Oxfam UK Tour Blog: 5 December 2008
From WikiColdplay
Oxfam Action Corps Territory
Blog #2: Second instalment from our guest blogger (Soha Yassine), who took the Oxfam reigns for the last three shows in US of 2008. November 25th. 2008. Anaheim. CA.
Tonight we are in the backyard of Los Angeles, Anaheim, California, which is centrally located in Orange County. A few days ago the band rocked the American Music Awards and tonight we’re in the home of the Mighty Ducks.
Here’s an image from the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs with the palm trees shining under the California sun. This is what California looks like about 350 days of the year but not tonight- its pouring rain! Tonight the gods are preparing the weary group of roadies on my bus for the cold and fog that’s to come next week when the band heads out to England. When I helped Pete with the canvassing at the Coldplay show in Boston on the day before Halloween, Chris Martin commented during the show about how Coldplay had been in Boston twice this year, but haven’t had a single concert in their home country! The same is true for California; tonight is Coldplay’s third concert in Southern California since July!
Rain or shine our committed group of Oxfam volunteers arrives, ready to canvass the Coldplay audience. Despite Oxfam’s presence at two previous So. Cal. Coldplay concerts in the summer, fans are more eager than ever to talk to us about how they can engage in the struggle for justice. This struggle is alive and well in this part of California, where one of Oxfam’s thirteen nation-wide, volunteer-lead, “Oxfam Action Corps” have been working with other Californians to urge law makers to consider the human face of climate change. The Oxfam Action Corps, represented by Adam and Dan tonight (amongst others), are the voices of the poor all over the world here in California. Tonight, the Honda Center is Oxfam Action Corps territory.
Coldplay is one of the biggest bands in the world and tonight is another sold-out show. But with them, are some other stars, the 20 volunteers who gave their Tuesday nights to Oxfam. They missed classes, left their families, and drove in So. Cal.’s notorious traffic to spread Oxfam’s message and listen to some good music. The determination of the volunteers to engage audience members with Oxfam’s work never ceases to amaze me. Tonight, especially my girl Z, who handed out Oxfam flyers until what seemed like the very last person left the venue, made me especially proud.
It was good to be home, now off to Phoenix! S
http://www.oxfamblogs.org/coldplay/?p=116
Phoenix on Ice
Blog #3: The third and final instalment from our guest blogger, Soha Yassine. Soha took the reigns for all things Oxfam, for the final 3 US shows of 2008. Phoenix was the last of these 3 shows, before the UK tour kicked off.
We arrived in Phoenix at what seemed like an ungodly hour for a tour caravan that hit the road at 1:30am. As I rolled out of my bunk in the ungraceful manner that I do every morning and headed into the venue for some much needed coffee, I stopped by the stage area. It wasn’t even noon yet and my bus-mates have the skeleton of the stage already constructed! Confetti butterflies had already littered the ground. They tend to get stuck on all of the equipment from the night before and fall off everywhere they go. They don’t bother anyone though; who can get mad at butterflies? As I stared at the butterflies in my pre-coffee state, I realized the familiar pattern of metal puzzle-pieces on the floor of the venue. This could only mean that there was an ice hockey rink beneath us and my pre-coffee-Californian-self could only think of one word: gnarly.
Later in the day I take a tour of Jobing.com Arena with the venue representative and we have a very nerdy conversation unfit for a roadie about temperature regulation of the ice as compared to the rest of the venue. That night, thousands of Coldplay fans stomped their feet to Viva la Vida above ice. Very gnarly.
Before that 17 volunteers including our lead volunteer, Abraham, who travelled to Phoenix for the concert, urged hundreds of Coldplay fans to give their voices to the fight against poverty. As I made my way around the concourse to check-in with the volunteers, one volunteer told me that she was approached by a Coldplay fan who said that as she was in line at one of the venue’s many venders, she thought to herself that the money she was about to spend would be better served by giving it to Oxfam. Although the volunteer told her that donations were not the purpose of our presence at the show, the woman insisted on donating the money to Oxfam. After she told me the story, the volunteer and I looked at the money and smiled.
Tonight’s show is bittersweet for me. On the one hand, I get to go back to So. Cal. tomorrow and spend the Thanksgiving holiday with my family and friends before flying back to Boston to resume my duties as an Oxfam intern. On the other hand, it’s Coldplay’s last show in the US and the end of my time on the road with them. My time on the road was a once in a lifetime experience. It couldn’t have happened without the guidance of my colleagues at Oxfam, the awesome crew behind the scenes, and Coldplay themselves for believing in the power of small actions.
My last night on the bus was one of interesting conversations: the merits of fiction as a literary genre, water sanitation processes in the US and UK, the state of specialized education in Western academia, and other various subjects unfit for rock and roll roadies. It was unfortunate that it wasn’t until my last night on the tour that I realized I wasn’t the only nerd on the road with Coldplay. Peace, S
http://www.oxfamblogs.org/coldplay/?p=120
Birmingham, Birmingham, Birmingham.
Three nights in Birmingham, 4 UK Coldplay shows in 5 days. 7177 people have already joined Oxfam GB and made the Health and Education FOR ALL pledge. Thank you to all those amazing Coldplay fans for adding their small action to a global movement. Thank you to our 69 awesome Oxfam volunteers so far, who have given up their evening’s to spread the word, talk to fans, and make all those little actions, add up to an incredible 7177!
The first day in Birmingham, the sign-up record tumbled. The second day in Birmingham, that record tumbled again.. In fact. It was smashed, by over 400! A massive, and inspiring 2448 people made the pledge in just under 3 hours. That’s more than 1 in 5 Coldplay fans walking through the door! Special mention must go out to our new record holders.. the 20 Oxfam volunteers from Birmingham NIA, December 2nd, 2008.
The third night at the NIA. The record was under threat again. 2056 was the final count. The second highest number on the tour so far. What an amazing 3 nights for Oxfam. That sort of number really can help to increase the pressure on governments to act. To keep their promises. To provide accessible, and affordable access to good quality healthcare and education, for ALL people, around the world. Birmingham now takes the record overall sign-up number. Every person counts. One person really can make a big difference. In the freezing cold of a British winter, Coldplay have hit the road to play some shows, and their fans are helping to change the world as they go.
Thrown into those 3 days in Birmingham, was another round of the Band v Crew football. This time, the venue was Birmingham City F.C’s training ground. The teams entered the venue, under the curious, watchful eye of a few faithful supporters waiting at the gates, and a handful of Birmingham’s best youth, who hope one day to break into this team, on the brink of the Premier league.
I felt far from a pro, walking in my grubby trainers, a crew rain jacket and my running shorts. It all felt a bit strange. A group of tired and not-quite-match-fit roadies entered the indoor training pitch, followed by the whispers of “and it was all Yellow” sung quite beautifully by one of those youth team boys. The band followed, full kit ready and with revenge in their eyes, following their first defeat in California. Warm-ups began under the watchful eye of Kevin Phillips, star striker for Birmingham’s first team. I felt a bit nervous.
I warmed up in crew shirt. Listened to the team talk and tactics, in crew shirt.. then.. was switched to the band team. They were a man short. Oxfam. There every step of the way.
It was a frenzy of action in the first half. Both teams, holding their own, but the Band team went into half-time with a slender 1-0 lead. The second half started with a goal from Will Champion and a strengthening grip on the game, for the band. By now, the youth team observers had lost interest. 20 minutes later though, their was a new fan on the sidelines. Alex McLeish, Birmingham’s manager and former Scotland international, had arrived. He agreed to join the action in the number 9 shirt for the band. I switched to the crew team. Oxfam. Always helping out in a crisis. The clock ran down with the score remaining 2-0. I was quietly pleased to have been on the winning side for most of the game, until being subbed to the opposition, but then holding out in defence against a number 9 who has 77 caps for Scotland and played in 3 World Cups!
A day to remember. That was even before the Oxfam crew arrived to collect another 2056 pledges for Health and Education For All. I’m back in Oxford now. Handing over the petition sheets to the Campaigns team at Oxfam HQ. The tour bus leaves for Glasgow in 5 hours. Oxfam will be on it, and if you have a ticket for the Coldplay show, we hope to see you there..
http://www.oxfamblogs.org/coldplay/?p=122
