November 18, 2008 Coldplay in Houston

Tuesday Night, 7:30pm, The Toyota Center, Downtown Houston Texas...

COLDPLAY

I was very lucky to have a chance to see Coldplay in Houston tonight! Dawn and I were able to go and spend the evening with 8000 fans in the Toyota Center and witness one of the GREATEST concerts I've ever seen.

But in order to get to the great stuff we had to endure alittle of the not so great but okay, to the downright boring and pretty lame.

The alright was a group that first opened at 7:30pm called SleeperCar. Now I didn't mind them too much. It wasn't anything really great. We really got a kick out of their guitar/keyboard player. He was constantly looking to the side as he would play and look out to the crowd like he was something hot. It got really stupid. And Dawn didn't really like the lead singer. The band was solid. They sounded good but the singer wasn't anything to jump up and down for. At one point, he spoke about a song that he wrote for his cousin that died like two weeks after the two had a fight. He never got to say goodbye and more than that, he didn't ever get to say he was sorry. "Wow, this will be good," I thought. Then it was the dullest and unemotional song I'd heard. It actually sounded like a ripoff of a U2 song called Kite. But Kite was a way better song. That you didn't have to have Bono tell you what it was about or why. You know it.

This was Dawn's first concert. When Sleeper Car came on, it was really really loud. She ended up going to the restroom and getting some paper to put in her ears. Then she was fine. I went without and suffered for about three hours after the show. And alittle the next day.

Well they took up a half hour. Then at the end the lead singer tells us, Jon Hopkins is coming up and he's gonna, "BLOW YOUR MIND!" Alright, let's get our minds blown and it will hype us up for COLDPLAY! He comes out and proceeds to play on two Mac Books and a keyboard and synthisizer. And it turns into a 40 minute CSI background music number with Animated pictures shown on a screen that we can't see and we're only fourteen rows back from the stage. You know the music that they play on CSI where they are processing a crime scene or testing evidence in the uber labs. It was like that but just drawn out even longer. I like my atmosphere music faster than 120 beats per minute. This was dull. And it seemed like it never ended. I looked around the crowd. No one was into it. I didn't see anyone bouncing their head or anything. I said to Dawn, "NO ONE IS INTO THIS." This DJ guy was more into it, flaying his arms around and hitting his keyboard and constantly typing away on his laptops and stuff. It just wasn't that good to me. Or Dawn. Or at least 70% of the audience.

We were very very glad when it was over. It was about 8:45pm when he left the stage. Then we just had to wait about 20 minutes and in that time all the prep was going on. One of the craziest things we saw were these small guys had to climb up into the light set up above and out away from the stage and then climbed on the scafolding to these suspended chairs that turned out to be spotlights suspended about the crowd. WOW! I'd never seen anything like that. It was awesome.

Then they began pounding JAY-Z and the crew was dancing and flashing lights at eachother. Something was up. Then in a very very loud way, they began playing The Blue Danube (forgive my spelling) through the speakers. And these curtains began lowering on the stage. And it got louder and louder until the end with it thundering, the lights went out all at once!!!

And the crowd went NUTS!!!

Setlist:
Life In Technicolor
Violet Hill
Clocks

In My Place
Speed Of Sound
Cemeteries Of London
Chinese Sleep Chant
42
Fix You
Strawberry Swing
-The Group walks out to a little stage lit from below

God Put A Smile Upon Your Face (Electronic Mix)
Talk
-Chris talks to a little girl with awesome seats and sings alone

The Hardest Part
Postcards From Far Away
-Chris runs back to the stage

Viva La Vida
Lost!
The Scientist

-The Group Runs out to the back of the Toyota Center

Death Will Never Conquer (Will plays guitar and sings the song!!!)

The Group runs back to the stage and we wait

Interlude:
Viva La Vida (Thin White Duke Remix)
-They get back to the stage

Politik
Lovers In Japan (The Butterflies fill the Toyota Center!!!)
Death And All His Friends

Encore:
Yellow
The Escapist

What I felt that was really great about the whole set list was that every song, even the not so well known ones were full of energy and excitement! One song would end and then they would go into the next one and everyone would cheer because it was THAT song!!! Yes! They're playing that one!!! Not once did I ever feel like they were doing a song that I didn't want to hear. Everytime a new song would start, I'd throw my hands up and say, "YES!!!"

There were some really great moments throughout. But a really memorable moment from Houston, was during the part when the band played Death Will Never Conquer accoustic, Chris pulled out his harmonica and began playing and moving around. He accidently pulled the plug on Will's guitar as he was singing. The sound cut immediately. He stopped and looked right a Chris and he had to appologize and they all began laughing. A human moment! Chris had to tell him to finish it all the time while trying to keep it all together. Will got the sound back and finished the song. Also, Chris said that they do that (walking through the crowd to get to the back of the center) everynight, but Houston was the hardest city to get through. Everyone loved that!


Of course the show stopper was "Lovers in Japan." The butterflies drop from the ceiling and fill the Center. It's amazing to watch and they dropped them at least three times. We lucked out and walked down to the floor after the show and a guard gave us a hatfull of butterflies! They're die cut out of thin paper. But they do the effect perfectly. So we got something a little extra from the show.

For me, Lovers may have been the show stopper, but of all things, the interlude while waiting for the band to come back to the front stage was the defining moment of the concert for me. Why? Because during the wait, they began playing this remix of Viva La Vida at full blast. It was one of the best remixes I've heard of the song. I know now that it is called "The Thin White Duke Remix." It took three days to figure it out. It was awesome to me. I felt that it was something special that you don't hear anywhere except the show. And it kept the energy going at full blast. I loved it. I did find it and now it's going into my playlist so that I can relive the whole show on my ipod.

After the show, we walked to our hotel. We were only one block away from the Toyota Center. That was really good. Before the show, we just walked over to this awesome little chinese resturaunt. They had really good food. Then we walked a block to the center. It was all right there with in a block of our hotel. So we saved at least $15 in parking. That was crazy to charge that much for parking.

I watched Dawn and her reactions to her first concert. I know that she's liked Coldplay and some of their songs. Some she's thought were weird. But when it all started and the lights went out and slowly came on, I saw her. Her hands were up to her mouth. Her eyes were bright and bewildered. She was in DISBELIEF. She couldn't believe that fourteen rows away, Chris Martin and the band that she'd heard of through radio and cd's was actually standing there. Singing for real. I grabbed her arm and shook her and yelled it's really them!

At one point it even looked like Chris was looking at ME! I know, I know, "sure he was." But it really seemed like it. He looked up towards us and I slowly raised my arms up and waved at him, and it looked like he was taken by my wave! It felt like he saw me. Mabey he did, and mabey he didn't, but it was a cool feeling for a second to think that. I do kind of stand out in a crowd. But that's what makes a concert feel personable. That moment when just mabey that band saw you and connected. I felt that and it was awesome.

It's been several days now, and I keep thinking about that show and how truely incredible it was. We saw one of today's Super Bands! Coldplay! Seeing someone in concert like that makes them even more real. We hear music, we buy CD's, watch videos. They are making this music for you to hear. But they are at a distance. But when we walk into that auditorium or stadium, they are really there. In front of you. They are real people. It's amazing. I want to see them again. I miss it. I miss the feelings I had during that show. I was happy as could be. It was one of the best birthday presents I've had. Hopefully, in a few years we'll be able to do this again with Coldplay.

Thank you Coldplay, for coming to Houston, Texas, and sharing your music and show with all of us that were able to attend. I feel very lucky and privilaged to have seen you and experience your music first hand.

Alright. Now, where's U2?