14 July 2009: Sleep Train Amphitheater, Sacramento, CA, USA

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1 Setlist
2 Photos
3 Videos
4 Discussion
5 Fan Reviews
6 Media Reviews
7 Twitter Updates

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Setlist

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Photos

Photos from this show can be found at Coldplaying.com in the Gallery thread for Sacramento. http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/1776

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Videos

Videos from this show can be found in the first post of the Coldplaying forum live thread for this show at http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/showthread.php?t=54802

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Discussion

All post-show discussion for this show at the forum thread: http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/showthread.php?t=54802

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Fan Reviews

All fan reviews have been submitted to us by the members of Coldplaying.com[1], unless stated otherwise.

Hey everyone, I just got back from the show and it was EPIC. The set list was the same. First off, I had Pit tickets but when we got there they had seats and took our Pit tickets and gave us random rows to sit in so I got row 12, well I was livid because I was like the fourth person in line and felt like I would have been front row so I talked to a LiveNation man and he said he would talk to his supervisor so finally I decided to go to the bathroom and I took my ticket with me and this other lady who was handing out tickets I told her the situation and she was like "I have row 5" I was like I will take it! So I go to the bathroom and come back to my seat and they escorted me right NEXT to the cat walk and it was really row 3 on Guy's side!! I was freaking out. I was less than a foot away from Chris on the catwalk! The crowd was fabulous and a lot better than last night in my opinion! When Chris looked at me I freaked out because I couldn't believe I was right next to him. I will post more pics and videos tomorrow but for now I will leave you with this little slice of heaven:

[ColdplayRulesTheWorld]

ColdplayRulesTheWorld, I went to both concerts and I agree that tonight' s crowd was much better. I had almost perfect seats tonight, front and center. It seems that Chris gave a much better show tonight. He seemed more like I expected him to be, performing more like he usually does in the clips on Youtube. He sang right on key, as he usually does, and his dancing was especially good. I wonder where he gets the energy. He is in great shape at 32. He went non-stop for 2 hours. He is very muscular, especially in his legs.

It's amazing how close you were to Coldplay. Great clip, and I hope you post more. Do you have a channel on Youtube? Please tell us your user ID so we can see all your clips when you upload.

This concert was definitely worth the 120 miles I drove each way from San Francisco. It was simply an unforgettable experience.

[starfish42]

That was an AMAZING show last night... I was in a situation like you, CPRulesTheWorld! Online I picked out (what I thought were) front row seats, and we got there and they gave us row 13! I was so excited to be RIGHT THERE next to the stage... oh well. You're lucky, what an awesome lady you met! I'm happy I actually got to hit a balloon and be under the butterflies this time though.

God, I do not know how they performed like that with how freakin hot it was (I was so glad to be back in the Bay Area weather afterwards, let me tell you...). Chris looked like he was losing it at the very end of 42, his eyes were bugging out like crazy They are real troupers.

Try to put performances in a list... hm...

1. Lovers In Japan - So climactic, I couldn't put it in any place but #1. We actually got to be right under the butterflies this time... it was just so amazing, fun, and visually breathtaking. 2. Viva la Vida - The lights are off, you're looking around for Coldplay (who just left the audience stage) -- the suddenly, the opening Viva strings blast over the speakers! AHHH! Always a great song, and I love to watch Will bang the drum and bell. 3. Yellow - I wish they would've given Parachutes a little more love but as always, this is such a fun song because of the balloons and the Jonnylove at the end (did you see his face ). Too funny. 4. Death and All His Friends - Bittersweet... When it starts, you realize the concert's almost over but it's such a powerful performance, made me feel like flying. 5. Strawberry Swing - I loved the audience clapping with the whole first part, no drums. I really felt a part of the song when we did that. Such a perfect song for that summer night. "Every moment was so precious..."

Honorable Mentions: Everything else! But especially GPASUYF, I really love the kooky, spacey spin they put on the song. 42 - By the end, Chris sounded tired, he looked insane, then he asked if we were okay! Lost!, because Chris' dancing and Guy's drumming. Glass of Water sounded GREAT live... just... wow.

...K, I better stop there or else I'll end up actually listing the entire concert.

[KM]

That sucks for you guys that they assigned you seats. I was lucky enough to get reserved, in row 10.

However, it was an AWESOME concert. Amazing sound, light show, and the yellow balls and butterflies added so much to the performance. I especially enjoyed the light performance on Politik, and the Viva la Vida remix. I'll have to go again, and will be recommending Coldplay to friends. Chris was humorous and energetic (loved the bug-eyes on 42), even through the heat that didn't cool til late. Calling them out took some effort though (including cheering, screaming, yelling, and seat-banging). It is upsetting when others get closer seats or even sit in the pit when they barely seem to care about Coldplay. But as people mentioned, the band seems to be able to tell who's the true fans.

On another note, I swear I saw you, CPRulestheWorld......but I can't be sure.

[Thinline]

The show was awe inspiring. I was always a fan of Coldplay, been listening since Parachutes. But I was lucky enough to win some lawn seat tickets to this concert yesterday. I'm glad I went, since during the concert the band moved to a box right next to the lawn area, and played three songs!!! (Green Eyes, An acoustic sung by Will, and Billie Jean -- Billie Jean was truly amazing, especially with the crowd singing along!! I wish I had video of that!)

[greeksurfer1]

I went to the concert yesterday. it was amazing. I loved the cell phone wave ha ha. I thought it was pretty cool also because i went to the July 14th show in LA which was exactly a year ago, and that was the date of their first day of the tour.

[The SPEED of SOUND]

It was truly a wonderful experience to see them perform their music live. It gave me understanding of many of the songs to see them express it with the light show. To see them perform live is nothing like hearing a recording. I have two examples of this: Politik and In My Place.

As for Politik, I only understood that song after seeing it at Tuesday's concert. It starts out with Chris' singing softly, "Look at us from outer space, everyone must find a place ..." like a prayer, then it gets loud with an almost angry or adamant tone with the lyrics "Open up your eyes..." with the bright white lights flashing. It was powerful. I jumped up out of my seat and began clapping.

Then Chris sings softly again, and he sounds as if he is either saying a prayer or a meditation, "Give me heart and give me soul, give me peace and self-control. ... Give me real don't give me fake..." The song keeps alternating between soft lights and singing and loud singing and pounding drum beats, the white lights flashing in time to the thumping of the bass drum. In this loud part, he is saying, "Wake up! Stop being motivated by ego and by external political forces. Be sincere and honest, not a political fake. Be a person of integrity."

Chris Martin said it was one of his top 5 favorite Coldplay songs. He performed this at their first appearance at the 2003 Grammys, accompanied by an orchestra. I thought that was very gutsy of Chris to do that, considering it has such a blunt message and does not have one of Coldplay's catchier melodies. In contrast to the bluntness of Politik in 2003, at the 2006 Grammys, he sang "Talk" in a very playful and beautiful, childlike manner, beginning the song with an introduction showing him laughing at a pun about Jonny's about to "do his business on national television." It was so charming. In the middle of the song, he walked to the back of the auditorium and gave the signal for Jonny to play his solo, during which Chris ran back to the stage, playing the air guitar in sympathy while Jonny had his moment of glory playing a fantastic solo.

The lights didn't hurt my eyes, but I found it very enlivening. This might be because I sat right behind the pit section, not in the pit, where it might have been hard on the eyes! All in all, I loved their performance of this song.

I also had a new experience with the song "In My Place." During the refrain, "Yeaahhhh, how long must you wait for it?" I spontaneously jumped out of my seat, throwing my fist in the air, expressing my excitement for the welling emotion of that part of the song. The lights were flashing brightly while he sang that part as well. I had never been to a concert before where I felt as moved by the music as I was at Coldplay's Wheatland show. A friend of mine said that Coldplay's music sounds magical. I could not have put it better.

[starfish42]

I'm still sort of in shock of the whole thing. Like, did it really happen? I think it will continue to sink the rest of this week.

Last night I made a purpose to write down what I could remember from what just happened and then filled in the blank with my sister and looking at all the backs of Coldplay albums. So this is like accurate as it could get. I'm 99.9999% sure this is all the songs.

I was planning for a shirt, but the shirts were $40! So as much as I wanted a shirt, I realized I could probably get it for a little cheaper on their website (And I was right, I just looked at their website and it has the Life in Tech shirt I want for about $10 cheaper, so I’m gonna order a shirt ASAP) so I got instead the really big and beautifully awesome program they were selling for $20. I like it a lot, mucho pictures, something that you could only get at a concert, so that's my investment there :)

Show Program, Free CD, stolen Butterfly confetti, my memories = Perfect.

Oh, and if you want, you can download the Live CD "Left Right Left Right Left" for FREE on Coldplay's website! So that's way cool :) It's a great listen.

Alrighty. Well like I said, the whole experience feels so surreal. Like it didn't even happen, but it did! I wanted to write this all down pretty much ASAP so I could get it all down and remember everything for the future. I did a giant write up similar to this when I went to see Flogging Molly two years ago and I'm so happy I did because I wouldn't remember otherwise anymore.

So we got there really early and beat the traffic all together, though even so, we weren't the first people there. We checked out the merchandise, bought some Concert Programs and sat down. It was a giant outdoor stadium. We were in the "3rd" section, the stage, "pit" people, a walkway row where the cameras for the big screens and cannons for the butterfly confetti were standing then some rows and essentially us, and more rows in our section and a big grassy area with people just packed in. The two opening bands were both very Jamaican feeling, and had those Jamaican-British type accents (I hope that doesn't sound ignorant or anything, but I hope you know what I mean), the first one (called Kitty, Daisy, and Lewis) more skaish, the other more a reggae disco (I don't remember their name), both were really good. Then they set up the equipment and the anticipation mounted. Then a set of what I can only imagine to be songs that the band picked out to play before they went on stage: a U2 song, a rap song I didn't care for, though a roadie was break dancing to it and they shown a spotlight on him it was cute, and then Johann Strauss' "Blue Danube Waltz", swaying our arms and clapping to the "chorus" of the song (if you look up the song, you'll know what part I'm talking about). Then Coldplay came on!

I'd say when Coldplay came out they were about an inch big to us, so we could see them and whatnot, though a lot of the times you were still watching the screen, unavoidable. So they were tiny but you could still see them.

Chris dances around to what I can only explain as a wiggle crossed with a jig, throwing himself around like a rag doll. It's not necessarily violent, but boy does he move. In no way is Chris the leader of the band (I truly believe they are a tight quartet) but of course because of his marriage and the fact is he is the front man, no way to avoid that, he is the one in the most public eye. He was the Emcee of the night, the only one who actually talked to the crowd, jumped around, running all the way to the edge and flying through the air, it was really entertaining :) He kept asking how everyone was doing through out the night and added lyrics into songs about being here in Sacramento (though technically we were in Wheatland, but this is the “Sacramento” show on the Coldplay tour :) Everyone else was really good, they sounded so good live! I mean they better for being together for so long and being so successful.

What struck me the most though was their pure sincerity. I guess because they’re such a worldwide successful band, I don’t know, I somehow expected something different. But it was genuinely like “Hi, we’re Coldplay, just four guys from England who’ve been given this opportunity to play for you guys, we’re doing the very best we can, we hope you enjoy”. Obviously they never outright said any of that, but the energy coming from them was just that. It made everything they did extraordinary, and as an audience, we took in and believed all of it. Even though there were easily thousands of people watching, it felt like a super intimate performance, a true connection between group and fans, no separation, we were just all people getting to enjoy music.

Set List! Pretty Accurate I’d say. I'll add my tidbits I remember as I go along! Well first off, the stage stuff was really beautiful! Colorful and arty and a lot inspired from their CD artwork and what not, or a la Bo Rap multiplied images of them live on stage. They were 4 giant balls above them; they projected shapes and images and sometimes even what was on the big screen. They also had a big screen behind them as the backdrop which they used for the same purpose. It was a cool effect when they would start a slow song like "42" and their video would be up there in a grainy black and white, and then when it got to the rock, faster part, the video footage would pop into color, it was really effective.

Life in Technicolor - The opening of course! Just the instrumental, anticipation grew even more because they had a sheer black sheet hung in front of the stage so you saw their silhouettes and whatnot.

Violet Hill - This one was really great, their first song really, or the one with lyrics. The first was just an intro of sorts. Awesome solo by Jonny.

Clocks - Yes, this one was good :) Just plain good.

Cemeteries of London - My sister was really excited about this one. I don't remember much about it except it was good (duh).

Yellow - There was a pause before this one, where everything went black and then bam! Everything was yellow and they released the giant yellow balloons that the crowd got to play with. At the end of the song, some balloons floated up on stage and Chris bat swung at one with the head of his guitar and popped it! I had noticed as they were flying around that they were translucent with confetti inside. It still made me laugh though. My first thought was like "Oh my gosh, he killed the balloon!" And then he popped another the same way. He told us to sing along, even though it was a Tuesday, like "Oooohhh!" and then sang a little bit of "Yellow" again with the crowd going "Oooohhh!” changing the lyrics to say how good Jonny looked. :)

In My Place - Chris ran around like a crazy person on this one, it was funny. And was kind of like playfully tackling Jonny while playing and they both went over to the side of the stage and Chris fell over all dramatically onto his back at the end and kind of laid there with the mic and pitifully sang the end phrase, sort of in a "Oh I'm tired" kind of way.

Glass of Water – A great song from their EP. They had yellow lights in the big balls and an aqua rippily light on the crowd like, you guessed it, water. I really love this song now.

42 - Now this was awesome. Said above, they had the live feed of them on the big screens B&W then in color when it went to the dancey rock part. Great energy. In this one at the end Chris went over to the piano to play the last part and started to sing the final phrase but was out of breath and flopped down on the piano while still playing the notes with his right hand, and then asked us the crowd if WE were okay. And then sang the last phrase, holding the last note for a LONG time, it was awesome. Random Girly Observation: By this time, he was really sweaty and his hair on his forehead began to curl, I thought it was kind of cute actually. I know, that's kind of weird.

Right - Then they went off stage into the crowd. The spotlights would follow them so we could see they were going into the audience, then the lights would move around so we couldn't see where they were going until they got there. They were to our rights, closer this time, now a couple more inches big :) Will had a drum, Guy and Jonny guitars, and Chris had a whole piano up there.

God Put a Smile Upon Your Face/Talk - It was a little medley of the two songs.

The Hardest Part - The other three guys left and Chris sat down at the piano. He thanked us for coming on a Tuesday and missing out on stuff to come and see them like "homework". He said something along the lines of "There are many successful front man solo acts to come out a successful band and I am not one of them. So for the next 3 minutes, you'll see what an f*ing disaster that would be". This song was really awesome, and I realized how beautiful the lyrics are. Really honest, a great choice. With backing vocals by Will, who was on stage by this time.

Postcards From Far Away - My sister was really excited about this one and kept poking me. It's a gorgeous little piano instrumental from their "Prospek's March" EP and he played it flawlessly.

Viva La Vida - And then BAMB!, the rest of the group who had gone back onstage burst into Viva and Chris bounced back to the stage. It was a super cool contrast from "Postcards" to such a fun song. It was defiantly a show stopper, part une.

Lost! - Their show stopper, part deux. These songs sort of felt really "joined", both had the same energy and vibrance. It felt long and awesome.

Fix You - This was really emotionally charged. At the end when all four sing, it's the perfect sing along song. This was like the mini show stopper, part trois (oh yeah, French). They let the crowd sing the "Lights will guide you home/and ignite your bones" and Chris came in with "and I will try to Fix You". I loved singing it.

Back/Lawn - The lights did the "where are they going to go?" thing again. Then they went back to the front of the lawn section, so see the people in the back, so now they were behind us, to our left. The people on the lawn were freaking out! (Rightfully so!)

Green Eyes - Awesome acoustic. I noticed really beautiful lyrics to this one. It was super dark by this point and we were all just hanging out under the stars. :)

Cell Phone Wave - Chris then told everyone to get their cell phones out and set hold our cell phone to our side and starting with the crowd facing the stage on the right to do the "wave" with our cell phones. He said he wanted the air force to look down and think "Oh that looks cool. Looks like fun down there" and not know what was going on. So we all did the wave, right to left, left to right, right to left, left to right. :)

Death Will Never Conquer Me - Will's song! He has quite a different voice than Chris but awesome nonetheless. He’s an amazing singer! :) I downloaded this song off Coldplay's website like a year ago, as Chris said on the site so you "could learn it and sing along at our concert" with Will. It has a gospel spiritual kind of feel, very cool.

Billie Jean - Oh yeah. They played Michael Jackson's Billie Jean. An acoustic version, Chris told us to give our best Michael when the little high parts came. Chris had a good voice for it, surprisingly, maybe not surprising though. Awesome awesome awesome!

There was a little Viva La Vida Remix playing over the speakers and what looked like stars projected on the balls as the set up and got back on stage.

Politik - This is a great song. Yeah I don't remember much about this one, te he.

Strawberry Swing - A new favorite! This one is just cool, really fun song. Awesome! Love it!

Lovers of Japan - This one was awesome! Super catchy piano riff that you just dance to. This is the one with the butterfly confetti! It was kind of cool when it was shot out of the cannons, in front of the stage and in front of our section, but it was really cool when it really began to float down on us, it looks like fruit loop snow :) It was awesome. I tried to catch some, but it was too dark. But it’s okay because I literally picked up a giant handful on the way out from the ground as we left; it's like the best confetti in the world.

Also I remember somewhere around here Chris playing a little piano part that sounded like it could have been taken from the Amelie Soundtrack, I've never heard it before though. Maybe it was just something new he made up or a little improv, either way, it was lovely.

Death and All of his Friends - The moment when I knew it was almost over! This one was a really great one. Chris started it off solo, then called out for Jonny to start and the rest of the band came in. After it ended, the band applauded us all a lot and then went to the front of the stage together and did a joined arm bow, it was cute :) Epic. And then clapped a little more and then left the stage. And people began to bang the seats, I didn't know what that noise was because we were on concrete so I'm like they can't be stomping the ground. After I found out what people were doing, I joined in and we chanted their name.

Encore - Then Chris came back to the piano. He had the free CD "Left Right Left Right Left" in his hand and told us the title, saying "You can purchase this CD for zero dollars and zero cents. Don't waste your money!” He thanked us for coming, especially on a Tuesday, he told us to have a good week, and see you in a few years, and he had a look like “We hope”!

The Scientist - Chris sang this solo on the piano, and the band came in midway through as it picks up tempo.

Life in Technicolor II - This one was an awesome ending. They had all this artwork from their CD up on the middle screen. It was, in one word, inspiring, and as corny as that may sound, it was so true. Just amazing. They clapped for us again (even though we clapped harder!) and it ended on this gorgeous backdrop. All this really inspires me to paint :P

And I'm just like it's over :( / :)

Coldplay played from 9 until 11, but we didn't get home until 1:30 because of the traffic :O We did stop at In 'n Out though and got some food. Waters, I got a veggie burger and sis Steph got some fries. It took the rest of the night for it to really sink in. And this morning as I write this for my memories box of everness!

http://lilbaileyfunkymonk.blogspot.com/2009/07/coldplay-concert-71409.html

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Media Reviews

It's hard to pinpoint Chris Martin's most endearing moment Tuesday night at Sleep Train Amphitheater in Wheatland. But his miming of a swim stroke to illustrate a line ("tides that I tried to swim against ... ") from the band's anthemic hit "Clocks" ranked right up there, writes The Sacramento Bee.

Though Martin easily could put on airs -- he's British, married to Gwyneth Paltrow and leads a mega-selling pop band -- the Coldplay front man instead took pains to acknowledge and ingratiate himself to Sacramento-area fans.

He repeatedly thanked the audience of 12,000 or so at the 18,000-capacity amphitheater for showing up on a Tuesday evening -- one that moved from sweltering to merely uncomfortable as the sun descended on the mostly shadeless rural venue. (The breeze finally kicked in about 10:45 p.m., just in time for the encore.)

Martin defied the very un-British weather by roaming the stage clad in a dark, military-style jacket. He skipped and jumped even during the slower songs (or rather, slower halves of songs, since there's a crescendo around nearly every corner with Coldplay) as the band drew from all its albums but especially from 2008's "Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends".

In response, a well-scrubbed but sweaty crowd sang along to all the "Vida" songs, not just the ones that have been on the radio. This made sense, since "Vida," which has gone seven times platinum worldwide, was released more than a year ago, allowing listeners plenty of time to learn the lyrics.

Coldplay has been on tour with "Vida" nearly as long. But this famously meticulous band still seemed appealingly unrehearsed at times Tuesday night. For instance, an acoustic version of "Billie Jean" -- presumably a recent addition to the set list -- let Martin test his falsetto against Jackson's (not even close, but you have to admire Martin for being game).

You also have to love the way Martin constantly stretches his warm baritone to accommodate Coldplay's impressive musical ambitions. Hits such as "Clocks" and "Yellow" -- the latter accompanied by the release of large, yellow balloons into the audience -- sounded fantastic live, especially considering the work that goes into making them sound so perfect in the studio.

All the band members -- keyboardist Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berry man and drummer Will Champion -- appeared to play at least two instruments, with their superior musical skills most evident during a segment in which they left the main stage to crowd a tiny one placed higher up in the amphitheater, in order to better play to the audience on the lawn. The crowd-pleasing band ended up mounting two such small stages during the show.

The contrast in stage size underscored just how small a work force creates the band's big, elaborate sound in concert. And that Martin, though an incredibly charming and natural front man, is only part of the story. Or as Martin put it, before starting a perfectly lovely solo rendition of "The Hardest Part" on the small stage, he would be an "(expletive) nightmare" as a solo act.

He was being ridiculous, of course, but when he subsequently ran back to the main stage to join the band for a rousing "Viva la Vida" -- one of the band's more musically complex songs -- he proved that Coldplay only sounds like a dream with all parts in place.

http://www.sacbee.com/

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