30 July 2009: Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada

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30 July 2009: Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada (Picture by Toronto Star)

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 Toronto. http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/1707

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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=54393

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Discussion

All post-show discussion for this show at the forum thread: http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/showthread.php?t=54393

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Fan Reviews

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

The guys were amaaaaaaaaaazing tonight as always. The crowd has humongous, Chris said there were 50 thousand fans, and you could tell they were amazed by how loud we were tonight. They kept smiling to each other, and I think Chris even said something like "Shit, that's a lot of people." Setlist was the same as always, with Billie Jean and all. But, they did have a special birthday sing-a-long for Will. Even Phil, who we never see brought out the cake! All in all the boys never disapoint, and the crowd was unreal, amazing singing, and the mexican phone wave was great. And, one of the highlights of the night, before I left I got Johnny's setlist! A little sad that they said they won't be back for a few years, but it'll definitely be worth the wait, especially if they put out a new album sometime soon. Hope everyone had a great night tonight. Coldplay you are truly amazing.

[jonbenar]

hi im new here, so forgive me if i sound idiotic, but hooooly crap! i just came back from roger's centre... my first concert ever + my favourite and ever = i had the best night of my life. the first opening band was pretty bad, it just felt out of place, sounded countryish and all the songs sounded the same which wasn't a good thing. the second band (elbow) was amazing, the lead singers voice was really soothing like chris'. nearing the end, chris announced that it was will's birthday so they brought out a cake for him on stage, and we all sang happpppy birthday lol. they also did a tribute song (billy jean) for michael jackson and it was a neat twist. at the end we got a free cd left right left right left. i was upset they didn't play daylight though =

[farb]

they did play green eyes ...

This was my first coldplay concert and it was amazing!!! Couldn't stop smiling and singing. Nobody near me knew the lyrics though Chris was in a great mood, laughing and poking Johnny. I am usually a member of the 'short hair club', but wow, he looks unbelievable, all sweaty I loved every sinle verse of every song, it was so much better than I had expected. Will's drumming blew me away too. He was all over it. Too bad though the butterflies were only projected on people in the flat section of the place ... Grammy's jackets for the encore and then out came Phil with a cake!!! What a treat! And it was my bithday too so I liked the song as well

Can't WAIT to see them again at Wembley ... yay!!

[lara____]

Okay I had the craziest day ever yesterday. Got up early, drove to Toronto, shopped, got ready, and then we went to the venue... Well we were staying at the hotel there but we had to get our VIP ticket things... at first they wouldn't give them to us since I was with my friends and we're only 16 so I don't think they believed us even though we had proof we knew Chloe. -_- Anyways, my mom went down and got them for us, and then at about 7:30 we went in and were sent on a wild goose chase around the venue because no one could find where the family room was. FINALLY, we found it, and hung out there for a bit. Johnny came in after he warmed up and signed my ticket for me saying, "Best wishes Katie. Nice to see you again! Johnny" I'll upload it in a bit. My friends and I also got a picture with him and then a group shot with him and Chloe. I need to wait until they're uploaded on facebook, but I'll maybe post the one of me with him. Then a bit later we were escorted to our seats. It was really stressful because the show was just about to start and the security guy taking us to our seats had no idea where he was going. So finally Chloe was like fuck this and found it herself, ahahhaa. She's really awesome. We were in section 111 and row 1... if anyone was near there. When the band started playing a few songs in the middle of the crowd, Chloe let us is move to get closer and we were standing in the middle of the crowd on this weird elevated thing. Then the confetti started! Haha we were taking so many pictures with that, and the confetti machine was right there so the dude who was in charge of it, told us when he was going to turn it on so we could get a pic. xD The concert was amazing and my feet are KILLING me from standing/dancing/running around the venue. After the show, we went back to the family room for about an hour and then Johnny came out again. He got me directions for the after party cause my friends and I didn't know where to go. :$ He was so nice about it. So Chloe gave us wristbands for it and my friends and I ended up getting a ride with her cousin. It was Will's birthday as you all know, so we sang him a happy birthday and my friends got a picture of the cake, so I'll probably post that too, once it's uploaded. Johnny, Will and Guy were at the party but this time Chris didn't come. I'm assuming it's because it was outside and there were random drunk people walking by so I'm sure that wasn't the best situation, plus I heard he doesn't really go to the after parties because having to talk loud over the music strains his voice. Either way, he wasn't there, but it was rad nonetheless. My friends and I just hung out and took pictures and took a cab back to the hotel at 3am. We didn't sleep till 4am and we got up at 6am to drive home. I'm so tired right now, haah. But yeah, I'll definitely upload a few pictures once they're up on facebook.

[sandersidle]

I was the only one in my area who knew all the words to every song. My sister came in second only because she didn't know Death and All of His Friends, Green Eyes, and Glass of Water. Kitty, Daisy and Lewis were not the best band and we decided to get some overpriced pizza while they played their set. Then Elbow came out and were totally amazing! We started a small chant in our area for the dancing roadie. Then pit started a wave then the lights went down and the band walked out. Right after Violet when Chris sings "If you love me, won't you let me know." I shout "I love you Jon!" into the crowd. I spend the next bit of the concert chanting Jonny and singing along. When they ran to the acoustic stage I thought I'd lost them then saw them right below me. Jonny did a cute little dance during Death Will Never Conquer. The Lovers butterflies didn't come into my area so we had a fun time collected them after the concert. When Phil gave Will the birthday cake, all I could say was Phil's name I could barely sing. It was beautiful and few things could make it better. Oh, and we were the ones struting around in birthday hats. Thank you Coldplay!!

[AngelsHaveBlueEyes]

hgezz, that was frickin awesome!!! My FIRST CP concert! So a few hours before the concert, i was still at home but just finished re-reading a bit of Harry Potter so i was a bit sleepy...i managed to stay awake by listening to Coldplay for the remaining 2 or so hours before i left at 6:00...wasnt as big of a hastle to get downtown as i thought (from Scar.)...when i got to my gate (gate 5) i saw that they had signs showing a female sign (like the ones u see on the doors of the washrooms), but no male sign, i figured, how the fuck do i get in then?

Eventually got in and right away i was tempted to buy something from the merch section but a fucktonne of ppl were there...so had to wait in line for a long ass time...around 30 ppl in a small space in front of the table...felt sorry for the ppl around me, i was sweating my ass off....but got slightly annoyed by ppl who didnt get the shirt ideas, like, theyre like, "Why 42, what does that mean?" eventually though, i thought the shirts were a bit too expensive ($40?!?!?!?) so i got a nice viva bottle, last one in stock too!

Back to the concert, actually, before that...ELBOW...honestly, i never heard them play before...i knew they would be a support act since i read the reviews from the other concerts...but yeah, they were pretty damn good...

right before the concert started at 9:30ish, they played Magnificent by U2 and Give it to Me by Jay Z and of course that classical piece then...THEY CAME OUTTT

LiT was awesome esp. the OHH OHH OHHHHH part near the end, everyone sung it...Clocks, In My Place and Yellow of course, big crowd pleasers, esp yellow imo, they played it with the little pause in the beginning and sped up, love it that way, and the BALLOONS, frig, didnt bounce to my section though...but hahaha, no one knew Glass of Water around me 'cept me.......next real big songs were Fix You and Strawberry Swing

They came out to the b-stage to do their bit (GPaSUYF, Talk, Hardest Part, Postcards)...i thought they would come out further then that though ...as they were playing postcards, i told my sister to get ready to stand up for...

VIVA! everyone went crazy of course for viva, and joined in for the Ohh ohh OHHHH ohhh part at the end, i kinda started it for my section

Next they came into the audience which i knew would happen, but my sister did not, i told her they would but didnt believe me....sucks though, they went to the wrong side, as in not my side....i think Chris messed up Billie Jean though but owel, still ace

Next was Politik, i fully forgot they would do that and it caught me off guard (one of my fav songs)...i pointed out the magic ball turned into a globe and everyone around was like, oh yeahhh!

LiJ followed and everyone went bonkers again for the Butterfly Confetti...like the Balloons, they didnt reach my section ....after Death and all his friends, ppl started leaving and my mom and sis and her bf wanted to leave, and i said "dont worry, they'll come out for a few more songs...and they did!

finished off with scientist and thats when my camera died....also, they sang happy b-day to will which i also said would happen and phil came out!!!

all in all great night, Chris made a lot of jokes about the garbage strike and his hair (even the hairdressers in toronto are on strike) and about how big and loud toronto crowds are

so we were filing out and i rushed to get LRLRL, got me 4 in total..on the way out, i saw a butterfly stuck to some lady's show, i wanted to get it SO bad....and also, a few kids with the 'Yellow' Balloons!!!

yeah, great night, im working on getting videos (Hardest Part, Green Eyes, End of Politik and 90% of Scientist) and pictures soon

[jc90]

Wow what a show... Can I just say that Coldplay fans are the best. We were in the front row of the pit along with Aunie from here and another guy who's name I can't remember (sorry) and the 3 young girls from Buffalo. Also standing with us were 3 grade 8 boys who were at their first concert ever... Ahhh they were so cute. We met David and Dj in line and they were really great at holding our spot when we needed a loo break or a walk.. also David made sure we got to the front of the pit. What an amazing guy. Aunie is sure to have the best pics. I am sure she will be posting later. Wonder what happened to Marie? anybody hear from her?

Anyway it was an amazing concert and my daughter and I had the best time. Hopefully they will be back soon..

Can't wait to see all the pics... my camera is crap and died before we could get any shots... thank goodness for Aunie

[cazmartini]

The concert was AMAZING. This was my fifth time seeing Coldplay All in Toronto. And I think I start every review off with that one statement. Alright so I went with my sister, we got down pretty early because we were going to do some shopping but then decided we didn't have enough time. I kind of wish we did go so I wouldn't have to listen to the first opening band Kitty, Lewis and whatever. They gave me a headache which kind of made the whole show not as good as it could have been. So after the first band were off Mindy (my twin sister) and I went to the bathroom...and someone had left their ticket in the bathroom, a floor ticket. So my first thought was...oh no this poor person! What if they need it to get back to the floor? (I later saw that people had wristbands so I hope she managed to get back). I told Mindy about it and spent a few minutes deliberating whether or not to just leave in the the stall or not. I thought that somoene would just take it, so I grabbed it and gave it to someone who worked there, hoping that it would be in better hands but also worrying that the person might go back to the bathroom and freak out if it was missing. I really hope the person managed to get back, I felt really bad.

Anway so after that was over me and Mindy split a $10 beer and then watched Elbow who I actually really enjoyed. The wait for Coldplay to come on took a while, 40-45 minutes. I think there might have been some problems with the lights because they had some guy go up on this lighting rig. Definately didn't look too safe. Then FINALLY they came on! So great. We were in section 129, row 21 so it wasn't that bad seating wise.

The music was amazing, and the sound quality was actually really good. The lights, butterflys and balloons were great. They didn't hit our section, but I grabbed some butterflys that were in this little pile on my way out. Chris was bouncing and jumping around and falling all over the place as usual.

One of the highlights for me was that the third stage was right at the end of the aisle next to me! So at one point Mindy spotted that the instruments had been set up and suggested we stand on the steps because it had to be soon. So we headed down there and in a few minutes they were running over to us! We had a rear view of the stage (not SUCH a bad thing ). Thought to point out that I spotted Phil running back with Chris. I'm surprised no one mentioned the light wave! I might have missed someone mentioning it but it was beautiful! Basically, Chris told everyone to take out their phones. Instantly thousands of blue lights appear. Then he tells us all to put our phones by our side, and that we were going to do "the wave" with cell phone lights! It was amazing to watch, it looked like thousands of stars going up. We did the whole thing a few times and before that he had just one corner waving their phones around.

My headache started returning during Politik, it had been very small during most of the concert. When they left and did "the bow" and everything I was thinking "WAIT! They have to do an encore for sure..." But at the same time I was thinking of nearly ever other time I've seen them that they did the bow as a sort of final thing. I haven't beem following setlists or anything so I didn't know what the last song would be. But I also knew they HAD to play The Scientist. Especially because it's my favourite song. Lo and behold, the lights stayed off and a few minutes later they were back and playing it. So beautiful. Then they had Phil bring out a cake for Will. Looked like a strawberry shortcake to me...possibly chocolate. I work in a bakery (I couldn't help but notice) haha. And of course they had an explosive ending.

It took a while for people to start moving. Me and Mindy both got a cd, and when we were walking towards the Skywalk we saw all these people bunched up. We asked what they were for and it was for everyone who didn't manage to get a cd on the way out! We also managed to pick up another one that got thrown in the air and almost hit Mindy. I'm going to give that one to my friend who was originally going to come to the concert but didn't have the money. We got dipping dots on the way out which were really good, I've never tried them before. On the subway back home my headache came back with a vengence. It also didn't help that we had to get off halfway hope to get on a shuttle bus since the northbound trains stopped running. I felt like crap, but I still had a great night. I was wearing my autographed shirt....no one else had a shirt as old as mine haha. I saw some X&Y shirts but mostly viva la vida ones (understandable). I was wearing this old 2003 tour shirt haha.

[twin4life]

Coldplay saved our house. Literally. We got back from America yesterday morning (my dad drove all night) and arrived to see the pipe in our fridge had burst and flooded our kitchen and dining room and parts of the basement. Everything is okay now, thank goodness for insurance! My parents wanted to stay longer in America but Coldplay comes first and a good thing too because I'm pretty sure our entire main floor and basement would have been damaged.

So my sister and I arrived at the GA gate around 2:30. We didn't know where the other Coldplayers were but got in line anyway. We met cazmartini in line but didn’t know it was her yet haha.

By 4pm or so, things started to get hectic. The security people said that they were going split up the line and stand at another gate and we were sent to another gate. People started to complain that now it was unfair for those who had lined up at 11am (someone apparently lined up at 6am!) and I agree that is definitely not fair. The security guard said that they would let the people in the original gate 4 minutes ahead of the gate from where we were moved to. We decided to move back to the original one. By 5pm-ish we overheard that they were going to cut right before us and move a slew of people in front of us because the other gate wasn’t being used anymore which is really unfair as a lot of people in the back of that line came later than us. But the coldplayers stuck up for one another and told the security that we and the girls behind us that we had been here for a long time and they started the line up after us. Coldplayers rock!

Gates were supposed to open at 6 but they were having technical difficulties and opened it around 6:20ish (I think that was the time). People wanted to cut us but the mother of one of the girls from buffalo made sure no one did. Coldplayers are awesome, did I mention that? After getting in, my sister was behind but we had decided that one of us would have to book it to get a good place and I walked fastly (not allowed to run) and caught up with cazmartini and the girls from Buffalo and my sister soon followed and got to know one another.

The centre of the pit was filled up already (by the 6am and 11am people, they deserve it ) so we were on the centre-ish right of the stage, still front row! Kitty Daisy & Lewis came on around 7:30 and I thought they didn’t really suit Coldplay’s genre of music but they were okay. I don’t think many people liked them. But the instruments were pretty cool! They played five songs or so. Elbow came on and they were amazing, really liked them. I’m planning on getting some of their songs. They played a handful of songs as well. They ended at 9pm.

My legs were starting to hurt from standing but the moment the lights went down and Technicolor came on, I didn’t think about my legs once during the remainder of the concert. Everything seemed so surreal, Guy was right in front of us doing his thing on the bass and Chris was flying around everywhere on stage (even did a somersault!). We couldn’t see Johnny and Will that well but we did occasionally see them and they were full of energy! The entire band was so energetic and Guy was smiling so much!! The pit people were great as well, tons of chanting and singing from the start to the end of the concert. The entire stadium (I think it was 45,000 instead since the whole stadium wasn’t used) was singing as well. Yellow was amazing and the yellow balloon balls and noticed that people were trying to put them on the stage and Chris popped a couple with his guitar. All of their songs were so perfect but at times Johnny and Guy’s guitars seemed to have problems but I don’t think anyone noticed. Chris made jokes along the way (about his hair, the garbage strike) and included Toronto in some of the songs which were great!! They went into the crowd on the c-stage (Green Eyes, DWNC, Billie Jean) and they sounded so amazing. I loved Green Eyes!! Politik was amazing as well, my fave song! I filmed it too! Lovers of Japan and the confetti were amazing and they glowed in the dark and it looked so pretty!! They said their goodbyes after DAAHF and my mom thought that was the end (she was in the 500s) and had left early, missing the last two songs. The stadium sang happy birthday to Will (the pit people were trying to sing the song before in the concert but didn’t really work out) and brought out balloons and a cake which was really nice! After they played the last song, I still wanted more; the concert went by so fast! They said they were coming back a couple of years later which made me sad but understood why.

I took tons of pictures and videos along the way and some turned out great! It was difficult to take a good picture of Chris, he moved too much! As well as the getting a picture of the entire band. A lot of people were staying behind to get a setlist but we had to leave quickly as our dad was waiting outside. But we decided to ask a man in red coat who looked as though he could be the head security and he pulled a setlist from his pocket and gave it to us! As we were leaving, we saw a woman with Will’s balloons and took a picture of them, she was so lucky!

It was so difficult to leave Rogers Centre, everywhere was clogged with people trying to get out. It was because of the free CDs and we went outside to see that all of the CDs from our gate was all gone. But our mom knew something like this would happen and got our CDs beforehand.

I will never forget this night, it was fantastic!! It was so great to see other coldplayers!! Most of all, to see Coldplay so up close.

Thank you Coldplay for saving our house!!

[aunie]

It's probably been said thousands of times before, but the concert was absolutely amazing! This was my very first concert and I had so much fun! I'm also new to Coldplaying although I have heard about it before. I was quite impressed and more than satisfied with everything about the show, except for the fact I was one of the unlucky fans around Gate 5 that didn't receive a free copy of LeftRightLeftRightLeft... I went to the concert with a friend, but we had separate tickets, so I spent the night alone. My favourite part of the night were the butterflies during Lovers... although they never reached my section, my friend had brought a bag and opened it up to get about a dozen. Another interesting part was on the way back home via ttc and being several stations away from the Rogers Centre, still being able to find some butterfly confetti floating about as the subway swooshes by! One thing is for sure last night will be an experience I hope soon to never forget. and I can't wait for the next concert! (Even if I have to wait a couple years)

[jonathanwm]

yay i went to the concert yesterday, it was my first concert my friend and i had seats in 525, which weren't all that bad because it was near the middle. the daisy kitty louis band was a bore, not a great act to start off a coldplay concert. elbow, another one of my favourite bands, were brilliant as well. guy had so much energy, although i was the only one going nuts and singing in my section. after elbow, another couple came and kindly told us we were in their seats (we were one section too far!) , which actually benefited us because our actual seats were in the middle! and then coldplay came on, and they were fantastic. the singalongs were amazing, and fix you and viva la vida were definitely the highlights. everyone got up and was singing/dancing/clapping along, even the old folks in front of us ! and as we were leaving, at union, people were still chanting "OoooooOOOooo" and there were butterflies strewn everywhere .. the energy was still alive! all in all, im so happy i went, just to be together with thousands and thousands of coldplay fans in one dome .. i'm never going to forget this day!

[mitali_29]

They were astonsihingly brilliant!

Just home from Toronto. So sorry I wasn't able to meet any of you personally, but what a day! Exhausted and must sleep, but am looking forward to reading your stories in more detail, and I'll write about mine in a couple of days.

PEACE LOVE CHEEZ

PS Did the flags find a purpose?

One day like this a year will set me right! (Elbow) After seven months of anticipation, July 30, 2009 finally came, bringing my first Coldplay concert experience. At 55 I'm one of the oldest people I saw at the concert, but I was also one of the most ecstatic. Even as I approached the Rogers Ctr. with my two friends, there was a warm welcome from random people gathered outside and in the beer garden. People who wouldn't otherwise have given me a second glance were coming to hi-5 me, asking "Coldplay?". Seems my Fair-Trade bracelets are a give-away. There was a definite sense of unity and joy from everyone. I should give you a little sampling of my concert-going experience. The earliest one I remember was about 1969. I saw Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass at Varsity Stadium in Toronto. Fast forward to Melanie at some University of Waterloo auditorium in 1971 (peace, love, grooviness!). In 1972, Cat Stevens at Massey Hall (disappointingly brief and impersonal). In 1977, Emerson Lake and Palmer at Exhibition Stadium (ducking flying booze bottles). Innumerable classical concerts and dance performances and recitals. And most recently, the Rankins at Massey Hall in 1996 (Celtic peace, love and a pint - almost got kicked out for dancing!). Until Thursday, I'd never seen the inside of the dome. That was the first awesome visual sensation of the night. We arrived just after Kitty, Daisy and Lewis has left the stage. Disappointed to have missed them, we found our seats in A6. Now, looking at the seating chart and then actually stand in right field are two seemingly unrelated experiences. I've never been in a crowd that size and it was dizzying, even with most seats still empty and the house lights on. A mid-sized city of people - all there for one love - Coldplay. We had a view of the stage from about 100 ft. and were directly in front of one of the 50 ft. screens. Perhaps the best of both worlds, I hoped. One of the biggest thrills of the night for me was seeing Elbow. One big class act, with music that moves like the tide and carries you with it just as surely. Before they closed their 6 song set with "One Day Like This", their current hit, Guy Garvey, their front man, said their job was to warm up the audience, but his expression clearly said that would be redundant. They got huge ovations from the crowd after each song and a standing O, at least in the GA and A sections, when they signed off. We were warmer than warm! Next, the super-charged wait, during which I took the opportunity to do some shopping and use the euphemism. Got 2 T's and a hoodie, then went looking for the Oxfam booth, but time was getting on and I thought I heard U2 playing, so back to our seats. Some fancy high-wire action on the wave-shaped light rigging by a daring roadie. A roadie break-dancing to Jay-Z - very cool! Then ... "The Blue Danube" and the goose-bumps and chills down my spine started. The audience already going nuts in a big way - me included. Then the sparklers. And the guys were on! How to describe such a cluster of peak experiences. From the opening strains of "Glass of Water", the energy just built and built. "Yellow" was a highlight, as I got to volley two of the huge yellow balloons upwards (and did so with apparent skill that I got hi-5's from the other folks who'd been trying for it. Being 6'3" with very long arms has its advantages. The cell-phone wave looked really cool, and emphasized the size of the venue when the lights went all the way to the top of the 500 sections. As I anticipated, the audience singing "Lights will guide you home..." from "Fix You" actually did cause tears to stream down my face. "Viva La Vida" brought the crowd to a tidal roar of joy. I was really glad to hear "Green Eyes", "Politik", "Death and All His Friends" and "The Scientist". As always, a favourite for me is hearing Will sing, though that stage was quite far away. The band lived up to every expectation I could have had - and went even further. Chris's stage persona is completely disarming and you can't help but love him. His musical talent is epic. He didn't stop from start to finish. He made jokes about the local garbage strike and about how when you see yourself on a 50 ft. screen, you know you should have had a haircut. Jonnny wrung the rock and soul from his guitar with style and class writ large. Will's drumming is nothing short of heroic. I felt privileged to sing Happy Birthday to him with everyone. And Guy is the coolest bassist ever. I must confess that I wished I'd been in the pit, and will be next time. But I was also very glad to have a seat for the last few songs. Constant dancing, singing (off-key I'm sure, but who could hear anyway), jumping, clapping, cheering wore me out a little faster than when I was 18. I'm still a little hoarse. To the Coldplating.com friends who I never got to meet, but with whom I was there is spirit, the loss is mine. I'm proud of us all! In his final words, Chris said "You'll never know how much today has meant to us." Same here, Coldplay, and Thank You!

[Ziggy]

Hey everyone! I am also one of the purple girls (red hair) I was the one who was a cry baby. Thanks everyone for sticking up for us when they were trying to push us back! And thank you sooooo much to our second "mummy"!

Sorry to anyone iI have have view- blocked with our signs... I just really really wanted them to see them. Guy smiled at us when he saw our sign, he was looking right at me! AHH Later Chris waved at us and smiled while looking at me too! Every single thing that i wanted to happen, did.

Oh and also Chris pointed to his hand, motioning to me about our equal signs! I almost died.

[Emily1931]

It was the first concert I've been to and I must say it was AWESOME. The band was full of energy and so was the crowd. Everyone singing happy birthday to Will even made it more special. Definitely a night I will never forget and Coldplay just made this the best summer I have ever had. Cheers!

[padfoot]

What an amazing show! Managed to upgrade from section 124 to b6 on the floor which was awesome, and I totally lost it when they started singing. Brought my camera but was so excited forgot to take pictures ( and the 2 I tried to take turned out horrible).

I don't know if it is possible to get too excited for Coldplay but I know I was pretty excited. Just all the love in that stadium was overwhelming, amazing.

And something like 45000 people there, pretty insane

[PlayAMessage]

I went to the Coldplay Toronto Concert! I'm, Karen and I'm from Buffalo and I went to the concert with my two friends Emily and Katie. We got to Rogers Centre around 1-ish and sat in line. After a few hours the security guards decided they were going to split the line up and open another gate. We stayed in the original line but that wasn't really fair because then the people who came later could go in the same time as the people who waited hours and hours. But later the security guards closed the gate they had the second line in front of and they decided to make it all one line again. They claimed to remember who was in front before and they were going to cut off the line right in front of us so we'd get in later. And we were there since one but everyone in line stuck up for us, The Purple Girls, and all the Coldplayers were sticking together so we got to keep our spot.

We made friends with the people in front of us in line and our "mummy", helped us to get to the front of the pit and the three of us ended up in front and center on the railing more towards where Guy stood. Myself, Emily and Katie (the Purple Girls) brought 3 signs we made to the concert with us. On said "Viva la Jonny" on one side and the other side said "You Go Guy", the second sign said "Chris Puts my Life in Technicolor" and the back of that says "Have a Spektakular Birthday Mr. Champion", and our last sign said " Bring Back the Nappies". Early on in the concert we decided to put up our poster for Guy because he was right in front of us and he saw it and smiled! After which all of us screamed "Guy I love you" and he also smiled and laughed at that! Then during Yellow the balloons all kept going on the stage instead of back in the crowd and Chris was mouthing to Guy to kick the balloons off of the stage and pop them.

After lovers in Japan they were walking off and Chris came over and he read our sign for him. He looked at us in the eyes, laughed, smiled and waved. then ran off stage. Jonny also read our sign. But for Will when he was near the side of the stage no matter how loudly we screamed he didn't hear us so he didn't see the birthday sign we made for him. And we got to be really close to the "fifth member of Coldplay" Phil and Miller "Roadie 42".

It was the best concert experience ever! And we'd like to thank our "mummy" if she sees this for helping us at the concert!

[Karen6321]

Oy, I'm still exhausted a day later, but I'll try to write out my highlights now .

I'm from Connecticut, so we had to drive about 12 hours to get to Toronto (we were going to be there anyway to pick up my brother from camp). I missed Kitty, Daisy & Lewis because I had to be at my brother's hockey game, but arrived right as Elbow came on. Our seats were...not brilliant . I'm afraid I'm now spoiled after being so close the past few times. I was in section 134a, which is right on the left side of the stage, but the issue was that the stage didn't span the entire width of the playing field like it does in smaller arenas, and I didn't bargain for that. However, I perked right up when I was informed by the security guards that the boys would be passing RIGHT in front of our section, and I was in the second row!

I didn't take many pictures, but I got a few fairly good ones from the HD screen right in front of me, as well as a crap-lit video of the boys walking right past me, which I'll post later.

The show was awesome, and I was so grateful to go when I totally didn't expect to be able to, so I would have taken even crappier seats just for the experience . However, I just don't feel nearly as connected when I'm not in the front anymore...the people in my section only knew the singles. I also loved singing happy birthday to Will .

Anyone else get one of the awesome Toronto posters? I had to get one .

[ApproximatelyInfinite]

But my god, I still can't get over the concert It was soo amazing and I still can't believe how incredible it ALL was. I don't even know where to begin describing the whole thing.

After lining up since the morning, my friend and I were in the pit, front row, between Chris and Jonny though closer to the centre, so I definitely have some great footage and photos to share

Also, I just realized I saw a bunch of you lot I wish I could have said hello

[x_TheSkyCouldFall]

WOW, what an amazing experience!

I didn't get in the line up til around 4:00. But I was there when security tried to put the second line back into ours. I was about 5 people back from "the purple girls" and was part of the pack hollering to make sure they cut the line in the right spot.

I was luck enough to get a pretty good spot in front with only two people between me and the stage!!! I think I was in shock the whole time...I kept thinking "I can't believe Coldplay is right there in front of me!" LOL The music was superb and the pit atmosphere was great! I also liked how the pit sang happy birthday to Will and he acknowledged us before Chris had the whole arena sing.

The only bad part of my experience was that I got stupid and totally forgot about the LeftRightLeftRightLeft cd! DOH. It was taking forever to get out and my back and feet were sore from standing for soooo long that I ditched the line and went out a back door. It wasn't until I got back to my hotel that I remembered! Of course I downloaded the album from their website ages ago. But I was still looking forward to having the actual hard copy.

But other than that the whole experience was beyond words! I am now off to set up a you tube and photo bucket account so I can share!

Thanks everyone for all the pics and videos. It's great to see other points of view and angles of the show.

[mamgirl]

AMAZING concert!!!Just came back.Will post pictures and videos as soon as I can I was right in front of Guy (first row) and he smiled A LOT

Last night was amazing Took the night from Montreal to Toronto. The guy sitting next to me wouldn’t stop talking to me. It was like 3 in the morning on a crowded bus…shut up. I arrived in Toronto at 6:30, checked I, had a shower and went for lunch with a friend. I was arrived at the venue around 12:30.There were a few people there already so I waited in the line with them. I was on my own because my friends are going to the Montreal concert (which I originally couldn’t attend but now can). We waited for hours under the sun. I got I nice tan but still it was HOT. Then there were problems with the gates because security decided to divide the line and let people in who hadn’t been waiting for long at the same at those who had been waiting for hours. After 2 hours of demands etc we were ultimately allowed in first. Guess we might have made a few people angry but we had been waiting for 5 hours I walked (really fast) to the pit and got first row, Guy’s side. Exactly what I wanted. The security guys were funny and talkative (except for one guy who looked a little lost) Kitty, Daisy and Lewis were good. The boy is SUPER young, he looks 16 but he can play so many instruments Elbow were BRILLIANT! Seriously great. I wish they had played longer. I’m seeing them tonight again, this time longer because it’s a festival. They started setting up for Coldplay so I saw Vicky, Franksy, Miller and the rest of the crew. The Dancing Roadie was hilarious. Crazy moves on the ramp. The Security guys were laughing. They weren’t expecting it and I think they first thought that it was someone from the audience who had jumped on stage. The bad thing was that the camera man stood in front of me so I had perfect view on Guy and Will (Will most of the time) but couldn’t see much of Jonny. Thankfully Chris moves a lot so he was no problem but the cameraman was too tall.

When Coldplay came on, the stadium (50,000 people I think) went ballistic. Chris was impressed by the number of people. The crowd was fantastic! Really good sing-alongs. In my section, people knew all the words so that was great. We also tried to sing happy birthday to Will several times. Guy was on high form. He smiled and laughed A LOT (on a Guy scale)!! During “Yellow” a lot of balloons came in stage and he couldn’t stop laughing. He looked happy throughout and seemed impressed by the venue cause he was looking at the roof. The roof is REALLY high so it did look great with the lasers and butterflies. Glass of Water is brilliant life. Everybody knew the words in the pit. Will goes CRAZY on the drums. 42 and Fix You were amazing. Very good sing-along during Fix You. Before the Hardest Part Chris went on about his hair and hairdressers being on strike in Toronto. He dedicated the song to someone named Seth. Some of us were trying to turn around to look at Will. I love his singing on that song. Guy was sitting next to him. Viva La Vida was brilliant, of course. The “oooooh” chant went on for a while and sounded amazing. Will beat the hell out of the bell and drum.DOn't know how that thing resists his wrath. "Lost!" was very energetic although when Chris threw the big drumstick in the air, it almost hit Guy. Guy had some problems with his bass at one point but got it fixed quickly. Two songs later, can’t remember during which song, Chris came over to him and asked if he was okay. I guess he was referring to the bass.

The C stage was GREAT! The venue at the back and sides went mad when they realized what was happening. I loved Green Eyes and of course DWNC. Chris introduced Will as the scary yet lovely drummer. I love Jonny’s guitar on “Billie Jean.” Sounds fantastic. He played really well that night, even though the camera man was kind of hiding him from me. Oh well… "Lovers in Japan" looked amazing with all the butterflies because the roof was so high do rained butterflies forever and Chris sand the last line several times Before "The Scientist" Chris thanked the audience for being so great. He said something like “You’ll never know how much you’ve done for the band today” or something like that. I don’t know why. Maybe they had a tough day. There was lots of backslapping during the bowing part. Chris slapped Guy in the back, I thought he was gonna knock him over (for those interested, Guy wearing bright blue undies). Guy is the skinny, you never know (actually when you see him he is not too skinny but he did have to straighten his jeans a few times)

We sang Happy Birthday to Will and Phil brought out a cake. Guy and Chris were singing on the top of their lungs. Again, I couldn’t really see Jonny. He was already having a beer anyway. Guy cracked up at Chris “It’s Will’s birthday...in England at least” joke (I tell, Guy was in a really good mood I think he was already partying for Will’s birthday). It was great to see Phil. Will looked hilarious with his cake and balloons. Chris described Will as the rock and diamond of the band and gave him a hug, Will went in for another one and told him something (these two, you never know between them)Then he gave Jonny and Guy a hug. Cute moment I’d never heard Lit ii live and I love it. It’s great song to show the show on. Anyways, it was a mind-blowingly good show. I think even better than the one last year. Can’t wait see them again tonight in Montreal.

I hope I haven't forgotten anything

[marie/pims]

All I have to say about the concert was that it made my year. Thank you so much Marie. I was at the front rail in the very corner where the right catwalk started. Although I loved where I was I couldn't but help wish that I could move to different spots as the band moved. This is not a complaint in anyway ... as I sad I loved my spot. I think that this normal.

Unlike many here ... I didn't mind the Kitty band too much. Yeah the male looked like he was 18 years old. I think that the sound quality was better at the front as we had the amps to listen to.

Did anyone else notice that volume wise Kitty(low), Elbow(medium), CP(loud)? I think that they either do that to build up the anticipation or has something to do with the number of bodies in the audience.

Was very impressed with Elbow. Felt kinna bad for them because they knew everybody was really waiting for CP. But on the up side the probably gained many new fans. The singer was good and had a really nice demeanour/vibe about him.

CP ... OK I'm secure in my masculinity. But, I have to confess that listening to certain songs at home always brings tears to my eyes. Yeah, real men do cry. I'm not sure why but it may be an association with the time I lived in England and CP were just getting airtime. I also suspect that it may be CM's emotions and lyrics ... I dunno ... but as they came on stage (I could see them behind the screen with the sprinklers) I started to tear up. Now thank god that the huge security man was in front of me and I just made it look like it was the smoke or something. But I didn't tear up for the rest of the show ... and I thank you guys for that. Because there was just so much positive emotion and cheers even during the tough songs for me.

Thanks folks, Now I have to find something to look forward to.

[Sled]

It was my first CP concert and it was absolutely amazing!!! I wasn't really digging Kitty, Daisy and Lewis but after Elbow came on the place started to fill up pretty quickly. I thought security was going be tight and that I would be denied taking my digital camera in since it records video. But as my friend and I were lining up at the gate, one guy ushered to us let us go through without glancing into our bags. So we found our seats and waited for what felt like hours for Coldplay to come on. Finally, the lights went out and everyone screamed, including my friend who doesn't even know them. I was so happy to see everyone in my section standing up when LIT began (my seats weren't that great tbh). But anyway, I absolutely loved the sparklers. Violet Hill, i felt went by fast, In My Place was so amazing, there was so much energy put into this song, the boys played every song wonderfully, it was loud and the music was incredible, highlights were lovers in japan (the neon butterflies were so beautiful!), politik (my favourite arobtth song), yellow, and glass of water. Albeit my friend was being impatient that I didn't get a chance to go collect confetti and ask for a setlist, getting out was a hassle and i felt the concert ended too quickly, it was an incredible experience overall. I don't plan on forgetting this concert anytime soon.

[butterfliesinjapan]

Finally got a chance to write about the Coldplay concert. Words cannot describe how frickin' AMAZING it was!!!

My friend and I made it to the Rogers Centre at 6-ish, but after we watched Kitty, Daisy & Lewis's set I really regret that we got there so early. Elbow really made up for it though. A really friendly bunch of folks, there to "get you all warmed up for our close friends Coldplay."

The minutes between acts were so agonizing, but it felt so unbelievable looking at the massive crowd gathering behind us (we had B3 seats) - I'm sure that the Rogers Centre is one of the largest venues of the entire Viva la Vida Tour. Anyways, Chris and the guys were supposed to get up on stage at 9:30, but the show started quite a bit later. There must have been some issue with the lights or something; I'm sure there was a crew member actually standing on top of the equipment as it was being raised up again...scary stuff. Magnificent was an awesome beginning to the "countdown" (unfortunately I felt like I was the only one in my section that knew it however), and the breakdancing roadie was absolutely crazy. Then finally they came on!

If you haven't seen Coldplay live before, like myself, then you've been realllyyy missing out. Johnny's pounding his Telecaster in Violet Hill and Glass of Water, the balloons flying around in Yellow, the 50 000 fans singing along during Fix You, Viva la Vida and Lost, and Clocks still kicks ass. Chris was quite the entertainer as well - the entire stadium cheering after "and the night over Toronto lay" at the beginning of a breathtaking Cemeteries of London, his constant jokes about the city strike and how it's affecting his hair, and bellowing the crowd to "try and take that roof off" at the end of 42. And the response was enormous, I enjoyed it so much.

What really sticks to my mind about the show was the C-Stage and the stuff that followed. Our entire area stood up on our chairs to see a glimpse of the band at the opposite side of the stadium. I remember security yelling at the top of our lungs to get us down (like yeah, that was going to work). I can only really say WOW about the massive cellphone wave, and after the band ran back during the Viva remix interlude, they whipped out a smashing Politik right before we had even expected it. Lovers in Japan came next, and while everyone was totally in awe with the butterfly confetti at the time, the background video was very moving as well! I remember watching the performance on Youtube a day after and I almost teared up.

There's so many other things I wish I could talk about (Will's birthday, the encore, the "ohhh ohhh" chanting of Viva on the way back to Union station, etc). It was my first time to see Coldplay live, and it definitely won't be my last. What an experience - every single day that passes I feel that I'm beginning to lose some of my memory of the concert, but I want to remember every moment of it. If there was any way I could relive it again...

[Osaka Sun]

My friend and I started our little trip to the Rogers Centre by taking the VIVA bus (an awesome name for a bus!), cause we both live in Aurora. On the bus we saw three guys wearing the VLV tour shirts and met a girl who was going to the concert too, later on when we switched to the subway where we also overheard some people talking about being excited about seeing Coldplay. We arrived at The Dome at around 3 pm, and since we saw no one lining up we left and walked around downtown for a few hours. You’d be fascinated about how whenever there’s a big band around the prices rise 2-3 times on everything lol. When we came back we ended up being first in the line, which was a pretty awesome thing, because when we were finally allowed in we ran to the merch stand we didn’t have to wait three hours to get our stuff. I ended up getting the viva bag, a keychain, tour book, the concert poster and the LiT shirt which I later exchanged to the tour shirt (actually I changed my mind 3 times-_-). When we were sitting and waiting for the bands to come on we had a security guard come up to us and he started talking to me about Chris and how nice he is, he said even though it’s only his second time meeting the band Chris acts like they’ve been buddies for a very long time…and then he started talking about Michael Buble lol. So we sat there for a while watching the place slowly filling up with people until the supporting acts finally came on. I didn’t really like Kitty, Daisy and Lewis, and my friend kept on whining about the music being too loud, but there was a lady a few rows in front of us, who was like REALLY enjoying them like she was dancing and singing along, well good for her. Then Elbow came on and I knew their songs so I liked them. Then when the classical piece started playing (ok ok I definitely knew the name until now -_-) everyone in my section got up and started waving their hands around. AND THEN the moment I’ve been waiting for the whole entire time from the second I received my tickets, the band ran out holding the sparklers I can only say I’ve never screamed so loud in my entire life! Plus I couldn’t stop smiling the whole time! I’m not gonna tell you about every song they played, besides the fact that I was singing along the whole time (duh, who wasn’t?) cause you probably read all about them in the other 1000000 awesome reviews other coldplayers posted. I loved every single song they played, but especially Fix you and VLV, cause you know of the whole crowd singing along thing, pretty magical! Okay okay now here comes probably one of the biggest highlights of my night, before the concert I wasn’t THAT satisfied with my seats, they were good (btw I was in section B3 but a bit too far away from the stage) but I couldn’t really see anything on the stage without looking at the screens, but when the band ran to the C-stage, I figured out I was only a couple sections away from them, so I ran like crazyyy there lol, and ended up standing about 1.5 from the guys. I couldn’t believe how close I was, there they were standing right in front of me, I could see them perfectly I couldn’t stop squealing the whole time and I screamed when they started playing Green Eyes, one of my favourite songs ever! The only problem was that my dumb friend kept telling me that we should go back and get our stuff. This is what was going through my mind the whole time she was telling me that “Okay you surely must be a freaking idiot we’re 1.5 meters away from the greatest band in the universe also my favourite band that I love and dreamed of seeing live for a very long time and you want to LOOSE our spot and go back and get your stuff???! Wtf right now I could care less about what happens to my stuff!” But I didn’t say any of that out loud lol. And what annoyed me the most I told her to go back without me if she was that worried but she wouldn’t. Ughhhhhhhh. Sheesh people these days. So she kept pulling me so we ran back in the middle of Billie Jean and guess what our stuff were still there, I felt like slapping her, I’m not even kidding. Good for her the soon ran back to the big stage and played LiJ. And all the beautiful butterflies started falling down on us. Which was AMAZING! I caught so many . And then a few songs later when the band left the stage I was scared there for a moment that this would be the last time I will see them for a few years , but then I enjoyed our lovely “COLDPLAY” chant and was indeed very happy when Chris came out and talked and sang more songs and Will’s birthday song. And yeah after the concert I stayed up collecting the butterflies, my friend was in a hurry to get out like always, and one of the security guards came along making fun of me for collecting so many. I got some more stuff from the merch stand and with the LRLRL CD and all the Coldplay stuff I bought in my hands I headed out from the Dome still excited and a bit upset about Chris telling us that we probably won’t see them for the next few years. But still this was the best night of my entire life thanks to coldplay. Fin.

[coldplay.obsessed]

[edit]

Media Reviews

On a particularly humid evening, Coldplay touched down at the Rogers Centre for an energetic, uplifting and momentarily off kilter set. Working off of their vast catalogue of current and past hits, the British four-piece launched into "Life In Technicolour," the lead instrumental off of their latest offering Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends.

After a strong rendition of "Violet Hill," lead singer Chris Martin took a moment to stare out into the sea of writhing bodies and ask, "Everybody all right?" which sent the sell-out crowd into hysterics. The band kept the energy in the building pumping with one of their first hits, "Yellow," during which an explosion of yellow balloons was released above the floor, and then with a stirring "Fix You."

The momentum that the band had been building came to screeching halt temporarily when the took to a mini-stage amongst the floor seats and made the head-scratching decision to play a techno/dance version of "God Put a Smile Upon Your Face" from their sophomore disc A Rush of Blood to the Head. Thankfully, the mistake was quickly forgotten, when Martin turned up his cheeky charm and used a little self-depreciating humour to win back the audience.

After finishing their set with "Lost," the group exited the stage to a deafening chorus of screams. After a few tense moments, Martin and the boys came out for the first of three mini-encores, where they hammered out a fairly funky acoustic version of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean," as well as "Politik" and their most popular tearjerker "The Scientist," which had some young ladies literally crying.

With drummer Will Champion also celebrating his birthday and a stadium full of fans singing him "Happy Birthday," the night seemed pretty much like a massive house party where everything was just right.

http://www.exclaim.ca

In many ways, the world of pop music is akin to the world of professional sports. One invariably starts at the bottom (the minors) and works one's way slowly to the Big Leagues (the exceptions jump the queue via shows such as American Idol ). Thursday night's triptych at the Rogers Centre offered a classic example of three bands at different levels on the ladder, bottom to top.

I purposely arrived early to catch the relatively unknown rookies Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, a trio of young London, England, siblings whose influences include vintage 78 rpm records and classic fifties rock 'n' roll, rockabilly and blues. Integrating standup bass, barrelhouse piano and laptop guitar into the mix, the group (which is rounded out by Mum and Dad on guitar and bass) covers the likes of Johnny Horton ( Mean Son of a Gun ), Louis Jordan ( Ooo-Wee ) and Canned Heat ( Going Up the Country ), making them a kind of present-day version of John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers. It was good fun, but would have worked far better in an intimate club setting than in that cavernous, still-filling stadium. Quirky, but destined for anonymity in the minors.

Second-billed Elbow gives every indication of an act ready to break into the Big Leagues worldwide (in Britain the band's pretty much already there). This earnest and unpretentious quintet from Manchester is at the forefront of a movement to bring 1970s-style prog rock back to the mainstream. Led by humble and appreciative lead singer Guy Garvey, echoes of Peter Gabriel-era Genesis reverberated throughout the short but intriguing performance. Layering later-period Gabriel, world-beat rhythms, classically inspired keyboards and skittish Robert Fripp-styled guitars behind Garvey's very British and understated vocals, Elbow picked up where Genesis apologists Marillion left off. An unlikely choice for Coldplay's lead-in, but intriguing.

Internet chatter would have it that London-based Coldplay has eclipsed U2 as the biggest band in the world right now. I don't really think so, but don't try and tell that to the 45,000 fans in attendance Thursday, who sung along joyously to nearly every song in the band's generous two-hour-plus set.

Comprising “three really shy people and one idiot” (the latter, presumably, being affable and charismatic lead singer Chris Martin), Coldplay gave a remarkable performance that illustrated that this Grammy-winning band has mastered the art of arena rock. The massive performance had everything, including every song a Coldplay fan could have wanted to hear and then some. Backed by five large screens, the performance was actually played out on a simple stage set that let the music (and Martin) do the talking.

But the show was cleverly structured so that attention never waned. On breakthrough hit Yellow , hundreds of large yellow balloons floated down from the rafters. Late-set number Lovers in Japan featured another storm, this of confetti. Lasers and video clips were inserted, but sparingly. A highlight came when the quartet ventured down to a smaller stage mid-arena to perform a short acoustic set which included a tribute to Michael Jackson ( Billie Jean ).

Martin himself has grown into an incredibly warm and vivacious front man who never stops smiling and totally connects with his audience. Inviting sing-alongs (“consider this your Canadian Idol audition”), Martin probably got more than he intended when the audience simply would not stop chanting the chorus to the massive hit Viva La Vida . Ultimately the band had to drown them out simply by starting its next number, Lost .

During the encore, Martin suggested that the band probably would not be back in Toronto “for a couple of years.” All good and well, then, that we got to see the quartet at what is probably the height of its fame and power, in an arena-rock spectacle that was just about as good as it gets.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com

Coldplay Don't Need Experimenting

It's been over a year since Coldplay released Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends. They've toured it endlessly and tirelessly since, and returned to Toronto for the second time in a year (they played Toronto's Air Canada Centre on the same day last year) on Thursday night to play one more time before they take a break and begin thinking about their next record.

First, the crowd were treated to the sounds of Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, an R&B trio of '50s sensibilities. Their skiffle and early rock 'n' roll sounds were a bit out of place on a bill that featured bands that play atmospheric pop rock, but it was refreshing nonetheless, especially their covers of Bill Monroe's "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" and Canned Heat's "Goin' Up The Country."

Elbow's Coldplay soundalike mopey pop was a jarring contrast. On record, Elbow are positively snoozeworthy, but live they're more explosive. Their set was entirely comprised of songs from last year's Mercury Music Prize-winning The Seldom Seen Kid. Then again, anything can sound explosive in a stadium with a sound system that's designed for 50,000 people. Oh, Manchester, so much to answer for…

When Coldplay took the stage, it seemed as if the audience was in for a repeat of last year's gig at the Air Canada Centre. The band began their set behind the same translucent black screen and played the exact same four songs they began with at that gig. An "uh-oh" moment was had when Chris Martin seemed to be having trouble hitting the notes on "Violet Hill" and had to sing much lower than he does on record.

Calling Coldplay competent performers is a moot point — it's a tired cliché, but they're the world's biggest band now, so performing has become pretty effortless for them. The songs from Viva La Vida sounded much better than last time they were here, and they've clearly have become accustomed to performing them.

But there's often the danger of becoming a little too comfortable. Martin at times seemed a caricature of himself, and even flew through the air behind guitarist Jonny Buckland on one of the stage's wings during "In My Place" — just as he had last time. Fortunately, Martin and company are so damn earnest that it will never come across as completely disingenuous or rehearsed, even if it kind of looks that way.

Thankfully, the setlist became different when the first chords of "Yellow" rang out. "Glass Of Water" from the Prospekt's March EP also helped change things up.

By "42" it became very clear that Coldplay's attempts at "experimentation" on Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends don't exactly translate the best live. Martin attempted three times to get the crowd to sing along to the chorus, and they weren't having it. Hilariously, the roof nearly came off the Rogers Centre when Coldplay launched into "Fix You" next.

Luckily, Coldplay knew enough to leave "Yes," the dreadful, seven-minute Velvet Underground and My Bloody Valentine soundalike (half of it is a hidden track dubbed "Chinese Sleep Chant") out of the mix this time. Unfortunately, they once again ruined "God Put A Smile Upon Your Face" by changing the key and adding horrible electronic drums and distorted, tremoloed guitar onto it, just as they did last year. The crowd's response wasn't all that enthusiastic.

From there, it was onto "Viva La Vida." It's also probably telling that this track, Coldplay's biggest hit to date, and their most straightforward song on the album, got the loudest singalong of the night.

This handily demonstrated that Coldplay are at their best when they don't try to play at being something they're not and stick to what they're known for: writing anthemic pop songs and arena rock with great hooks. The Joe Satriani business aside, "Viva La Vida" is a truly great song because it keeps things simple: the hook is one word — "Waaaa-ohhhh" — and it doesn't try and sound like a poor version of Radiohead, The Velvet Underground, My Bloody Valentine or anything else the guys drool over in their record collections.

Martin went on record last year as saying Coldplay purposely attempted to write songs that sounded like the aforementioned bands. Experimentation is all well and good, but it should come naturally. When you attempt to sound like someone else, it comes across as stilted. Maybe that's why "Viva La Vida" will always get a bigger singalong than "42."

Martin repeatedly stated throughout the rest of the set this would be Coldplay's last show in Toronto for "a few years." Presumably, they'll take some time off and then begin working on their fifth album.

At this point, Coldplay are like the child in second grade that tries really hard to be like the cool kid and always falls short and gets mocked because they're a little bit different. Hopefully Martin and company will realize that their fans don't need — or want — them to be U2, Radiohead or anyone else.

http://www.chartattack.com

Over the years, I've realized that any review of a Coldplay show I do boils down to this: I head in not wanting to like the band, and then nearly everything the band does makes me like it. So, for expediency's sake, at the Rogers Centre Thursday night - where the de facto "biggest band in the world" of the moment played its biggest Toronto show to date before upwards of 40,000 people - I only took notes whenever Chris Martin and the rest of the lads did something to endear themselves to me. Here's the rundown.

1. I know they've agonized over the pre-show mixtape, because we're steered toward Coldplay's emergence by U2 (very "meta," lads), Martin pal Jay-Z's "Give It To Me" and ..... er ..... Strauss's "Blue Danube Waltz" - which is a modest way of referencing 2001 without piping "Also Sprach Zarathustra" over the P.A.

2. Everyone comes onstage waving sparklers.

3. "Clocks" is still massive, isn't it?

4. During "Yellow," dozens of enormous yellow balloons descend from the rafters in slow-motion free fall. Momentarily, everyone in the stadium is 3 years old. Martin stops the song to ask everyone to sing along because "it's in my script" (very "meta" again, lads) "even if you're in Row 706 and you're only here because of your girlfriend." Damn him, he's taken all my best lines.

5. "42." Douglas Adams is introduced to Radiohead. Very earnest in its artiness, but the noisy part is still aces.

6. "Fix You." I'd usually be leery of saying "I'm such a chick for liking this song." But since every single woman I know all but faints every time they hear this ballad and every single woman around me is currently on the verge of collapse, I think I'm safe.

7. Martin makes a joke of our garbage strike and his increasingly uncool hairdo ("Even the hairdressers are on strike in Toronto") to mollify a crowd restless with ballads and promises that, after "The Hardest Part" "we'll do 'Viva La Vida.'." They do. Uproar.

8. A mini-acoustic set conducted from the floor deep in the concert bowl contains a freestyle "rap" introduction to drummer Will Champion, a lovely version of "Green Eyes" that I videotape to suck up to my girlfriend and a cover of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean."

9. On the way out midway through a predictably boffo greatest-hits coda, I'm handed a free CD of live tracks entitled Left Right Left Right Left. I still rather like CDs and, I must admit, I understand completely why Coldplay still sells millions of them.

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/674590

TORONTO - Exactly a year after Coldplay played the first of two sold-out shows at the Air Canada Centre, the Brit pop-rock outfit returned to Toronto for a show at Rogers Centre on Thursday night in front of over 45,000 fans, writes Jam! Showbiz.

On a stage dominated by glowing orb lights, the band - frontman Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman and drummer Will Champion - appeared in shadows initially as they kicked off the concert with the stirring instrumental, Life In Technicolor, the first song from their multi-platinum, Grammy winning fourth album, 2008's Viva La Vida. "Everybody okay?" asked the always charming Martin mid-song, before finishing Violet Hill with: "If you love me, let me play Tor-on-to!"

Frankly, it was hard to see the four musicians, even during the next song, Clocks, despite Martin rocking back and forth on his piano stool, the presence of four large video screens, two on each side of the stage, and green laser lights.

Thankfully, that problem was corrected as the two-hour-and-15-minute show progressed. "Let's turn the lights on - that's a lot of people," said Martin as he hopped around the stage during the opening of In My Place and ran between two catwalks stretched out into the audience for the duration of the song before collapsing on his back.

From there, the show improved visually as dozens of yellow balloons were released onto the floor heralding the beginning of the band's 2000 breakthrough hit, Yellow, which saw the crowd singing along, especially at Martin's request. "Consider this your Canadian Idol audition ... Even if you're in row 706 and you're only here because of your girlfriend," he joked. Those orb-like lights finally fully lit-up during Glass Of Water, from the band's post-Viva EP, Prospekt's March, and the Viva tracks, Cemeteries Of London and 42.

"Let's do that last note together - try to take the roof off," said Martin as 42 wound down. Just think of him as democratic Pied Piper of Rock. Otherwise, Buckland's guitar playing added the much needed harder edge to songs like In My Place, Yellow, Fix You, Lost!, Death And All His Friends, while Champion's thundering drums held down the bottom end nicely, particularly during crowd favourites Viva La Vida, Lost!, Politik, Lovers In Japan (complete with multi-coloured, butterfly-shaped confetti) and The Scientist.

Less successful was when the band gathered together at the end of one of the catwalks for a sped-up version of God Put A Smile Upon Your Face that never really quite worked. Much better was when the group wandered through the crowd to a smaller b-stage on the floor to perform effective acoustic versions of Green Eyes, Death Will Never Conquer (with Champion - who turned 28 on Friday - on lead vocals), and a cover of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean. "I don't know what else is happening on a Thursday night in Toronto but thanks for giving us your Thursday night," said Martin, as he settled in to play a piano version of The Hardest Part, on the catwalk earlier in the show. "All the garbage, all the stuff you have to get through, to get to us."

He then mocked his own long haircut saying after a year and a half on the road, he'd forgotten to cut it. "It's only when you see it on four 50-foot screens, in front of 50,000 people," said Martin adding: "Even the hairdressers are on strike in Toronto."

http://jam.canoe.ca/

With the music industry losing loads of cash and smaller acts getting more attention, many people think the era of huge record sales and big stadium shows is over. One problem with that theory: Coldplay.

It seems that no one told the British foursome, which is arguably the biggest band in the world right now, that the days of epic, over-the-top concerts are a thing of the past. The band has been traversing the world playing for thousands of fans in both packed arenas and bursting-at-the-seams stadiums, and putting on a damn good show at that.

By the time the group took the stage Thursday night it had played nearly 140 shows in support of its most recent album, Viva la Vida. While they’ve been putting on large, anthemic shows for years, the new disc, with its rockier tones and more guitar-based songs, meant fans were in for a more raucous show than they may have seen the last time the band strolled into town.

That energy came through early, as they kicked off the gig with the opening to Vida’s Life in Technicolor and then quickly moved to that album’s first single, Violet Hill. Clocks, their massive hit off their sophomore disc was third, while their other dramatic single off A Rush of Blood To The Head, In My Place, soon followed.

What was most remarkable, and somewhat surprising, is how intense the show was. While songs like Parachutes’ Yellow and X&Y’s Fix You are catchy enough, their measured pace can feel sluggish on disc.

Live, however, many of Coldplay’s slower tracks (and there are many), were amped up, or at least had more of a soul than their recorded versions.

It helped that the group, decked out in the same drunken clown-like military garb you’ve seen in their recent press shots, had no qualms about prancing around the large stage like they were in a brash rock band — and the screams and yells from the nearly 44,000 Torontonians didn’t hurt either.

If there were any low points it was when Martin went behind the piano. (Which, again, happened a lot.) His stage presence is still commanding when he’s sitting down, but he’s far more engaging when he’s able to move freely, or when he’s bobbing his head and strumming a guitar.

Still, the group have mastered the difficult art of putting on an intimate and alluring performance at a place like the Rogers Centre. And if this was the last large-scale rock show to come to Canada, then what a way to go out.

http://www.metronews.ca

They never fail when it comes to their prime objective: keeping their massive fan base satisfied

If they aren’t officially the “biggest band on the planet,” Coldplay are undoubtedly the most eager to please.

This hyper-earnest shtick is at once Coldplay’s greatest blessing and curse. Chris Martin and company are the victims of endless snide remarks by elitist critics, but they never fail when it comes to their prime objective: keeping their massive fan base satisfied.

This has been the mission statement ever since this quartet of once desperately shy English boys hit it big on the strength of a simple song like “Yellow.” As the Viva La Vida tour enters its second year, they’re at it again, holding up their carefully constructed reputation as down-to-earth, socially responsible do-gooders, with Oxfam volunteers filling up petitions with thousands of signatures, and security guards handing out a free live album to every fan.

Jon Pareles’ famous New York Times article that essentially labeled 2005’s X and Y a cold, calculated moneymaking venture still rings true. No matter that Martin is self-deprecating to a fault, poking fun at his own haircut one minute before describing his band as “one idiot and three very shy men,” there’s no escaping the feeling that this is a rock 'n’ roll band packaged for ideal mass consumption.

In fact, the opening acts suggest this could well have been named The Inoffensive Music Tour. Kitty, Daisy, and Lewis began the proceedings with a largely forgettable set of swinging, bluesy numbers. They were followed by unlikely Mercury Prize winners Elbow, whose brand of adult-contempo Britpop would have made for uplifting background music, had the lighting not been so impressive.

Yet not unlike Santa Claus, Coldplay are a fantasy that nearly every kind soul longs to believe in, especially those with a weakness for melody. The sold-out SkyDome (doesn’t everyone still call it the SkyDome?) crowd was made up of a predictable demographic: an even split of swooning women and dudes who probably won’t admit to their buddies that they bellowed “Fix You” at the top of their lungs.

Debate the honesty of the emotions if you will, but the bottom line is that the hits stand up. Whether bounding across the stage, sprinkling sweat on his fans during “In My Place,” or settling down for a moving solo piano version of “The Hardest Part,” Martin had the crowd right where perfect lighting and his effervescent antics made sure to put them — the palm of his hand. The sheer power of “Vida La Vida” is enough to make you forget that everyone from Cat Stevens to Joe Satriani to some douchebag from Brooklyn claims to have written it first.

The string of anthems and dizzying production values are overwhelming enough, but Coldplay are wise enough to always go the extra mile. Witness the oversize, confetti-filled balloons released during “Yellow,” and the hurricane of neon butterflies that whirled down from the retractable roof amid Martin’s dizzy piano line on the glorious “Lovers In Japan.”

As if the protruding side stages for increased fan interaction weren’t enough, they run, Beatlemania-style, to the back of the stadium for a three-song acoustic set. During which we get the evening’s only true misstep, an ill-advised cover of “Billie Jean” that’s really fucking cliché, even by Coldplay standards.

Emerging alone for the encore, Martin took a moment to address his adoring public before breaking into a mournful rendition of “The Scientist,” thanking us profusely and suggesting they’ll be back in a couple of years, maybe more. Next time around, here’s hoping Martin bucks his incredibly annoying trend of trumpeting the virtues of the new material after explaining all the reasons his previous multi-platinum effort was nothing more than a piece of shit.

But perhaps this is precisely why Martin and his mates aren’t ashamed to keep their faults (lack of personality, clunky lyrics, ersatz Sgt. Pepper stage outfits) on full display — Coldplay admit they’re far from perfect, and no one seems to mind. In fact, they’re the kind of international rock stars who present a birthday cake to their drummer and get 40,000 delighted Canadians to sing Happy Birthday.

They’ve completed and perhaps even perfected the transition from mawkish Britpop outfit to stadium-packing megastars, whose glossy performances come with a hefty price tag. If a Coldplay show is expensive enough to qualify as an investment, two hours of sparkling anthems are a worthwhile return. And the complimentary live album is a sweet dividend.

http://www.eyeweekly.com

Concert Review: Elbow and Coldplay, July 30, Toronto

It was a rare alchemy that made last night's concert at the mammoth Rogers Centre a ticket to good to pass up as Elbow, the Mercury Prize-winning British critical darlings, and Coldplay, the Grammy-winning heir to the title of "world biggest band" joined forces in Toronto.

Before the big bands, the night was begun by the young British rockabilly trio Kitty Daisy & Lewis, who were hand selected by Coldplay's Chris Martin for the tour. Playing on the massive stage, the group - fronted by a trio of teenage siblings - did their best to warm up the slowly filing-in crowd. The reception was polite, if not quizzical.

As Elbow readied to take the stage, three massive video screen behind the stage turned on, and it was clear that the production level was about to go up a notch. Elbow is smart-rock: big, epic lullabies and devastatingly-orchestrated complex Mancunian rock set to Guy Garvey's biting lyrics. One could only wonder how all that would translate to the caverns of the Rogers Centre.

Starting off with Starling, the first track from their Mercury-winning album Seldom Seen Kid, singer Garvey lifted a trumpet and helped blast out the opening staccatos of the song before taking the mic. The band confidently whipped through a too-short set featuring songs such as Everything Has Changed (introduced by Garvey with: "This song is about the day after falling in love. Which I highly recommend if you've never tried it."), the chant-inducing Station Approach (a "song about our hometown, but you can borrow it whenever you like"), at full stride during Ground For Divorce and the lovely closer "One Day Like This".

The mix was perfect, allowing the stadium to swell with Garvey's warm voice. There were indeed only two things wrong with their set: a bit of audience indifference and the notion that it should have run a full hour longer. This was an opening act, but swap Toronto for anywhere in the UK, and Elbow could have filled the arena themselves.

But this arena was full for the main act. Coldplay has been functioning as the heir apparent to U2 ever since their first world tour, although, that seems to suit Chris Martin and company just fine. With each tour they hone their show, upping the spectacle and stage presence.

After hyping up the crowd with a combination of U2's Magnificent, Jay-Z's I Just Wanna Love You, and Strauss' Blue Danube Waltz (presumably a salute to Coldplay's friends and influences), the lights lowered, the trio of screens fired back up, and a large giant orb descended from the roof of the arena.

In darkness, the band – Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion and Guy Berryman – took the stage and opened with the instrumental "Life in Technicolour" and by the time they started the first verse of Violet Hill, the audience was singing along.

After asking for some lights, Martin surveyed the almost 50,000 strong and remarked "that's a lot of people" before launching into In My Place.

The band has clearly perfected the routine of the tour, now into its second year. With the opening chords of their first-ever hit, Yellow, a hundred or so giant yellow balloons were tossed and dropped into the crowd. As the song progressed, Martin encouraged some crowd interaction, asking everyone to sing along "even if you are here because of your girlfriend".

After a few songs from last year's Grammy-winning Viva La Vida, the quartet played the mesmerizing 49. And it was here where it was clear just how orchestrated the video team was. With the songs quiet piano opening, the screens displayed Martin singing in black and white with dramatic filters, and through a pin-hole camera effect. As the song exploded, the edits become chopping, then transitioned into full colour. The unsung video team acted from then on like an invisible band member - adding another layer to the show.

In the first stage shift of the night, all four members came to the stage-left extension for sped-up, self-remixed and slightly sinister versions of God Put a Smile Upon Your Face and Talk.

Martin then cued the "Michael Bolton" segment of the show, where he joked about his need for a haircut and thanked the audience for coming through the traffic and the garbage to see them play before launching into Hardest Part and then bringing the crowd to frenzy with the thundering Viva la Vida and Lost!.

As the song wrapped, a sudden tide of movement down the aisles and from security towards a wooden platform near the bottom of the field below my seat in section 130. Then it immediately made sense as the band sprinted off stage and ran through a secured field- level aisle and onto the platform.

From there, they played a few acoustic songs, pleasing the fans on one side of the stadium, whilst making several others envious. Drummer Will Champion took the mic from Martin for a version of Death Will Not Conquer. That was then followed by the band's oft-criticized recent addition: a cover of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean.

After the interactive dalliance, the band returned to the main stage under cover of a Viva La Vida recorded remix and the lovely Lovers in Japan as confetti canons poured multicolored paper butterflies over the ground level crowd.

Ending with Death and All His Friends, Martin returned and thanked the crowd for "giving us our job" and followed that with the cryptic: "you guys will never know how important this day was for us as a band". The encore then featured The Scientist – and then a birthday interlude featuring cake and a massive sing-along for Will Champion's 31st birthday – before closing with The Escapist.

Overall, Coldplay was a pleasant surprise. Since the last time I saw them they've become darker, their live show more fluid: measured but with a sense of spontaneity. Martin, while still a self-effacing jokester, has become less of a sensitive singer/songwriter and more of showman, while avoiding becoming a barmy version of his old self. While Coldplay may not yet own U2's moniker of "biggest band in the world", they don't seem to be in a rush to grab it. And that's a good thing.

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/theampersand/archive/2009/07/31/concert-review-elbow-and-coldplay-july-30-toronto.aspx

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Twitter Updates

coldplay Bloody heck. The back row need oxygen in this place, it's absolutely huge. R#42. http://twitpic.com/c6pb2

acrossunvrs Boo, cant twitpic from canada. Seats are bad, but boys will be passing RIGHT in front of me to get to c stage!

acrossunvrs Magnificent! Theyre on soon!

Jeffy_B_ U2 & Jay-Z as pre-show music@Coldplay?

marianoelg Can't believe they are playing Jay Z with breakdancers onstage at Coldplay concert?!!!?

damirb now they got a guy break dancing at the front of the little stage to a hip hop tune. #coldplay

Shane_Roberts http://twitpic.com/c7d0c Finally @Coldplay take the stage... Can u believe that people are smoking marijuana?!?! Also suddenly I'm hungry

ManiacMegzz @coldplay http://twitpic.com/c6pb2 - My sister's there! She's in the pit and this picture is worrying me! D:

topher_o Coldplay sound decent. Nice bouncing balls... Too bad I'm so far away. http://yfrog.com/2ldgcj

dspringa http://twitpic.com/c7edu - The stage and yellow balloons during Yellow @ Coldplay!

Hysuka I used to hate Coldplay before i came here! Now i can tolerate the band.. I wonder if this place is changing me....

Alphamoongirl Glass of Water live was heavenly! #coldplay

aaronschrama Strawberry fields right now at coldplay. Best tune out there

Alphamoongirl Chris is doing summersaults down the catwalk. #coldplay

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30 July 2009: Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada

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