That's entertainment, innit?

"...the band music aficionados love to despise for their middle-of-the-road sound, described by Oasis's manager Alan McGee as 'music for bedwetters'."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2006/sep/24/uk.arts

11:56

"To quickly respond, if this was easily one of the 3 best shows you have ever seen in your life you should stop whining to BV about the assholes on here. You should spend more time actually going to shows. With a comment like that you have obviously been to about 4 shows your entire life."

To pathetically respond is more like it.
I've only been to 4 shows. Right.
Because you know me, because you fucking know who I am and know exactly what shows I've been to and how many.
Because you know that the other two are Wilco at Warsaw and Owls at North Six
Because you fucking know me.

Fuck off.

BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO BONO

11:28

Are you out of your mind!? Viva la Vida sounds absolutely nothing like After The Curtain by Beirut. The ONLY similarity I can find is they both have staccato notes. What a fucking moron.

you mean 11:37

I made $350 cash from that show. Ha.

This guy is a total faggot. There so fricken annoying. U2 lite is their new name.

"U2 lite is their new name"

wow.. great one dude.

There's hardly anything annoying about Coldplay.
It's just idiots like you who could easily spend your energy hating a band that *deserves* to be shit on.

Seriously, out of all the mainstream rock bands Coldplay is *nowhere* near being the worst.
Shit on someone else.

so how was the show?

how much did it cost?

any celebs there?

what do you think of this Chris Martin fellow?

Gwenie is that you? Go back to whining about U.S being to 'capitalistic'-ugh yeah, while living in London and using U.S. hospitals you TOTAL IDIOT, spoiled jew wasp pedigreed moron oh and take you untalented husband with you please.

I mean, I'm not SO embarrassed to say I like Coldplay, but this "Coldplay is a ripoff" video is the best: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ofFw9DKu_I

Jew WASP?

Dude, you're just plain confused haha.

the first opening back, blue jackets I believe, were quite mediocre, the second opener was cool but went on for too long. Sure an encore would've been nice, or even a slightly longer set, but all in all Coldplay put on a very enjoyable show. Lots of electricity in the room from the crowd. Really enjoyed myself

Nope you are you fool. Daddy was a rich jew producer, mommy a wasp actress( a better one then her daughter I might add and way better looking). The only one confused is you. She is a perfect example of hollywood nepotism.

Paltrow's dad was mostly a stage producer, although he also produced a few modest TV shows. He was by no means that "rich."

And Blythe Danner is NOT as good of an actress as Gwyneth Paltrow by any stretch of the imagination.

You're just a sad individual.

Why don't you check yourself before making idiotic and discriminatory comments about the spouse of the singer of a band that performed a free show at MSG, you loser.

jamesskittie, kill yourself.

hmm...i went...it was a good show. i see a ton of live music like the rest of u...even without an encore (that i admittedly btched about a little bit afterward) it really wasnt a bad show...it was entertaining, the crowd was high energy, and ultimately - a lot of fun...and it was free. seriously, get over yourselves. the sooner you do that, the sooner you'll actually enjoy life...vs bitching about it.

i say, thanks for the free show.

MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIGMR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG MR. BIG

whats the point of a free show if the beer is 10 bucks

to the guy that says that's one of his top three shows, seriously go see more concerts. That was a methodical hackjob of a show. And at this point, if coldplay makes your top 5 shows, you shouldn't even be reading BV. Only feasible top show was coldplay touring behind their first two albums. It made your top 3 because it was chuck e cheese for big kids. Ooh!! Confetti! I was at the Warsaw wilco shows too. I'll give u those, but to add last nights shoe to that list, totally discredits any of the bands u mentioned prior, especially wilco. Yes, you're right, none of us knows u, but we all know now that you singlehandedly have bad taste for adding coldplay last night as one of your top 3. Not trying to rip on u, but I do feel sad for you.

Just because its a publicity stunt more than it is a real concert doesn't mean they cant make some cash on the side for their "free" show.

Say what you will about CP, but I've never seen such a great display of different viewpoints on BV in my life. Thanks for the great afternoon read.

It was a nice gesture, playing a free show at MSG, regardless of the set length/lack of an encore.

What other "arena" bands do that - play a free arena show?

Answer: None.

Motive, etc. are null and void here.

They played a free show for their fans at the Garden. They were even nice enough to not just play their new album in its entirety, choosing to play some tracks from their back catalog like "Yellow," "Trouble," "Clocks" and "Fix You."

It was FUCKING FREE. Stop bitching about a FREE show!

I have a feeling that the people whining on here are the sorry saps who shelled out $300/ticket on Craigslist/Ebay, which makes you a moron regardless.

2:19

hahah
alright alright, it's in my top 10 OVERALL
BUT
as far as AUDIENCE VIBE'S goes
it stays in my top 3. (crowd vibe being the only thing that places it that high)
that Fix You sing along rivals A Shot In the Arm.
it was perfect.

so the whole bad taste shit etc is just the result of you not sitting across from me and us not having a civilized fucking discussion in person, but online and throwing insults at each other.

so there's need to feel sad.
again, the audience vibe and the overall enjoyability of the show made it into my top 3. i don't see how you could refute that, unless you're gonna continue not getting where i'm coming from.

btw, Wilco only played Warsaw once.

Chris Martin is this generation's Barry Manilow.The soft rock crooner who makes the whole world sing.He sings about banging Gweny and other special things.

Yeah the show was free.Free promotion worth millions.

anon 11:95
"they sounded ok. You get a chance to play MSG and you only manage 70 min. Shame on you. Free or not."

damn effing straight.

ANY band that plays msg, for free or for five grand, should treat it as a privilege and not a birthright.

gwyneth is part jewish and protestant, her family is wealthy enough, and it's not right to pick on her for her religion, race etc.

if anything, if you need to, then pick on what you think might be her acting skills not on a par with deborah kerr.

or that her husband's music sounds like the next theme for mr. softee trucks.

but please leave religion and race out of the deal.

-fin-

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"and it's about time you did something free for your fans... because they've only been giving you their money for almost a decade now."

Many music fans have felt they're entitled to free recorded music for several years now, and now they're starting to feel they're entitled to free live performances? Holy shit, this world is fucked.

Yeah we should all stop bitching about crap shows like this. Yeah we should just say every show is amazing and every band killed it. Yeah that makes a total load of sense. I went to one of those audience screenings 2 weeks ago of The Love Guru. Now that was the biggest piece of shit i have ever seen but it was free. So should i not complain and just say it was great? I actually should have asked them to pay me for the loss of that time in my life i will never get back.
I went to this show last night and it was not good. It was the worst that stadium rock had to offer. I dont know what that Anon 2:39 saw but the audience vibe was nothing special. I agree with some others that he probably has not seen that many shows before. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt instead of just thinking he is an idiot. Go see U2 or Springsteen at MSG and see the difference.

Also Vegan, that picture that is at the front of this post is captioned wrong. Ed Burns is nowhere to be seen in that picture. None of those guys in it are him and the girl in the corner might be Christy Turlington although it does not really look like her
Just saying.

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It was a good show, but disappointing because it could have been so much better. The lack of an encore really was weird-you could feel the surprise and disappointment of the crowd when it became clear that the band wasn't returning onstage. I agree with the person who said that it was irritating of Chris Martin to keep reminding people that the show was free. It would have been so much cooler if he'd said nothing.

The misfires didn't bother me much (forgotten lyrics, trouble tuning guitars, etc). It was apparently the first show of the tour, and those things can be kind of charming. But ultimately, they really played for an hour, no more, once you include all the time spent on tuning, moving to the back or the arena, and so on. And free or not, that 60 minutes felt very weird for a big stadium show—like it was just starting to ramp up when suddenly someone pulled the plug.

I would much rather they deleted the second warm-up act, a guy with a synthesizer and backing tracks named Jon Hopkins who was just awful. People were fleeing the seats to get away from his tedious but really, really loud sound. I actually thought it was a plot to drive up concessions sales... The band should have taken the forty minutes he consumed and added it to their show, and everyone would have been much happier.

One positive note: I think the new material works really well live, with the exception of that second half of "Death and All His Friends," which is just uninteresting musically and goes nowhere. But the other stuff–fantastic. And Will Champion gets better and better; he was the real star of last night, I think. (And a surprisingly good singing voice!)

okay top 3, crowd energy was good, I'll give you that, but it's also the same logic as saying the crowd energy was insane at an N'sync show at their peak, with thousands of little girls screaming. You're not wowing anyone special but people who got free tix, and people who often get free concerts are always the most discernible with music tastes. They just go because its free and/or its something to do. Chris martin even said it in his current rolling stone interview that they are bigger than they are good or better. Last night was a prime example of that. People that fall for allthe lights, confetti, antics as playing in the crowd don't see the fact that they do this to compensate for something that's majorly lacking in the music itself. Prior to the last two albums, they didn't need these silly shenanigans. They played great songs and the energy was even better than this because the music was great. Its like saying that your mcdonald's happy meal was great because they gave you free toy. Point is: its still freakin' mcdonalds. Besides, you can go to a dave Matthews, pearl jam or jimmy Buffett concert and the energy is great too but then think about these kind of crowds. Doesn't take much to please the mainstream hordes is all I'm saying. So if you and the simpletons that like radio rock have a blast, great! But don't aggrandize the show's legitimacy on that alone. Its not the music that's doing the work there. There were a lot of flat moments last night and at their caliber, coldplay could've prevented it in so many ways. I used to be a big CP fan, but at this point they're no longer credible in any way except pushing units. I obviously could keep going on, but glad it made your top 3, but know that since it is in your top 3, its therfore fallible, even if it may be your own opinion. And I agree fix u was built up very well with the screen and all. You didn't mention radiohead or anything of that. Caliber, go see them. Please, for your own sake. Wasting breath on coldplay....argh

"Also Vegan, that picture that is at the front of this post is captioned wrong. Ed Burns is nowhere to be seen in that picture."

That's why his name is in parentheses. I assume BV (parenthetically) put his name in the caption because (I take it) he was there with Christy Turlington.

Anon 3:35pm that was really an excellent comment. You summed it up perfectly. Seriously

Soha22 Hi how are you. Dont mean to infringe on your comment where you try to sound so well informed about the band even going so far as to mention Will Champions name etc but i hate to tell you that this was not the first show os the tour. They played the other night in London so kinks should have been worked out a bit.

For the guy who said he made 350 off the show. Good work dude. Well played. I hope the person who paid that much to see the show is broke now so they cant afford to infest any really good shows with their presence. But then again if they paid 350 for this show then they probably would not be seeing a really good band anyway.

Oh and you idiots spotting celebs, Im quite sure Mike D and MIA were not at the show last night.

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To the dude who said that the Coldplay crowd was much netter then the REM crowd-yeah,Z100 teenyboppers are usually a noisy bunch.

The reason it was free is because it was a dress rehearsal, nothing more. More like a glorified sound check. They came to work out the kinks in a few songs, play some of their back catalog.

The reason Chris kept mentioning it was free is because he gets worried they're putting on a shitty show, so it's his way of saying "hey, you get what you pay for."

It was the same deal in 2005 at the Beacon Theatre.

3:35

touche. you're completely right.

(pushed enter by mistake)

i agree, it's mostly for show and the music, as opposed to the Rush Of Blood tour is indeed powerless and they don't give it their all anymore.

as for not mentioning Radiohead
the October 10th show in 2003 at MSG kills this show easily.
i got in for free and stood 20ft from the stage.
enough said.

Tom
going by your flawed logic, he should be saying that at every show they have played in the last 2 years or so. Even ones that have not been free.

(pushed enter by mistake)

i agree, it's mostly for show and the band, as opposed to the Rush Of Blood tour, don't give it their all anymore.

as for not mentioning Radiohead
the October 10th show in 2003 at MSG kills this show easily. that one's definitely up there.
i got in for free and stood 20ft from the stage.
enough said.

Jon Hopkins was not "AWFUL"

come on now.
you guys are tough crowd if you think he was "awful"
he was cooking up some great sounds, with a few exceptional beats here and there.
you probably just don't like electronic music, which would make something like saying he's "awful" okay
kinda like a backstreet boys fan calling gorgoroth "devil's music" (except it is, lol)

This whole "free concert" idea is classic Chris Martin, with his faux-humility. We're talking about a guy who said they were "probably the seventh bast band in the world," behind Sigur Ros and Arcade Fire. Saying you're the 7th best band in the world right now when you're fucking Coldplay is NOT an act of humility, "it's an act of lunacy, General Sir."

Same deal with last night's "free" show. Yeah, it was a great gesture to fans, but it was all just a huge publicity stunt - a backhanded complement in a way. You had Chris Martin patting himself on the back the entire time for treating the audience to a free show, plus there were huge signs going into the arena saying we would be filmed, so presumably video of this show (which came in at a DVD-length 60 min), will be marketed as their "Free MSG Show for Fans!" to the masses.

And yes, they played for 60 minutes, no encore, even though fans were on their feet at MSG thunderously clapping and yelling for an encore up until the stagehands literally started dismantling the speakers.

Sorta a crock, but then again, fitting considering the band in question.

WHAT'S EVERYONES FAVORITE U2 RECORD???

THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE FOR ME

HOWBOUTU????

I do like electronic music...and Jon Hopkins was awful. Unoriginal, uninteresting, uninspired. I'd rather listen to a Flock of Seagulls drum track than hear him again. He actually had people feeling kind of pissed off at Coldplay for making the crowd sit through one perfectly okay warm-up, Bluejackets, nothing great but fine for a warm-up, and then, half an hour after they were off the stage, out comes this guy with his little keyboard and his background tapes and puts everyone to sleep for *another* half hour.....

So 90 minutes after the start time, Coldplay comes out...and plays for 60 minutes. Not to say that there weren't some exciting moments in that hour—there were—but the whole thing kinda left the crowd feeling pretty ambivalent. You could hear a lot of "WTF" conversations on the stairs on the way out....

Overall I enjoyed the show last night. Did not get in for free - paid $75/ticket to a scalper (less than the retail price for Coldplay in Philly, etc.)

I'm glad I went... although it is telling that today, what I really want to listen to is Sigur Ros. Last night, I kept thinking this is okay, but Martin is right that they don't compare to S.R.

"An hour and 15 minutes and no encore??" How dare you bitch about a free show. All of you that went and have the balls to bitch truly suck. I really wanted to go and couldn't get tickets. And I plan to bitch about THAT.

As usual, hating on coldplay=lame & transparent

I do like electronic music...and Jon Hopkins was awful. Unoriginal, uninteresting, uninspired. I'd rather listen to a Flock of Seagulls drum track than hear him again. He actually had people feeling kind of pissed off at Coldplay for making the crowd sit through one perfectly okay warm-up, Bluejackets, nothing great but fine for a warm-up, and then, half an hour after they were off the stage, out comes this guy with his little keyboard and his background tapes and puts everyone to sleep for *another* half hour.....

So 90 minutes after the start time, Coldplay comes out...and plays for 60 minutes. Not to say that there weren't some exciting moments in that hour—there were—but the whole thing kinda left the crowd feeling pretty ambivalent. You could hear a lot of "WTF" conversations on the stairs on the way out....

Posted by Liz |

"An hour and 15 minutes and no encore??" How dare you bitch about a free show. All of you that went and have the balls to bitch truly suck. I really wanted to go and couldn't get tickets. And I plan to bitch about THAT.

As usual, hating on coldplay=lame & transparent

Posted by Liz |

Hey, Liz, go fuck yourself.

And, read my lips while you're at it - Chris Martin wouldn't screw you if you were the last warthog on earth.

what's annoying is that these celebrities show up when the ticket allocation was lottery. so, all the celebrities just happened to win? if Martin had any balls he would have banned all but their real fans from attending.

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"this show (which came in at a DVD-length 60 min)"

What the hell are you talking about? DVDs hold lots more than 60 minutes. Cable-TV-friendly, O.K. Maybe two hours (including commercials) on broadcast TV if they add other stuff like interviews.

@Steph: Only 7,000 tickets were to be awarded in the contest (3,500 winners x 2 tickets/winner). There was a helluva lot more capacity than that even with all the seats that were intentionally kept empty.

I got very good seats and although I'm glad I went to the show and had a great time, I couldn't help but come to the conclusion that Coldplay, despite my fondness for quite a few songs,-and especially their latest hit--are just not THAT good. His stage presence is awkward and gangly, voice a tad grating and the songs are often tepid.

In contrast, on U2's last tour I was genuinely blown away that a group of aging Irish guys were THAT good.

I'm bummed at my conclusion, but simply put I feel that if this Coldplay album and tour is as make-or-break as it's supposed to be, we may have seen the highest point that they will ever climb.

What does U2 being Irish have to do with your diminished expectations of them? I oughtta whip your ass.

I also like quite a few songs and was pleasantly surprised w/ Viva, but after seeing them live I'd say none of them are super talented musicians. They write a good hook, but they're not burning up their instruments w/ fierce abilities.

Which doubley begs the questions of WHY ON EARF WOULD THEY NOT HIRE MORE MUSICIANS INSTEAD OF USING PRE-RECORDED MUSIC. Pretty sure Coldplay could afford a couple violinists for the title track.

Who cares if it's free - that's not a factor in whether it's a good show or not? We live in NY where a beer at a free show costs $10.

Free or not free - was it a quality show? Doesn't sound like it was all in all.

Seamus,

I never meant that U2 being Irish led me to have diminished expectations at all. However, if you were a real scholar of popular music, you might find it notable, exceptional even, that the torch carriers of rock are from the Emerald Isle. Save for Them, Thin Lizzy, the Cranberries and (gulp) the Corrs, Ireland in contrast to the US or UK historically hasn't produced that many successful bands.

Now...as for threatening Irish-AMERICAN twats like yourself, expectations aren't high at all. In fact, it seems pretty consistent that you cling to the old inferiority complex, lashing out and defending your so-called "heritage". My suggestion for you? A swift polish of your little Irish curse, you sad little muppet.

Coldplay set list, courtesy of NME:

‘Life in Technicolor’
‘Violet Hill’
‘Clocks’
‘In My Place’
‘Viva La Vida’
‘Chinese Sleep Chant’
‘God Put A Smile Upon Your Face’
‘42’
‘Square One’
‘Trouble’
‘Lost!’
‘Strawberry Swing’
‘Yellow’
‘Death Will Never Conquer’
‘Fix You’
‘Lovers in Japan’

http://nme.com/news/coldplay/37598

Coldplay's new album sells over 730,000 copies the first week...someone likes them i guess.

yes, there's a lot of kids in america.

i said what what in the butt

long live the bends (song/album) + i might be wrong (song + live recordings). and i hate writing this shit. just drunk and love those two/three/four pieces. i did see this show. they are excused for the rubish because of their deserved nonchalance . they had no pressure to impress anyone. but they fucked everything up. like when he said, before doing yellow in the crowd, "this one may backfire", i said aloud - "this will 100% backfire". old people and young alike around me got pissed at my remark. colplay blow, afterall. i was a buzz kill. and that mandolin/tambourine yellow thing was so screwed. coolest part of the night was, after seeing the confetti machines going off and thinking "wow, this is lame", the turned the lights off and all the confetti was being lit up black-light style. looked like a snow storm on acid.

mg

I was at this show and it was one of the BEST shows I have ever seen.

Once again, people on this site like to hate on a band because they sell more than 100 CDs and because they dont play in some basement of some bar on Bleeker Street.

Contrary to what some of you may think, sometimes bands become big because they are actually good and sometimes bands stay "indoe" because they suck and most people dont want to hear them. U2 is the biggest band in the world because they are the BEST band in the world and now, Coldplay is right up there as well. The market is efficient enough to get this right in most cases.

And to those who say those who liked this show have probably been to 3 or 4 shows, I have probably been to over 1000 shows ranging from huge stadium and arena shows to crappy bands in the basement of a bar on Bleeker Street so I do have lots to compare it to.

Anyway, I'll try to sell you guys tickets to your indie shows in the basements of bars for 10x face so I could use that money to pay for great bands like Coldplay and U2.

CommGuru is playing a dumpster on 34th street later tonight. Just got a few tickets in.

They aren't free, so ya'll should be cool with that then.

Respek.

Tito @ 8:02

"I also like quite a few songs and was pleasantly surprised w/ Viva, but after seeing them live I'd say none of them are super talented musicians. They write a good hook, but they're not burning up their instruments w/ fierce abilities."

"Burning up their instruments with fierce abilities"

Did the Ramones do that? Did Ron Asheton do that? Did Steve Jones do that? Did Jeff fucking Mangum do that? Do all musicians have to do that to be considered good?
Do all musicians have to be super talented musicians to be considered valid?

That's your opinion and there really is noting wrong with wanting supreme talent and dexterity in a musician, but to say that Coldplay just aren't that good when they write pretty good songs (not incredible, but then again that's a subjective term) is just unfair judgment.

I'm not trying to rip on you, because "they write a good hook" shows me that you're not deliberately trying to bash them. I'm just saying, they do what they do and they do it well.

"Who cares if it's free - that's not a factor in whether it's a good show or not? We live in NY where a beer at a free show costs $10.

Free or not free - was it a quality show? Doesn't sound like it was all in all."

You're right that people's evaluations of the quality of the show should be independent of the fact that it was free, but people are going beyond reasoned criticism of the performance by obnoxiously complaining. Furthermore, some complaints are about the length of the show and the lack of an encore. These are complaints about quantity, not quality.

As for the price of beer there, don't complain. If you need a buzz to enjoy a concert, there's something wrong with either you or the performer. In the case of Coldplay's music, it's the former.

sheesh is correct

if a show is free, it's allowed to suck? that's weird.

you would think that if you're a band, you'd want to not suck, like, at any time.

as for coldplay, god they suck.

If a show was free, you're allowed to say it sucked, but you're not allowed to bitch and moan about it sucking.

i think they were talking about the fact that some have defended a shitty show by coldplay, saying, "it was free, so don't complain."

meaning, if something's free it's allowed to suck. the point is: if it's free or 5,000 dollars, it shouldn't suck.

i suck at explaining this.

[Spit-take]

If you think U2 is the best band in the world right now, I just feel sorry for you. Please, go see Radiohead this summer. They're performing 3 dates in the Metropolitan Area in 5 days. Go. Please. Go.

For the love of God. Go.

Seriously, Go.

"I was at this show and it was one of the BEST shows I have ever seen.

Once again, people on this site like to hate on a band because they sell more than 100 CDs and because they dont play in some basement of some bar on Bleeker Street.

Contrary to what some of you may think, sometimes bands become big because they are actually good and sometimes bands stay "indoe" because they suck and most people dont want to hear them. U2 is the biggest band in the world because they are the BEST band in the world and now, Coldplay is right up there as well. The market is efficient enough to get this right in most cases.

And to those who say those who liked this show have probably been to 3 or 4 shows, I have probably been to over 1000 shows ranging from huge stadium and arena shows to crappy bands in the basement of a bar on Bleeker Street so I do have lots to compare it to.

Anyway, I'll try to sell you guys tickets to your indie shows in the basements of bars for 10x face so I could use that money to pay for great bands like Coldplay and U2"

It was ok :( Not their best by any means like ACL 2005! WOW

I was pumped just to get a pair of FREE ticket's and who wouldnt be but I was bummed with all the technical problems and mess ups. Guitar stuff/forgetting lyric's/repeating the free ticket shit/starting song's over. I think its cool that they feel comfortable they can do that stuff and no big deal but at their level in the music biz i wouldnt expect that kind of stuff anymore. He said the same stuff at the London and Barcelona show's. Why?? Maybe they really were not ready to hit this tour yet im guessing. The opening band wasnt very good. Sorry guy's. Jon Hopkins was ok and not worth bashing. He did write the opening and closing tune of the new record which is pretty damn cool sounding. I guess i just built up all this hype for myself and was let down just a bit since i brought someone who had never seen Coldplay. They do write good tune's and can put a chorus in there that never leaves your head but all in all i felt a little unsatisfied. No encore was kinda weird???? Just very surprising more than anything.

I cant knock em too much cause i dig them BUT doing a production run through at MSG and being filmed in the process isnt really the best spot for that. I think it should have been somewhere smaller. Who cares who was there as far as celeb's go thats irrelevant as far as im concerned. I just hope they improve upon the production aspect and getting a bit tighter as a team. If not, watch out......reviews will be harsh.

but.....light at the end of the tunnel!

Radiohead at All Points West!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

see ya there!!

ME

i can't believe they're still gonna play fix you. i thought they would have realised after three years that song is absolutely dreadful

i will always remember that coldplay didn't play an encore. what a big eff you to the audience.

although we all went for free, some of us paid a lot in transportation to get there.

no "green eyes." no "amsterdam." this is me upset.

Opening band for this was painful. The Blue Jackets..that Newsday called "handpicked"??? Nice jounalism Glenn. Handpicked by who?? Gwyneth..over tea with Christy..."You know, Ed plays guitar.." Oi vey.