Coldplay Concert Review

And now Wes Samuel reviews the Coldplay Show at the Bank Atlantic Center from 11/9/08:

I'm not to good at writing in depth reviews of anything, but here's my quick .02:

Normally, I think Coldplay's music is great for what it is, mood music. Along the same lines as Radiohead (although nobody really compares to them) and the Doves, it's great pop music with a warm ambient feel that tends to the fill the spaces between the band members.

I was interested to see how it was going to translate in a live setting, let alone a venue whose acoustics have, in my past experiences, left a bit to be desired. However I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. While they may call themselves a "soft" rock band, they are most certainly a rock band and they put on an arena rock show. I liked how they mixed up the songs and had a good balance of upbeat songs and the normal "touchy-feely" songs. I also liked how they changed up some of their songs in the live setting. I think the highlight for me was the fast paced electro version of "Talk" on the remote stage in the crowd.

Overall, I was very impressed. As Ethan said, there is something to be said for 20,000 people singing together in unison. To me, the best part of a concert is when you feel the energy of thousands of total strangers all vibing to the same energy in the room (God, I just sounded like a hippy) But it's true, and I definitely felt that a few times last night.

Thanks Wes! I had a pretty great time, which shouldn't be too shocking since I hold Mr. Berryman, Mr. Buckland, Mr. Champion and Mr. Martin in the highest of esteem (this was the 4th time I've seen them in concert.) On more than one occasion people have asked me: "how can you listen to Coldplay, they're kind of depressing?" I certainly understand where they're coming from but I beg to differ and think that more than anything they write really beautiful, sonic, rock and roll lullabies, but that's just my opinion.

Below are the trillion cell phone pics i took during the show.

the worst/craziest picture i could have taken of Wes

confetti!

more confetti!

the boys when they left the stage and played a few tunes in the audience

jenny auguste & isaac brock cordially invite you to their "wedding" & guest blogger whitney roux reviews the modest mouse show

as i mentioned earlier, last night i had the chance to see one of the finest acts in indie rock, Modest Mouse, (for the 2nd and a half time). so i asked whitney "when you have 5 minutes could you please write a review of last night's show,"like alexi had me do for vampire weekend. ms. roux wrote:

As an avid fan of music in general, and of course a larger fan of Modest Mouse, I was stoaked to hear they were dragging their asses out to Miami to play at the awesome Fillmore. Due to the hype that my mind presented over the show I think it left me somewhat disappointed. Not in their set list, the songs they played were both known and more obscure, pleasing both the long time fans and the newbies. However the sound just wasnt enough for me, I wanted to feel the vibrations of Isaac's guitar, and jam hard to some banjo. It could have been my positioning in the theater, or the acoustics in general. Despite my hard of hearing complaints, the show was quite good, I would happily burn a mix of that set list off my itunes, but I would hope to see them in a better setting at another point in time, hopefully at Isaac's and Jenny's wedding."

THANKS WHIT! for the record i'm not a crazy person who has envisioned a fake relationship with Isaac Brock, the lead singer of Modest Mouse, in my head. 4 years ago when they played the Polish American Club i had the chance to meet isaac in the parking lot after the show and chat. i told him pink was my favorite color (he was wearing a pink button down,) and we talked about his court appointed rehab (at least i think he mentioned that, otherwise it was Joe Russo.) all the while he was signing autographs and being really cool, even though the fire marshall had just shut the show down. finally at some point in this 15 minute conversation/awkward flirtation, he asked "hey do you want to get married,"to which i responded "yeah sure just call me and let me know when." there was some more banter and more autograph signing (no i did not and was not asking for one when i approached him,) and then we parted ways leaving our betrothel forever up in the air. i'll always remember that night- not only did the Helio Sequence open for MM & rock out, but i had been only listening to MM for all of 2 weeks and was legitimately blown away by how fantastic they were, but by Isaac's intensity, talent and a whole new type of Rock N' Roll charisma he oozed that i have yet to identify.

so i can't find any videos with high enough quality from any of the live shows that fully capture how great MM is so i chose for the more contained, but less shaky camera antics from their performances on kimmel, letterman and the late late show.

"we've got everything" on kimmel

"dashboard" on letterman
"float on" the late late show with craig kilborne

"satin in a coffin" on letterman
"tiny cities made of ashes"(*one of these photos was provided by antonio dell'aglio. i only mention it because he made a comment about it and i'll give credit when credit is due...if i'm in a good mood.)

riding out to vampire weekend

you can read my review of the show here!