SiderBox

Coldplay slightly blurry from 6 rows away

The adventure began as we were waiting for the gates to open; we were approached by a member of the guest services team of LiveNation.  We were given free upgraded seats to the lower pavilion of the amphitheater, which we graciously took.  We made our way in bought shirts and made our way to our seats which happened to be about 20 rows from the stage.  The music started off with Howling Bells an Australian foursome with a female lead singer.  Having not heard of them before getting to the concert, I was pleasantly surprised as they went through their set.  The played a mix of songs with driving tight knit licks and hypnotic crisp vocals.  Some of the highlights include the songs Broken Bones and Low Happening.

After a rather quick equipment swap, Snow Patrol was on stage.  They played of mix of songs from most recent three albums including If There’s A Rocket Tie Me To It, Crack The Shutters, You’re All I Have, Hands Open, Chasing Cars, Shut Your Eyes, Run, and Chocolate.  Gary Lighbody, Snow Patrol’s front man was energetic and fun loving.  He kept the crowd involved and the mode light.  This is the second time I’ve seen Snow Patrol, this time the sound was much better all beit loud, it was still understandable.

Coldplay took the stage amid a black see through curtain in front of the stage.  Sparklers in hand they made their way to their instruments.  Life in Technicolor was played and finished, Violet Hill started and the curtain dropped.  The show started its energetic path here; the mix of songs was highly enjoyable as they played songs from all of their albums.  One high point was Yellow and the many beanbag sized yellow balloons engrossed the crowd, another was Fix You in which the crowd belted out the chorus.  The real treat for my wife and I was when they took to the “mini” stages setup in the audience, one which happened to be six rows behind us.  There they played a medley of songs and finished that part of the show with Chris Martin playing The Hardest Part.  The encore started with Politik, and followed with Lovers In Japan, and Death and All His Friends.  This was one of my most memorable concerts to date!