So.Worth.It

Don't mind me, just coming down off a Coldplay high. The concert last night was worth every single penny which is saying a lot since we dropped mad cash on our covered seats. Turns out row SS was the perfect location for us to jam out like fools while remaining dry during the brief but torrential downpour. I'm sure that sucked for the thousands in lawn seating, right?

Where do I begin my biased review of this concert? Perhaps with the venue itself...Alpine Valley which is about 30 miles south of Milwaukee and situated right on top of a ski hill. I had never visited AV although Nate attended a ridiculous amount of DMB concerts here during his (glory) high school days. Speaking of glory days...

This picture nicely illustrates the following: Nate likes to pretend he isn't training for a marathon, hence the gigantic beer and stogie. Also, see the ski hill in the background? And isn't the stage pretty sweet? I figured we had to make the most out of the beautiful light early on in the evening, since cameras WERE NOT ALLOWED into the venue. Sigh. Why do I always follow the rules like a big fat tool? I swear, the recording from Alpine Valley said no cameras of any kind, so we stuck to our stupid cell phone cameras for every shot we took, but yet I observed numerous point-and-shoots and maybe even one or two SLRs in the crowd. Breaks my heart, I tell you.

So anyway, we got there fairly early and the opening bands were alright. But when they started getting the stage set up for Coldplay everyone started to lose it. The Viva la Vida tour is definitely in full swing now as this was their 138th stop. Of course, Chris informed us that we were the best crowd yet and I'm sure he doesn't tell that to all of the crowds, right? Sure. But we were insanely loud and I must say, it's pretty awesome to be surrounded by fans who adore the band and aren't afraid to sing along with every lyric. Lots of die-hards around us, for sure.

Then the lights went down and one of my favorite songs--Life in Technicolor--started to play. I was very proud of myself because on the car ride down I informed Nate that Coldplay should totally use this song for their opener...it's just the bomb, really. So they came out and everything was still dark and we see these little sparklers going in circles as they ran across the stage, behind a see through screen. Talk about an awesome way to enter a concert...I'll have to remember that one for my next rock star life. The screen lifted and the lights started flashing in coordination with the bass and thus began the most amazing concert I've ever attended.

They played every single one of my favorite songs and then some. Chris Martin is both hilarious and strangely adorable with his English accent and insane amount of energy. Such an entertainer, too. For instance, he apologized for making so many mistakes and said he was sure the critics would wonder how he even gets paid for what he does. But he said that seeing his horrible 1996 Justin Timberlake haircut on a 50 foot screen was just a little distracting, so please forgive him. I actually liked his curly mop:)

And those 50 foot screens? You can't tell from this picture but they were extremely entertaining and I'm sure they were high-definition cameras or something because it was crystal clear. Nate said it was like watching a really good music video with all of the different cameras zooming onto the different band members. I had to force myself to watch the actual show on the stage instead of the big screens they were that cool.

Chris was all over the stage and danced around like a crazy man.


And then they played my favorite song, Yellow. Giant yellow balloons filled with confetti were thrown into the crowd by the sneaky staff and we were like little kids trying to bat them around. Fun idea and I love the yellow theme:)


Then the boys showed that they aren't completely full of themselves as they walked up into the lawn seats to play a few tunes! Who does that? I'm pretty sure the fans sitting in that section of lawn were losing it.

It was in the lawn where they played Michael Jackson's 'Billie Jean' with their own unique English twist. I personally loved the tribute but I've read some people on FB who didn't appreciate it. Like I said, I'm pretty easy to please with concerts:)

Towards the end of the concert, they played the song 'Lovers in Japan/Reign' and all of a sudden thousands of tissue paper butterflies came fluttering down from giant cones. They shot out of the cones multiple times during the song and I thought it was one of the coolest things ever. Oh how I wish I had a decent camera with me!


Sigh. It was amazing, you guys. When they played 'Politik' the lights flashed with every beat which is one of my favorite lighting effects. Playing 'Vida la Vida' made the crowd go nuts and belt out every lyric (even more than the other songs). Other highlights: 'Death and All His Friends', 'Fix You,' 'Strawberry Swing,' and 'Green Eyes.' They even turned down all of the lights and made everyone do a cell phone wave across the theatre....all 35,000 of us made for a pretty sweet light show.

Are you bored to death yet? Can you tell I was in heaven?

I had to dig a little bit, but this post about my lifetime to-do list says it all. Ignore the fact that all of my pictures are screwed up on that post and focus on #3. Yep, big fat check mark after last night. (And actually, I think I can check off a few others, too). Do you have a 'must see' band on your list?

Bottom line: Coldplay rules. It was the best concert I've ever attended and I would love to see them again. Highly recommended to all.

UPDATE: I just realized something...I kept staring at the date today trying to figure out why it was important. Someone's birthday? No, Keri's was yesterday. Then I remembered: it's our 7 year dating anniversary. Not sure if you can still celebrate those types of annis when you're married but holy hell.....seven years together. Seems like forever and just like yesterday in some ways.

Okay, that is all...