23 May 2009: Comcast Theatre, Hartford, CT, USA

From WikiColdplay

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

Setlist

Photos

Photos from this show can be found at Coldplaying.com in the Gallery thread for Hartford. http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/1751

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=55524

Discussion

All post-show discussion for this show at the forum thread: http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/showthread.php?t=55524

Fan Reviews

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

I have to say that this show was FANTASTICK!!! The guys were in top form and it was well worth the almost 2 hour drive from NJ. Being almost in the front row of the Pit ROCKED. Jonny Buckland was a leap away from us, literally. If I had to chose between the 2008 arena shows I saw, which were all very good since we were right in front of the cat walk, and these smaller shows with a Pit, the smaller ones RULE!!! I don't even want to go to Jones Beach, even though every seat is great, because it has no pit, normally. Booooo!

[Monkeybuns]

I"m gonna try not to repeat what everyone else said already, 'cause it's been so long that everyone else who's posted has got it covered. I will say though, that this was the very best concert experience I've EVER had(this was my 11th Coldplay concert). Being front row---there's nothing like it. But being there with a bunch of coldplayers, screaming jumping dancing just as loudly as me--it was so fanfuckingtastically special!!! The long drive, the waiting in line, the frantic running toward the pit entrance, the nerves, the hunger, the not being able to drink so that we wouldn't have to go to the bathroom, totally 110% worth it!!!!! Hearing the girls(especially my fellow RythmSecLuver Sarah)sing so loudly & screaming right next to me was just so cute!!!

Of course, if Coldplay hadn't been so ON and so energetic and into it and enjoying themselves as much as we were, it wouldn't have been as great. They were all in top form. Politik was the best I've ever experienced--being RIGHTTHERE you feel it(Sarah says her arm hurt from throwing it up in the air so much). I thought I was gonna pass out during/after VLV from jumping up so much and trying to keep up with ooohhhooohoohhooohhhhhh's during and after the song, as loudly as I could.(and of course, having Mr Champion just feet from me).

GlassofWater and 42 were some of my faves, as was The Scientist--I was crying for the 1st half of it ; just too much emotion that night). When they went to the back for B&C stage, we couldn't see anything really, but we still were dancing and jumping around. I love "I'm a Believer" it's so fun! And The Hardest Part, played this way just on piano is beeeeaauuuttiiiifuuulllll. I got all pissed off during DWNC, 'cause someone was blocking the camera right in front of Will. Seriously, camera guy, it's Will moment, you couldn't move over so I could seee?!?! When they do the VLV techno version(that was the weird tweet no one could get and thought I was on drugs) our little coldplaying group kicked of the ohhoohhhoohhh's , and kept it going until basically the song was over. I still can't believe we didn't pass out. (oh and I don't think anyone mentioned it; during C Stage Miller was on the blacked out stage taking pics, you could only see a teeny tiny red dot, but when I took a pic with flash, oops there he was! So we all turned around and stared smiling twd him).

It was just the best...SUCH A PERFECT DAY!!! NOTHING COULD BE BETTER, and NOTHING EVER WAS. Christa, Pris, Sarah, Steph, Erica, Chelsea...just And Carla, Chavi, Lore, Denise, Hester, Mel, Kels... especially you crazy C&C peeps for keeping up with us all day long via Twitter.

[CookyMnstr]

woo got home from the long coldplay weekend earlier today! hartford was sick. got in friday night rested up , ate a gross dinner at hot tomatos downtown (we dont recommend) , and got to the venue around 10am sat morn. saw no one was there and were told the lot didnt open til 530 so we went back to the hotel and came back around 1. they then told us the "vip" lot opened at 3 so we just stayed at the venue waiting. while waiting the wind blew a huge confetti-filled "yellow" balloon out of the stadium and we snagged it! wooo! the time waiting went by quickly and soon they were on stage and it rocked our world of course. still cant get over it. is there anything better?! it was over way too quick. got a setlist after the show! our friend we made in line next to us was lucky enough to get one of the drumsticks. sweet

here are some of our pics from that night... also we went to hershey last night and were front row again but i must say the atmosphere was nothing, nothing compared to the energy in the pit sat night. hartford was the greatest night ever!! thank you coldplay for making my life awesome.. cannot wait for our next show! 'toga on wed!

[intervention]

[Pic: Halokiti]

Thank you for the birthday wishes. This is the first part of my recap of the day, it's not very brief.

I got to Christa's house around 1130am and thus began this excellent Coldplay adventure. I met Christa, Steph, and Noelia for the first time. We figured out how to update her Twitter profile while we waited for Pris and Sarah. Yes, Christa literally jumped into the street when she saw them coming. The drive up was nice, hit a little bit of traffic but time flies when you are with good company and music.

We got to the entrance to the parking lot around 250pm and had to wait 10 mins before they let us in. So we were the first to get inside, but I did notice the "drunk girls' butterflies & Coldplay emblazoned SUV near the entrance. So Christa parked the car and then we proceeded to figure out what was going on and the bathroom situation. So obviously we went to the line and cold_love23 and her sister introduced themselves to our group. And we also met Chelsea after we didn't know where the McDonald's was. We spent the time on the line eating, chatting, drinking, and we made 2 small posters with Christa's big bag of art supplies. Christa brought beautiful butterfly cookies for us too.

As it got closer to gate opening time(6:30pm), everyone got antsy and looked ready to bolt. The ticket lady hesitated with the ticket scanner and slowed me down for a few seconds. I freaking sprinted like I was in the 100M race. The scene looked like the running of the bulls w/o the bulls, the obstacles were Hooters girls. I also think someone ran in my path, luckily no one fell down as the flooring was a little slippery. It got fairly heated once we got to the entrance to the GA area since it was so unorganized. People got loud with each other. Two women got way not cool, very unbecoming of a CP concert. Once they finally figured out what to do, they let us go in single file and it was another dash. We all ran to the center towards Guy's side and had to stay there until the end of the show.

Howling Bells were a good opening act, they were complimentary to CP. I thought the bassist? with the facial hair was a hottie, the lead singer is very pretty lady. Pete Yorn & Co were great too and he covered one of my favorite songs of all time, New Order's Bizarre Love Triangle. I don't know if I was one of the only people singing along to that.

This was the first Coldplay show where I was in the floor section and I got to be in front row. It was amazing. They had a lot of energy and seemed to be in good spirits. Chris made a point of saying that the last time they were in Hartford, Chris was not at feeling well and that they would try their best to make up for it. (Yes, I do have to agree it was apparent he was sick during that show.) They more than made up for it this time with a 2 hr extravaganza.

My personal highlight of the show have to be yellow balloon drop and the Lovers in Japan butterfly confetti just because I have never be in the middle of it. I got a good smack or two on some balloons. Lovers in Japan with the butterfly confetti is just breathtaking.

Our section was smack in front of Guy, I like them all equally but I have to say Guy is even more gorgeous up close. He doesn't make that much eye contact, but I also think he doesn't want ladies to spontaneously combust if he does. He did make smirks throughout the show.

I thought it was so cute when Lauren(cold_love23) started freaking out before VLV. Will was in the back center stage all night and a little hard to see behind the equipment so it was a treat to see him so close. I was holding up the small "The Rhythm is Bangin" sign as much as I could during that part(& when Guy was playing the drum).

[halokiti]

Oh my gosh! This concert was so god damn amazing! This was no doubt, the best concert I've been to. Chris' energy, was just remarkable. Brilliant show.

[gabbyy]

My sister and I got a ride to the venue because we were not sure about parking and didn't want to risk anything. So we got there at about 1pm. We were the first ones there. We stood in line, feeling pretty ridiculous because every staff member that would pass would be like "You guys are here for Coldplay already?!?!" but then one guy passed and was like "Here for Coldplay? RIGHT ON! You guys are devoted!"

At about 3:30, a couple of other people showed up. And then I saw a bunch of wild girls coming towards us and knew that it was probably the coldplayers. We all sat in line counting down the minutes. I wasn’t feeling very excited/talkative because I had barely eaten anything all day, and was feeling pretty weak. I tend to faint if I don’t eat, so thanks again to Christa for providing snacks, because without them I would have been a lost cause.

We got our tickets scanned at 6:30 and all ran like crazy to the general admission area. It was complete chaos there. You had to get a bracelet first, and then line up against the wall, but it was just mass confusion. They need to organize that better.

After about 10 minutes, they let us in and we all ran to Guy’s side. I placed myself directly in front of Will’s VLV area. The opening acts were great. I definitely liked Howling Bells better than Pete Yorn.

And then after what seemed like forever, they were on! I’m surprised that I still have my voice today after all of the screaming that I did last night. I screamed from the moment they walked onto the stage, until the moment they left. I didn’t get to see Jonny much last night, but that image of him walking out onto the stage smiling and twirling his sparkler, will forever be in my mind. So adorable. They all came out and danced around with their sparklers for about 10 seconds, and then picked up their instruments.

I seriously couldn’t believe how close we were, I mean I knew we would be in the first row, but this was crazy. I couldn’t see Jonny that well because there was a speaker blocking him, and I had to jump up to see Will, because he was so far back on the stage. They need to move that man front and center, seriously. Whenever Chris was sitting at his piano, all I could see was his head bopping up and down. So to be honest, I spent about 90% of my time last night staring at Guy.

Yellow was the 5th song, and Chris made us sing the ending to Will, who was adorable and clapped for us at the end.

Okay, I just have to say that Guy is so hot. I had truly never realized how good looking he is until last night, when he was 4 feet from me, sweating and smiling and rocking out. He is stunningly gorgeous in person. Sorry for all the fangirling, but it’s true. I just kept taking pictures of him, and none of them came out bad. He looked outrageously good in every single one.

I’m not going to talk about each song individually, but I have to talk about Viva La Vida. OMG OMG OMG WILLIAM CHAMPION. I genuinely just went completely crazy during Viva La Vida. I could see Will getting up from his seat after the Hardest Part and I screamed my head off and got my camera ready. He was so amazing and I don’t even know how to describe him. Powerful! His singing, and bell hitting, and drum beating. It was too much.

As soon as they got up to the C-Stage, Chris said “Hey let’s all be careful with each other. I know that Guy is handsome, but let’s all be careful with him.” I guess Guy was getting molested, but I couldn’t see.

They sang Green Eyes, Death Will Never Conquer, and I’m a believer. Some cute stuff that Chris said during I’m a believer:

“Will Champion, the member of Coldplay most likely to be in a horror film… are you in love?” “Guy Berryman, the member of Coldplay most likely to be in a porno film… without the explicit bits.. Are you in love?”

We did a cell phone wave, like 3 times and then they “left.” Encore was amazing, I got a huge bag of butterflies during LIJ. During the bow, I saw Guy look at the Phil sign and laugh. When Chris passed by he looked at it in confusion at first, but when he passed by the second time, he smiled at it.

They came back out and did The Scientist. It was just Chris for the beginning of the song. He came out and explained the live cd thing, and then started playing, and was joined by the rest of the band about half way through, all in Grammy jackets.

I was dizzy, deaf, and nearly dead by the end. It was amaaaaaazing. I hope that I get a chance to be front row again in my life, because it was insane.

[cold_love23]

More Fan Reviews can be found on the second hartford page 23 May 2009: Comcast Theatre, Hartford, CT, USA (Fan Reviews Part 2)

Media Reviews

Coldplay has plenty of reasons to be pompous. The London-based rock band has won seven Grammy awards, and is currently one of the biggest acts in the world. Still, in its Saturday night performance at the Comcast Theatre in Hartford, the group displayed humility and appreciation, genuinely thanking its fans for its current success.

Early on, lead singer Chris Martin promised to give "eight-million percent" effort, because he appraised his last Hartford performance as "less than fantastic." Coldplay redeemed itself through a nearly two-hour set of nonstop energy.

"Speed of Sound" grew from ethereal piano to a swirl of thrashing guitar and drums, backed by cryptic lyrics of questions and answers. Martin yelped in falsetto behind a piano draped with a flag for "Viva La Vida," the band's latest album, as multicolored laser lights rushed across the stage.

Coldplay started "Yellow" with electric fervor before calming for its emotional lyrics and then rebuilding an attack on the chorus, accompanied by two dozen large, confetti-filled yellow beach balls bouncing through the packed arena.

"42" began as a piano-driven ballad, with black-and-white footage of the band playing projected on a screen, creating the feel of a mysterious film noir. The drums and bass picked up midway to craft a pounding, U2-like rock sound backed by flashing red and black images of the band, before closing with a return to the dramatic style of the song's opening.

After "Strawberry Swing," a rootsy tune with a jig-like feel, band members journeyed into the first tier of seats beyond the pit, where they tore through "Talk" atop a platform equipped with guitars and an upright piano. The rest of the band returned to the stage to allow Martin a spotlighted performance of "The Hardest Part," showcasing his nimble fingers and adroitness on the piano. After returning to the stage, Martin theatrically collapsed on his back, exhausted.

The band later ventured out onto the lawn, leading the crowd in a cellphone light wave throughout the theater, and improvising a song about the importance of playing for the people in the back of the arena. The band returned for an encore that included the simple, driving piano lines of "The Scientist."

Singer-songwriter Pete Yorn's pop with sensitive lyrics and a rough edge opened the show, mixing sentimental ballads and up-tempo, rock-tinged tunes, including some from his forthcoming record, "Back and Forth," to be released June 23.

http://www.courant.com

Coldplay Thrills Fans with an Encore Performance in Hartford

After releasing a hugely successful, Grammy winning album and touring the world non-stop for the past year, you would think Coldplay would be ready for a nice long vacation. However, the band did not become one of the world’s biggest by sitting on a beach in the Caribbean, and they won’t be doing that any time soon. Instead, they are spending their summer playing amphitheaters in cities that most do their best to avoid. One of those cities is Hartford, Connecticut, where Coldplay would continue their Viva La Vida tour at the Comcast Theater. While their live show hasn’t change much since I saw them on the first leg of the tour last summer, they amazed me once again, belting out their biggest hits along with a few new surprises in another memorable performance.

New Jersey native and Syracuse graduate Pete Y0rn opened the show with a sleep-educing forty minute set of dull ballads and soft rock numbers that were better suited for an elevator than a packed amphitheater. Yorn sauntered around the stage for most of the set, barely acknowledging the crowd and saying little between songs. The rest of his band looked even less interested, often blankly staring off into space while playing their instruments with as little enthusiasm as humanly possible. While Yorn’s songs have been featured in TV dramas such as House and in romantic comedies such as Me, Myself, and Irene, they simply didn’t come across well in this setting.

Thirty minutes after Yorn and company left the stage to a small smattering of applause, A semi-transparent black screen was lowered over the stage and the lights were dimmed. Lead singer Chris Martin led the rest of the band, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, and drummer Will Champion out on stage. With sparkling torches held aloft, the band jogged to the drum set, extinguished the flames, and began the show with the customary opener, “Life In Technicolor.” After the screen dropped and the band was finally revealed, they segued into “Violet Hill,” which inspired the first giant sing along of the night. The setlist focused mainly on the band’s older hits, as well as a good deal of material from their latest full-length, Viva La Vida, and it’s follow up EP, Prospect’s March.

An early highlight of the set was the band’s first big hit “Yellow,” which featured an impressive laser show that stretched all the way to the lawn, as well as confetti-filled yellow balloons bouncing all over the venue. Another early highlight was the performance of “Fix You” from 2005’s X & Y. After jumping around the stage and working the crowd into a tizzy for most of the song, Martin simply sat at his piano and listened as the 13,000 in attendance sang the last chorus back to him in (not quite) perfect harmony.

After an upbeat performance of “Strawberry Swing,” the band ventured off stage and into the crowd, stopping at a small platform located in the center of the pavilion. The quartet has been doing this throughout their Viva La Vida tour, to the delight of those in the cheap(er) seats, who got an unexpectedly close view for these three songs. Without a drum set, the band presented “techno” versions of “God Put A Smile On Your Face” and “Talk.” Both sounded slightly awkward and didn’t live up to their full band versions, but they seemed to please the crowd nonetheless. Champion, Buckland, and Berryman then returned to the stage, leaving Martin alone on the platform with his piano. The lead singer announced that this would be the boring part of the set, and he instructed those in the audience who might be craving a hot dog to head to the concession stands. While few took him up on the offer, Martin’s rendition of “The Hardest Part” certainly wasn’t the highlight of the set. That would follow shortly.

As Martin made his way back through the crowd and a recorded version of the instrumental track “Postcards From Far Away” was played, an enormous bongo drum was rolled to the front of the stage, where Champion stood ready. Just as Martin made it back, the opening notes from “Viva La Vida” could be heard, and the crowd instantly roared its approval. As he would do all show, Martin bounced around the stage , getting up close and personal with as many fans as possible. He ended “Viva La Vida” singing the melody on his back, and the crowd ate it up. After performing “Lost!,” the band would once again leave the stage.

This time, Martin and Co. would venture even further from the elaborately designed set, making their way to a platform on the lawn, nearly causing a stampede of fans who had been lounging on blankets and folding chairs only minutes before. Martin would then string together a series of cheesy but humorous rhymes about Hartford and playing for the fans in the back, one of which went “When you’re depressed and sitting on your butt, come play a show in Connecticut.” The band would then perform “Green Eyes” from A Rush of Blood To the Head, as well as “Death Will Never Conquer,” a short folk-ish track the band released free on their website featuring Champion on lead vocals. Martin had introduced the drummer with a rhyme that sounded something like “Now you’re all in for a thrill, for here’s our drummer Will.” Is Martin preparing for a future career as a children’s novelist? I hope not.

After finishing their set on the lawn with a sing-along cover of Neil Diamond’s “I’m A Believer,” the band would take a short break before finally returning to the main stage. Here they would preform one of their most rocking tracks, Politik,” and then “Lovers In Japan.” The latter brought a blizzard-like storm of brightly colored confetti that nearly obscured the entire stage. After grabbing not only a Japanese umbrella but also an enormous dragon head costume (seriously), Martin would bring the song to and end and then end the set with “Death And All His Friends.”

After the band left the stage, the crowd began to sing the melody to “Viva La Vida,” and before long, the quartet returned to the stage to preform a two song encore. It began with “The Scientist” and then concluded with “Life in Technicolor II” from the Prospect’s March EP. Surprisingly, the crowd was as into this song as any the band had played, singing along as if the tune was their biggest single. Coldplay then took their bows and made their exit. As thousands of very satisfied fans did the same, they continued to sing the melody to “Viva La Vida,” and it could be heard on the concourse and even as the throngs made their way outside the venue and back to the parking lots. With this most likely being Coldplay’s last visit to Hartford for some time, it was obvious the band had left their mark with this performance. At the beginning of the show, Martin brought up the fact they were trying to make up for a sub-par showing during their last visit to the city. While they may not have given the “eight billion percent” effort the lead singer had promised, they certainly made their previous missteps seem like a very distant memory.

http://leafsacc.wordpress.com/2009/0...e-in-hartford/

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23 May 2009: Comcast Theatre, Hartford, CT, USA

Contents

Setlist

Photos

Videos

Discussion

Fan Reviews

Media Reviews

Twitter Updates