 Viva La Coldplay!
Trying to shuffle 21,000 people into one venue is a little bit tough. Major kudo's to the kids running the parking lot along with sheriffs, granted it still took us 45 minutes to get into the venue. We did miss the first band, but I heard they were folkish and mellow... fun as my friend Andrea (not me) said. The Gorge was filled to the top of the hill, left to right, all the way down to the front of the stage. Ages varying from 80-years-old to a newborn and plenty of pregnant women. It was a show no one wanted to miss and perfect for any music lover.
Right when the sun was going set behind the breathtaking scenery of the Gorge Coldplay took the stage with bright lights, high energy, and ear to ear grins. As they said...."anywhere you look it is beautiful." They instantly went in to play the hits new and old from "Clocks" to "Yellow." During "Yellow" giant yellow balloons floated across the crowd filled with yellow confetti.
The camera work and video effects were fantastic on both of the side screens, by far some of the coolest effects I have seen during a live recording. The stage backdrop changed a few times once showing the cover of Viva La Vida, then the background of the gorge, and another VIVA backdrop. They also had these giant light-bulb looking lights that moved up and down and the graphics changed, they were used perfectly with each song.
 The energy that the entire band had was amazing, falling to the floor of the stage, bending back words, jumping from the left to the right side of the stage. You knew the band was have a fantastic time.
I am sure everyone got to hear their favorite Coldplay song, which doesn't happen a lot at shows. They even pulled of an acoustic version of Billie Jean by Michael Jackson in between the bottom of the hill and the floor. Yep, Coldplay left the main stage twice, once to play to the left of the stage on the floor (Chris even had a piano out there) and once they walked up to the middle of the gorge and played acoustic songs.
It was Will’s (the drummer) birthday and Chris sang the coolest little song for him while they were in between the hill and the floor. The set was interactive; we got to sing along a lot even when the crowd wasn't asked.
The crowd got very overpowering through some songs during the night. It was very moving to hear that many people sing their hearts out, all just blown away to be seeing Coldplay.
Will asked the crowd to take out their cell phones and hold them up in the air, then put them down by their sides, then raise them up and create this huge wave of lights. It was so cool! My favorite part during the night... "Lovers in Japan." I don't know if you have heard or seen this on you tube, but oh my gosh, what an amazing experience. Within the blink of an eye, I (and the entire gorge) was covered in millions maybe even trillions of colorful paper butterflies. It was so magical and went perfectly with the song.
Overall one of the best shows I have seen all year, it was phenomenal. If you missed it... go buy a plane ticket and catch it in another city before it's over, you won't regret it.
Check out more pics from the show HERE!
Andrea@checkitoutmusic.com |
