I like Coldplay, their first album was a refreshing mix of great songs especially of course Yellow. Since then they have produced decent enough albums that sit quietly in my itunes library not bothering anyone only to see the light of day at dinner parties or BBQ’s. They recently played Wembley Stadium with Girls Aloud, White Lies and Jay Z ??????? where did that support line up come form…..?
I would be pretty upset if I had paid 140 of my hard earned dosh to see this line-up – Jay Z is just great at what he does and would have been great here but Girls Aloud and White Lies come on Mr. Martin what were you thinking? Were you hoping for some light relief from the gals at the after show party or do you simply like dull moronic pop songs by girls in tight leather pants whose total IQ is less that the entrance fee?
The support bands are an important part of any gig and can make or break the show – I can remember The Doobie Brothers out rocking a very second rate Foreigner at Cardiff some years ago and Thunder, Ugly Kid Joe, and Van Halen providing a great show for Bon Jovi especially Thunder who were just great.
So my point – what do you think of the Coldplay Wembley gigs – were you there – would you pay 140 smackeroonies for the privilege?
….. and second point can you remember a good or bad support band at a gig you went to?
You might have guessed by now, but Coldplay isn’t exactly my kind of thing so I most certainly wouldn’t go to see them even if they were playing in my local boozer. Neither do I like any of the support bands and there would be nothing at all about this line up to interest me.
What is intriguing is the price they charged for this concert. The bands they had are surely aimed at a younger audience, and just where do they expect the kids to have that kind of money for an evening’s entertainment. I have noticed over the last few years that the admission price for most venues has gone through the roof. I have got to wondering if this is an attempt to recoup the losses from illegal downloading, but then, wouldn’t it be the promoters and the venues, not the bands that are benefitting?
I don’t know what size of crowd attended this gig, but I do get the feeling that if they’re not careful, they run the risk of pricing themselves out of the market and that people will soon realise that the smaller venues are a much more viable proposition.
A quick word on best and worst support acts. Best was probably Iron Maiden supporting Judas Priest way back in the days of yore. Unfortunately within a few months I seen the horrendous Girl opening for UFO.
Coldplay ain’t bad – as I said yesterday they do no harm in my itunes library but when a fan says this on-line….
“I also really like Girls Aloud and was totally entertained watching them and didn’t think that the songs sounded poor – in fact, I sometimes wondered if some of it was mimed. Either way, it was fun to watch the girls do their solo bits and it confirmed my view that Nicola has the best voice, and that Sarah is a real showgirl!” then you know you have problems!
I’ve been trying to find the attendance for both nights but cant it which means it was either half empty or half full.
Question for any Coldplay fans who read this – why they play Billie Jean and have Simon Pegg join them on harmonica – mmm do either add musical credibility to Coldplay or TAKE THE PISS – me think Mr. Smug Martin is showboating. Get a grip Mr Smug or you will lose it.
I think I have to play Parachutes at full volume tomorrow while pegging out my smalls to remember why I liked ‘em
Not quite sure where to squeeze in this comment, but this looks as good a place as any seeing as how we’re talking money in here.
I stumbled across a good piece of fans getting value for money. Mrs Spacepig wanted the new Pearl Jam CD. I am not really a big fan of theirs but there’s certainly a hell of a lot worse out there and their live stuff is quite good.
Anyway, we paid the usual 9 quid or so for the CD, and here’s the good bit. Once you buy the CD you get a link to download two full concerts. So, even if 9 quid is a bit steep for a 40 minute CD, you still get another three hours worth of music for your money.
I wonder if this might be the way of things to halt the decline in CD sales? certainly worth a try anyway and it is good to see a big band giving value for money.
What do you guys think?
Good point and this may make me go and buy the CD – so the marketing works.
But the music has to be good as well as I’m getting a little tired of buying crappy new albums these days (Muse, David Gray, Arctic Monkeys etc.) – these albums could have Kylie naked on a link and I still would have trashed it.
Actually you may like Mew – No More Stories – a newish Scandinavian trio – not great but different