Blog

Posts Tagged ‘7/25/2009’

A week ago from today I went back to my favorite place in the Midwest, Alpine Valley, to  go see Coldplay during their Viva La Vida tour.   They only play in the United States once every 3-5 years, so I figured I better take my opportunity now and run with it.   Who knows, next time they are back in the United States, I might have 2 dogs, 2 children, and I will be married with a full-time job.  Gotta jump at these opportunities when I have them, because I might not have them later in life.

Do be brutally honest, I was expecting to be somewhat disappointed after seeing Phish a month earlier.  Could it really get any better than seeing Phish?  No, not at all.   However, Coldplay caught me by surprise, and I enjoyed the show exponentially more than I anticipated.  Coldplay puts on a completely different type of show than any other band I’ve saw live, filled with theatrics, movie screens, and sing-alongs.

Coldplay opened with “Space Odyssey 2001″ as it segued into their mysterious themes from the Viva La Vida album, swinging lighted “lanterns” as they came onto the stage. You can kind of see this in the YouTube video off of my iPhone…sorry for the poor quality.

It was a cold and rainy day to go to a show, but that didn’t stop anyone from entering or leaving the Alpine Valley gates.  Stacy and I threw a blanket over our heads and that seemed to work fine for the duration of the evening.   The rain dampened the sound a bit (no pun intended), but that is not Coldplay’s fault, its just something I noticed with the rain coming down sidways with a 20mph wind.  Alpine Valley always has good sound, the acoustics of the 3 wood pavilions are engineered perfect for the landscape in which it is built on.

Confetti, balloons, some slight improv, and a WWI themed show was the golden ticket for Coldplay putting on a good show.  Coldplay, while not a musically sophisticated band, held all sorts of energy with simple guitar riffs, and powerful techno synthetics as they wandered through the audience.  Coldplay was kind enough to make their way through all sides of the Amphitheater, playing songs from two sides of the lawn (getting us quite a bit closer to the band). They even played “Billie Jean” at the center lawn, their own tribute to Michael Jackson, which was pretty cool.

Here is a video of the “Billy Jean” tribute.

If you ever get a chance to see Coldplay on their next world tour, do so.  Tickets are cheap (about $30 per ticket).  Here is a video that should give you an idea of the type of energy Coldplay brings to the stage.

Everytime I go to a show at Alpine Valley, I feel as if it is time to move away from Houghton.   I love it here, but I feel as if down in Wisconsin, out towards Red Rocks, the Gorge, or Deer Creek is really where I want to be.  Music is a wonderful thing, and when you are in a live music setting, I find it interesting that people come together with different interpretations of the music, yet as a group of 40,000 people, we all find some sense of euphoria in what we are witnessing.   It is truely a remarkable experience that words cannot describe.

Anyway, a week and a half until I see Phish at Toyota Park.  They are playing the best sets yet.  I think that the month of July really helped them gain back any lost chemistry.  June was a magical month for the band, now they are well on their way to being who they were in 1996, 1997, 1998.   I will keep you posted on my third Phish experience, sets 5 and 6 of my short Live Phish career.