22 October 2008: Yahoo Show, Secret Location, USA

From WikiColdplay

22nd October 2008

Setlist

1. Life In Technicolor
2. Violet Hill
3. Clocks
4. Lost!
5. Chinese Sleep Chant
6. 42
7. Yellow
8. Strawberry Swing
9. Viva La Vida
10. Lovers In Japan
11. Death And All His Friends

Photos

Photos from this show can be found at Coldplaying.com in the Gallery thread for the Yahoo show. http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/1637

Discussion

All post-show discussion for this show at the forum thread: http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50909

http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50067

Fan Reviews

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

That is all that is on my brain tonight! I CANNOT.BELIEVE.IT! I'm so fucken happy I can't describe it! 1)'cause I just came from a Coldplay show, so normal reaction is to be in that "floating on air" state; 2) 'cause it was in a tiny little theater and I was FEET from the stage; and 3) and most significant 'cause I GOT IN!!! Another "Coldplay Miracle" has occurred to me! If my throat ddin't hurt, and I didnt' have some crappy pictures and lots of butterflies to prove it, I wouldn't even believe myself.

Ok I saw in the other thread that someone ran home and gave you guys a little summary of tonight, but HELLLOOOOO for the very first time (and most likely the only time) I've got a thread named for me--so I'm going to take that as an OK to give a long-ass rambling description of tonights events . I hope Steph comes on later on and fills in my gaps and tells her side of events, too. She also might have some good quality pics available...but I'll tell more a bit later.

Well, get comfy, and don't say I didn't warn ya it'll be long! So I'm sure you saw my post asking if anyone from here would be willing to go down to Hammerstein and see if we could get in. I never heard back from anyone, so finally I said, screw it I'm going alone!!! I just couldn't let this opportunity go, knowing they'd be playing such a small gig, so close, and FREEEE!

So I show up around 6pm, and only maybe 50 people are on line(guestimate could be off, but it wasn't THAT many people, yet still a decent line). And then I FREAK. What to do?!?! How am I gonna get in? My original plan was to go up to the "waiting list" person and beg/plead if I could get in or wait around and see if someone didn't show up and I'd take their place. But there wasn't anyone around except for these two guys who seemed to be doormen or something. I call my coldplay-addiction-mentor, I mean ENABLER Mel , and she rationally advices me to just start talking to someone on line, see how they got tix, if maybe someone doesn't have a guest...That totally gave me the little push I needed to stop being shy and go for it. So MEL, THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!!!

So I go stand behind last person on line, and just smile and say "hey, did you get tix from Yahoo...blah blah." Turns out he did, and he DIDN'T HAVE A GUEST!!!! So I thought--this is IT! I started telling him about my original plan, and then said, hey you think I could just say I was your guest, would that be alright if I tried that? And he was actually cool with it!!!! (thankyou Mark, if you're reading!)So at this point I start gearing all my energies into MAKING IT HAPPEN. In my head I just kept saying--I'M GONNA GET IN, I GOTTA GET IN, IT'S GONNA HAPPEN! My stomach actually hurt from the effort and the nerves lol.

As we're waiting, and the "VIP" line next to us starts moving in, Christa calls me(superexcited BTW, which really gave me another boost! thanks!) and tells me that StephBerryman heard I'm down there and is on her way and see if we could wait together . She spontaneously, at the last minute, decided to come down and see what happens! (so cool!) So a few minutes pass by and Steph shows up and we start talking and she was also gonna do the "can I just wait around" thing when she's like--hey, no one's watching, can I just cut and stand next to you?--at this time it's like 6:45ish. Around 7 the line really starts moving, people start going in and my stomach's in knots, and all of a sudden we're in the door and some lady's handing out passes without asking any questions. And THAT'S IT!!!!! No checking names off guest lists, no having to show IDs, no having to make up a story!!!!!

Sooo, 7ish we got inside, no problem. Venue is pretty small, two small balconies, where VIPs were at. A little balcony to the right side, where (I think ) random people got pulled from the general line and picked to sit. People sitting on the floor in front of stage; StephBerryman goes straight in for Guy's side, naturally. At this point there were like 4-5 people in between us and stage, but once the show started, we were like maybe 3 (correct me if I'm wrong Steph).

This guy comes out and gives us a few instructions; they do a couple of takes of crowd cheering, I do remember him first saying we're gonna do one take w/ maybe some other music playing so don't sing along, it wont match show later on, but then he said oh forget it, we have enough cameras that we'll get live reaction shots(so maybe this is why not everyone was singing along during show as enthusiastically as Steph and me); Q&A people get up to mike and have their questions filmed(at this point the guys haven't come out, I guess they do this so they can get a shot of fans asking ques. w/out freaking out).

I called Mel right away, freeeakkkkiiinnng out so happy and excited and relieved and just in awe that we got in. And before you know it, it's 8, and I hear Blue Danube waltz, and then I know it's starting. LIT starts up and the guys come in from a back side entrance and we all start screaming and I'm getting teary-eyed and it's just incredible!

Now it's point in the story when it all gets jumbled up in my head and memories are like random little video clips and snapshots!(S o this is when I reeeealllly need Steph to come on and clear somethings up and fill in the gaps!). Set list was as ericjones posted--I just compared the notes I wrote down on the bus ride back home and matches up, except different order, so I'll trust his better:

LiT--soo beautiful always makes me smile Violet Hill--loveloveloooove Jonny's guitar-playing here! Clocks--will never EVER get old; and Will beat the shit outta the drums(I was staring, intently, and he seriously looks like he's having a seizure LOL) Lost---my FAVE song off VLVODAAHF, and really, it inspired me to go down there and try to get in!!! just because you're losing, doesnt' mean your looost (Chris is a wise man!) Chinese Sleep Chant--not my fave, but the guys seem to really enjoy playing it, so I enjoy it too! 42--so so sooo beautiful, Chris sounded great, and they ALL sounded great in the rocking middle section Yellow--ok, I'll admit it, my eyes did water hehe, this will never lose it's charm, and this is the one song (and the ooohs in VLV) where I could really hear crowd singing Strawberry Swing--as soon as I saw Guy start clappin' I held my hands high and followed, and eventually others did as well. such a perfect daaaayyyy Viva La Vida--just magic live! so fun, I felt the ground beneath shaking w/ people's dancing/bouncing. and you know, it's reeeeallly hard to sing the oooohhhooohhhohh part and jump at the same time, but darn it I did it! Lovers in Japan--the butterflies came down, and it just felt soooo sweeet Death and All His Friends--I just love this one more&more each time I hear it, and though usually at a concert it's kinda bittersweet 'cause it signals the end of the show, I was just soooo happy, nothing could dampen my mood, and so I just loved it!

So, then after show, which lasted 45min, the guys left, and music part was over. People start setting up for Q&A, and all of a sudden you hear Chris say in a funny voice "this is the voice of reason.." LOL freaky They were still backstage but I guess he had his mic on already, so he started fooling around, making dripping water sounds. He's just too goofy!

So they come out and answered a few questions...the ones I remember are(paraphrased--you'll see December 1st how badly I'll probably mess up!): 1)When did you know you were famous? Or when did you first feel you were famous... They all kinda looked at each other, and then Will answered by telling the story of how when they were 1st time at Grammys someone confused them for stagehands or food craft people...so basically don't know how/when

2) What was your most weird culinary experience on the road? (the girl asking was really nervous , and it was hard to understand the word "culinary", so Chris was like and Will turned to him and yelled "FOOD! CULINARY MEANS FOOD!" ) Jonny said they don't really remember anything weird, and then Chris said "Well you get food poisoning in every country we go to! So then Jonny recalls how one time in Paris(??? or was it Japan--help Steph!) he ate some tuna that made him sick. Another thing about the girl asking the questions, when Jonny was done, Chris asked her "What have you got in your pockets???" 'cause she kept stuffing her hands into her shirt/dress, and poor girl was actually speechless! hehe

3)What are the top 3 songs on your iPods? I'm really upset 'cause this is the ONE question they ALL aswered, and of course I can't remember what they said! I only remember part of Guy's answer--he said he doesn't have an iPod (huh??! he's a tech-geek right? he's slacking!), but he's got a jukebox, and #1 is Marvin Gaye, #2 I can't remember! And then he's like "that's it, I've only got 2 records in my jukebox."

4)What do you think is harder, writing an album or raising a child? (when the guy who asked this got up to mic Chris yells out "FRED DURST!" and it was so funny 'cause the guy did kinda look like Fred Durst, w/ baggy jeans, backwards cap, etc...)

For this one I think Chris said something, but I can't remember what, sorry, but I remember Will's, 'cause it was so sweet. Something like "well with an album you've got a few people working together, for example there's four of us, plus our 5th member Phil" (and I was so damn tempted to yell out PHIL IS HOTTT!!!!, but I didn't, I was way too close to them, they would've give me weird looks been scared and I wouldve been kicked out. Though I'm sure some girls here--u know who you are--would've been proud of me for that HA!) "while in parenting it's usually two people. But I'd have to say songwriting, 'cause I've got a wonderful wife." And all us girls, and even Chris I think, went AAAAWWWWWW. LOL (Isn't Will just the cutest! sigh--willuverwilluver

And I know there was a 5th question but my brain and fingers are tired now and I can't remember....maybe it'll pop back later, or maybe Steph or anyone who was there will fill in.

[CookyMnstr]

Awesome show. I got in line at 2pm this afternoon and was front row, dead center for the show. It will be posted on Yahoo! on 12.1.08. Great set. Chris, as always, was pretty funny. He wasn't sure if he was allowed to curse, so he did it anyway. I think the reason why the crowd was mellow was because at the very beginning, they made the crowd fake cheer so they could have shots of us to use. The Yahoo guy told the crowd not to sing because the extra shots would be used during other songs and if you sang, your mouth would not match up. I think some people thought he meant that for the whole show (like the guys standing next to me). Anyway, great show.

[sDOTmelfi]

just got back from the show...didnt have a ticket. hung out up front for an hour, talked to some guy who turned out to be the producer from yahoo..told him i tried to win tickets but to no avail. he said they were going to be way over capacity....then he saw me and my girl just standing there in the cold and he introduced himself and said, "hang out, let me see what i can do"...we had hope. .....30-45 minutes passed by...no sign of any help coming our way. started to watch the door very closely when they started letting people in. they were checking pretty closely for the email notice etc....but then they started letting a good flow of people in and they were just letting everyone in. passing out coldplay necklaces as you entered the door....i told my girl to get in line right away and kept watching to see if this was going to continue. and it did. i hopped in line with her and just walked right in the front door right onto the main floor like 15 feet from the stage, dead center....pretty sick. hung out for a bit just waiting for a while ..lots of talking about the q and a section and a dry run of the q and a...blahblahblah..just pumped at this point. actually grabbed a setlist as well. just prior to the show they were playing one of jay z's songs..so i thought it was definitely going to go down!!

• lit
• violet hill
• clocks
• lost---jay z and beyonce were there but no jay on stage....very bummed
• chinese sleep chant
• 42
• yellow
• strawberry swing
• viva
• lij
• death...
• q and a

all in all a great experience..crowd was kinda mellow. lots of corporate types and sponsors .....one thing that was terrible was it was half empty and they could have given way more tickets away...chris even commented about a lot of empty seats in the balconies.....not "selling many tickets" they seemed to be really happy and just had a good time. pumped for sunday and monday now. stoked i went over there and just hung out....luckily i didnt wait for that guy since he was on stage getting things squared away as the show was getting close to starting..

[ericsjones]

Big thanks to Noelia (Cooky)! If she wasn't on line, i would have been the 250th person on line. We were about 10 ft away from the guys...you could see the sweat, chest hairs, everything!

Some highlights: Chris said in the beginning, "it looks like there's quite a lot of seats back in the balcony...more ppl could have come but Joe the Plumber is having his own concert a few doors down...they got a lot of laughs...chris said we were playing in ohio a few days ago and no one laughed or applauded us....i guess joe the plumber in ohio is like the eliot spitze of NY.

chris tripped on one of the wires by Guy....both had a good laugh about that!

Towards the end, chris asked jonny, 'what time is it?' Jonny mouthed 'don't know'....then chris asks, 'duffy is playing in ny tonight as well, right...what venue is she at? Again, Jonny replies 'don't know' ....chris laughs and says, 'jonny..you don't know anything, do you?'

[StephBerryman]

In a up close and personal, exclusive invitation only concert, one of the biggest bands in the world played to one of their smallest audiences in years. 500 lucky fans, industry executives, and friends of Coldplay including Jay-Z and Beyonce had a chance to see the London four piece in a intimate setting. Being one of the lucky ones to get in, it was rather amazing to see Coldplay perform to such a small crowd gathered at Hammerstein Ballroom, a venue that can hold close to 4,000. The concert was a taping for a Nissan / Yahoo live series that will be broadcast on the web December 1. Opening with "Life in Technicolor," then going into a semi-acoustic version of "Violet Hill;" I could hear the feedback coming off speakers, the hands of Chris Martin, Guy Berryman and Johnny Buckland sliding up and down the fret boards of their guitars, Chris' fingers pounding his piano. While feeling the air coming from Will Champion's drums, I knew I was in for something special. Playing for an hour, featuring a heavy Viva La Vida or Death and all His Friends set, they managed to sneak in fan favorites like "Clocks," and "Yellow." The biggest moment of the night was during "Viva La Vida," when the small crowd just went absolutely nuts, it is one of those songs that people need to experience live at least once before they die. In between songs Martin would lend his smug commentary from everything to life on the road, the upcoming US Election and his admiration for touring mate Duffy. It was during these little moments in between songs that I realized after seeing them five times (including last night), in every size venue possible, this is the most I have ever herd Chris Martin speak to his audience. Fame has seem to really grab a hold of the singer, his ego and confidence on stage has soared beyond measure. However, he has his band mates to keep him grounded as they really provide the soundtrack to an amazing event, night after night. Last night also proved that size does not matter for Coldplay. You can stick them in Madison Square Garden or Hammerstein Ballroom in front of 500 people and they will give one of the greatest live performances you will ever see and only leaving you wanting more.

Coldplay setlist 10/22/08 Hammerstein Ballroom: Life In Technicolor Violet Hill Clocks Lost! Chinese Sleep Chant 42 Yellow Strawberry Swing Viva La Vida Lovers In Japan Death And All His Friends

http://salvatorebono.blogspot.com/20...mmerstein.html

Media Reviews

The “Lost” quartet play an invite-only show at the Hammerstein Ballroom.

While the CMJ Music Marathon is taking over New York City, Coldplay snuck into town to tape a Yahoo / Nissan Live Show at Hammerstein Ballroom. While the 4,000 capacity venue ain’t peanuts, it certainly is a small venue for the arena rockers who have won back a devote fanbase with Viva La Vida.

A mellow crowd of mostly industry folks filled the Hammerstein floors, but the balconies, which were open, were surprisingly empty. The producers of the show easily could have gotten another thousand or so folks in. At one point, Chris even joked about how, apparently, Coldplay couldn’t get rid of enough tickets to pack the venue for a free show.

Considering the last time Coldplay played a show like this was when they did an AOL live session at the Beacon Theatre to kick off the X&Y tour and it was a total disaster, I’m surprised how close this show came to becoming a repeat of that. What saved the show was the fact that the Viva songs are so much stronger than the X&Y songs and the band is so much more energized.

Oh. Jay-Z was in the house with his woman. Everyone noticed him and was hoping for him to come out on “Lost,” but sadly, he did not. Oh well.

http://www.storiesinhighfidelity.com/2008/10/coldplay-get-intimate-in-nyc/

In a up close and personal, exclusive invitation only concert, one of the biggest bands in the world played to one of their smallest audiences in years.

500 lucky fans, industry executives, and friends of Coldplay including Jay-Z and Beyonce had a chance to see the London four piece in a intimate setting. Being one of the lucky ones to get in, it was rather amazing to see Coldplay perform to such a small crowd gathered at Hammerstein Ballroom, a venue that can hold close to 4,000. The concert was a taping for a Nissan / Yahoo live series that will be broadcast on the web December 1.

Opening with "Life in Technicolor," then going into a semi-acoustic version of "Violet Hill;" I could hear the feedback coming off speakers, the hands of Chris Martin, Guy Berryman and Johnny Buckland sliding up and down the fret boards of their guitars, Chris' fingers pounding his piano. While feeling the air coming from Will Champion's drums, I knew I was in for something special. Playing for an hour, featuring a heavy Viva La Vida or Death and all His Friends set, they managed to sneak in fan favorites like "Clocks," and "Yellow."

The biggest moment of the night was during "Viva La Vida," when the small crowd just went absolutely nuts, it is one of those songs that people need to experience live at least once before they die. In between songs Martin would lend his smug commentary from everything to life on the road, the upcoming US Election and his admiration for touring mate Duffy. It was during these little moments in between songs that I realized after seeing them five times (including last night), in every size venue possible, this is the most I have ever herd Chris Martin speak to his audience.

Fame has seem to really grab a hold of the singer, his ego and confidence on stage has soared beyond measure. However, he has his band mates to keep him grounded as they really provide the soundtrack to an amazing event, night after night. Last night also proved that size does not matter for Coldplay. You can stick them in Madison Square Garden or Hammerstein Ballroom in front of 500 people and they will give one of the greatest live performances you will ever see and only leaving you wanting more.

http://salvatorebono.blogspot.com/2008/10/live-review-coldplay-hammerstein.html