14 August 2002: 1st Avenue, Minneapolis, USA
From WikiColdplay
Setlist
- Politik
- Shiver
- Spies
- Daylight
- Trouble
- One I Love
- Don’t Panic
- Everything’s Not Lost
- Hungry Heart
- See You Soon
- God Put A Smile Upon Your Face
- Yellow
- The Scientist
Encore - Clocks
- In My Place
- Life Is For Living
Encore - Lips Like Sugar
- 1.36
Encore - Amsterdam
Reviews
I don’t even know where to begin. Last night’s show at First Ave in Minneapolis was just phenomenal. Better than amazing. Unbelievable. I can say this because I have been to many, many concerts in my day. It ranks up there as one of the best – if not the best - I have seen.
We drove down from Fargo and got to First Ave around 4:45 to get in line. There were about 15 people in front of us waiting. Doors were at 6:00pm.
Once we finally got inside, we went straight to the stage to park ourselves in a good spot. We were on the right side of the stage, right in front. Awesome spot. I knew that we weren’t on the side of Chris’s piano, but there were too many people on that side. I was happy with where we were.
The One Giant Leap video was first. It started out cool (that song with Robbie Williams is awesome) but began to get kind of boring fast. We were all just so antsy to see Coldplay. Maybe if I was at home on the couch and I could hear everything they were saying in it, I might enjoy it more. It was interesting though that they were talking about capitalism and all that, and here we were, have gotten screwed because we bought our tickets from Ticketmaster to see this video…grrr...
Afterwards the crowd was ready. From what I could see the place was completely packed – more people than I have seen before in First Ave. The roadies did some last minute checking of mics, put out the towels, placed the beer on amps…and then...
LOOK AT EARTH FROM OUTER SPACE...
The band came out, met an enormous roar from the crowd, and went into Politik. Chris was at piano. The lights were great – strobes to really give it a dramatic feel. The pounding rhythm was intense.
After that they went into Shiver. Then Spies, then either Daylight or Trouble. I was trying to remember the set list throughout the show, with the first letter (PSSDT…) but I was just too into the show to try to remember it all, so I lost track. I don’t even know if I could pick a highlight of the show, it was all just one amazing experience.
They did a ton of songs from AROBTTH, including The Scientist, God Put A Smile, Clocks, and even the b-side One I Love. Chris made a comment that this was the perfect time for them to lose their “Minneapolis virginity”. And First Ave is a great place to do that. Chris tried to introduce a song by Backstreet Boys, and had us boo. He also talked about a couple they met at a Mexican restaurant that just got engaged. He dedicated a song to them but I don’t remember which it was.
Yellow was magical; Trouble was beautiful; Everything’s Not Lost was touching. The first encore included In My Place. When they came out for the second encore, Chris handed a flower to a girl to my left. Guy gave a rose to my friend Erin right next to me. There was a rose over by Will on the drums so I though maybe I would be lucky and get that from him after that encore.
They did Lips Like Sugar and went right into a hard song; I’m assuming it was a cover. I’m not sure what it was. Will threw the rose into the audience so I didn’t get it. Then they left the stage and the screen started to come down…we all thought it was over. Even a roadie gave a signal to the sound guys that it was over. But... Chris came out and got on the piano! He made a comment before he started playing that “you can leave if you want...” They had to retract the screen and I could tell the roadie was not happy. Slowly each of the other guys came back on stage as Chris was doing Amsterdam. They each joined in on the song…it was amazing. Then they left the stage for the 4th time. Even after the 3rd encore people were still cheering loudly in hopes that they would come out again...
After that we waited outside with some other fans by the truck and a van. I saw some friends from Bismarck and it was cool to chat with them and catch up. After waiting for awhile they guys finally came out. I got Jonny’s autograph first, and then Chris’s. I also got a picture with Chris!! I first asked him if I could get a picture, and he was a little hesitant, but did it anyway. Then they guys bolted across the street to another waiting van.
The guy that was next to me during the show took notes throughout. He gave me his email address, so when I get all my pictures developed (2 rolls), I will send them to him and he will put them up on his site, along with his review and complete set list. As soon as I know what that is I will post it on here! My pictures should be great; I used 800 speed film, some pictures with flash (since I was close) and some without.
What an awesome end to a remarkable night… I’m so glad I got to see them in such a small and intimate venue. Coldplay is a truly amazing band, very unique, so much energy…they have it all. Thanks guys for giving us such a tremendous performance… one we will never ever forget!
Jennie oasisjennie@hotmail.com
Coldplay's 14th August concert at First Avenue in Minneapolis was awesome... after sitting on the steps by the stage for two hours, through crowds of people and the 'short film', I thought it was very worth it when coldplay came on the stage in pure darkness and pretty much blinded everyone that was looking directly at them with their spot lights.
They played song after song... and none of that "I'll stop and tell you my life story" between EVERY SONG which was rather a refreshing change.
Their light show was absolutely amazing (even if it wasn't intended on being a part of their set). Ah... I loved the fact that Chris is so energetic during everysong... he somehow makes playing a song, sitting at a piano look exhausting! But it was nice to see! :-)
They played some older songs, even teased us with some old covers, as well as having their fans sing the opening AND closing of "Yellow" ...then when they were done and after all of us "boo-ed" them (after being told to by Chris) they played their last song...exited... came back on and gave us all a preview of their new CD by playing "In My Place" and everyone in the venue was singing right along with them!
Once again they exited off the stage, only to return shortly after....even when chris said that they had run out of Coldplay songs to play that they would play anyways!
They exited AGAIN and everyone chanted and cheered... but the stage guy came on stage and said to cut the mics and amps...so people started filing out....oh wait Chris came BACK up on stage and played another song! I felt exhausted for them.... so after their full hour and 45 min set, their fans were on their way out the doors!
So I must say it was probably the coolest concert I've been too, Chris was very funny in the short amount off time he talked in telling us about losing his Minneapolis-virginity and so on... but I brought my friend with to the concert that had never heard any of the songs that Coldplay had ever sung... and she left a fan so that's how convincing their concert is... THANKS FOR SUCH A WONDERFUL TIME!!!!
~Chelcie L. Atkinson
Okay...how do I begin to explain this day? Well, I've been looking forward to it for quite a while, but I was surprised, yet again, by how spontaneously incredible life can be. I'll never be the same.
Well, as an introduction, I've heard the new album in its entirety two and a half weeks ago, and I saw the band in Chicago two weeks ago at the MTV2 show. It was not until then that I realized how deeply I absolutely love this band...I was literally bursting. It's been a very emotional few weeks...so I decided to write them a letter. I poured my heart out in that letter about everything, and I mentioned The Scientist and my feelings about that song, which are very strong. I asked Debs at coldplay.com where I should send it, and she gave me instructions, but I decided to take the letter to Minneapolis just in case (I really had no expectation of actually getting it to them there).
So I got to Minneapolis with my roommate Laura and her boyfriend/my friend Michael at about 6:15, and I ran into O'Donovan's pub to give my ticket to Melissa, who came on a 22 hour bus ride from Texas, and I also saw Jess there and Jess' friend Carrie. We went back to wait in line, which was a somewhat more confusing ordeal than it had to be, when suddenly Michael rushed over to me and whispered, "Chris and Will are over there across the street." I immediately froze...I looked over and there was a crowd of about 10 people there, and I thought I saw Chris' head. Anyway, I whispered to Mel, "Chris is across the street." She immediately ran over. So I just followed her. At that moment everything left my brain, so I'm surprised I did anything. I really had to kind of remind my body to function. I reached into my purse and I kept pulling out the envelope with my tickets in it, but finally I got the letter out. I took a picture of Mel and Chris (which I'm really worried about because I cannot recollect this moment at all).
[Edit: I just talked to Melissa on the phone and she says the pictures turned out really well. Good.]
Then I took Chris' hand and placed the letter in it. He said, "What's this?" I said meekly, "my letter..." and Mel said much louder, "It's her letter!!!" Chris said, "oh, thank you very much!" and gave me a big smile, and put it in his pocket.
Then I took a picture of Mel and Will, which will be better than the one with her and Chris. Then they left. Some people were asking them for tickets. It's weird to me that more people weren't over there. They were both really nervous, and they tried to get away really quickly. But they were so nice. They didn't even have to acknowledge anyone, but they made sure to talk to everyone that was there.
Whew. How odd. What are the odds of them just being there on the street? And I happened to have my letter with me. Laura and I walked into the building and hugged each other and sobbed for like five minutes. The venue is fabulous. Mel wanted to go up front and I said I would, but later it happened that I just stayed kind of in the middle, which was perfectly fine. I'm happy I didn't try to go up front. Let's see. We watched the opening DVD thing, which was semi-interesting, except all I could think about was the amazing odds of me writing that letter and being able to deliver it to Chris' very hand. I was completely shocked.
All right, here's the setlist, which I wrote on my arm in permanent sharpie in the dark and it looked like hieroglyphics. We couldn't stop laughing at my arm afterwards. All the symbols were just in one big blob. I knew how it worked, though!
Politik (P) Shiver (Sh, which actually looked like II) Spies (Sp) Daylight (D) Trouble (T) One I Love (O) Don't Panic (DP) Everything's Not Lost (e) part of Hungry Heart ( _ ) See You Soon (SYS) God Put A Smile (G, which looked like O) Yellow (Y) The Scientist (Sc, looked like SL and I totally forgot what it was for a long time)
encore 1: Clocks (Cl) In My Place (I) Life is for Living (LL)
2: Lips Like Sugar (LLS) the new song nobody knows the name of (the loud one) (N)
3: Amsterdam (AM)
All right, let's start at the beginning, a very good place to start. Politik was amazing, as usual. I'm always astounded at that song. The lights they have make it practically unbearable to be in the room. My jaw basically hit the floor...that's about that for that one. Haha, I just kept screaming "Oh My God!" at Laura.
Shiver was insane, too, and made my jaw drop even more. I can't believe how different that song sounds. And they had a strobe light during the instrumental part. Hypnotizing. That was unreal. Then, Spies was similar to that, just a completely different experience than what you are used to.
Hmm. Daylight was so cool! Chris always goes insane on that one! I highly enjoy watching him having near-seizures over there on the piano. And they had this bright orange light that burst out at the chorus. Nice one! I think the band really likes that song. And that reminds me, they were all REALLY happy last night. Jonny and Guy both had huge grins on, and Will was just grooving back there happily...he really looked like he was having fun. And Chris was his usual goofy self.
Trouble, always the crowd pleaser. I can't remember what happened during that one very well. This may have been when he finally started talking and said, "There comes a time in every band's life when they have to lose their Minneapolis virginity, and this is that time for us! And I couldn't think of a better time or place to do it than here." Next came One I Love, which I proudly identified right away and informed people around me. There was some guy in front of me that was going absolutely nuts at that song, jumping around and stuff, apparently (I didn't notice this).
Don't Panic began similarly to when they played it in Chicago, but I still didn't fully recognize it. I kind of thought "this is probably Don't Panic," although it sounds nothing like it at the beginning anymore. And indeed it was. Gotta love the good ol' Don't Panic. Makes me happy. It matches the shirt I was wearing.
Everything's Not Lost was just like Chicago also (and apparently DC) because he let us sing at the end, and you could really hear Will's backup singing. I was happy to hear this song, because I was SO scared it was going to be The Scientist when he sat at the piano. Chris nicely commented on the beautiful singing of the "Minneapolis choir." I think this may have been where he laid down on the piano keys afterwards, drank a gallon of water and threw a towel on his head. His pants were shiny when he stood up because he had perspired so much. He really works hard.
Well, let's see. Chris: "after we stop being famous, we're going to be a cover band, and this is what we're going to do." Then he played a bit of Hungry Heart. It was pretty funny. Oh, and at some point he said, "Thanks for coming out to see us...I know you were expecting N Sync!"
Before See You Soon he was talking with a towel on his head about a couple that was eating Mexican before the show, and they told him they just got engaged. The audience went "woo" and Chris was like "They just got engaged, for fuck's sake! Come on!" So the audience went "WOOOOOOOOO" and Chris played See You Soon for them.
Yay, I'm having fun writing this. It's strangely getting my mind off the concert, which is nice because I'm still SO giddy that I got about 2 hours of sleep and I can't eat.
God Put A Smile was really good. I still get really surprised at this song because I remember it from when they first started playing it, and it's completely different than that. It absolutely rocks. Chris goes nuts during that one, too.
Then came Yellow, with the somewhat different introduction they have been doing, which I still get a kick out of because nobody ever realizes it's Yellow, even though Chris sits there singing "Your skin, your skin, your skin..." That's obviously another crowd pleaser.
Oh, crap, I just realized something I was discussing in that letter...I wonder if this is something that has to do with what Chris said before The Scientist. When I talked about that song, I said something like "I might have to forget that song exists in the Coldplay repertoire." Well, Chris said, "This isn't our song. It's our last song in the show, but we didn't write it. It's a ballad by the Backstreet Boys, and it's called The Scientist." Whether or not that part has to do with my letter, I don't know...anyway, I was like, "haha," then I started crying, and 4 measures later he said, "and this is for Elizabeth."
I have never cried so hard in my entire life. I don't think my mind registered anything for the next five minutes. I don't even remember hearing the rest of the song. God.
The next thing I remember is that I was suddenly hearing Clocks, which also only half went into my head. Suddenly a big splash of water hit my face! Haha! Chris took some of his water bottles and was tossing water over the crowd at the beginning of In My Place. It looked unbelievable because of the lights, and it felt so nice. I can't even begin to explain the level of happiness I was feeling at that moment. In My Place is such a nice song. And I really love it because I always remember that it was the song that kept the band together, so I know it has a special place for them, too. Life is for Living is such a nice song, which ended with some extra lyrics he has added, which started me in fresh tears because of what I was thinking about and what he was saying and stuff...
Ok, had a little more time to recover the next time, and they came back out and Chris said that they would just keep playing until we said we didn't want to hear them anymore, and that the next song was by "one of the best bands that has ever existed" and played Lips Like Sugar, which they do a really nice job on. Then they played the new loud song, which I was trying to discern any kind of lyric from, and I actually did. "Let's get together." So I'm using that title for it in my head for the time being.
Then they went off and I totally thought that was the end judging from other setlists. They did start lowering the screens. But then we saw some feet running back out and a semi-distressed Chris running to the piano and yelling something at someone. He said a whole bunch of stuff which nobody could hear because the sound had gone off. Then he started playing the piano, and the sound was not on. It was quickly turned on and suddenly we were listening to Amsterdam... Chris looked like he was in anguish. It was gorgeous though, and as it is a perfect ending to the album, it was the perfect ending to the show.
That's it. I'm still so shocked that he read my letter, and I am so HAPPY about it, too (yet somewhat wary that something bad has to happen now). I honestly can't think of any better way that could have happened. I cannot believe it. I absolutely cannot believe it. Melissa stayed after (I had to go home) and she says she met the band again, all of them this time. Apparently Chris was really tired but the rest were in good form. She asked about me, and Chris said, "yeah, I read her letter, and that's why I dedicated that song to her." Holy Shite.
And! I've been waiting for the In My Place video for 2 months...I FINALLY SAW IT TODAY! TWICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
~Elizabeth Baker
