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reviews:
Bazabba:
I am back home
almost....in LA on my wa to riverside in a few hours. Its good to be
home. I had a great time in Berkeley/SF. My gf and I flew in late friday...got
to the show with two of my friends at around 8 so we werent in the very
front..but we were close enough. I had a little run in with some asshole
that didnt want us to stand in front of him cuz he "wanted to dance"
even tho he seemed to weigh a ton and had cankles. He threatened to
call the usher...i called him on it..he did...usher said tuff luck fat
ass...no exact wording..and i was happy. The show was incredible..no
words to describe it.
Next day we walked SF...chinatown...fishermans wharf/pier 39, 1/3 of
market st...and other stuff.
Sunday...we ferry'd to Alcatraz...I liked that alot! Then we went to
Ghiradelli Square and then to the shopping centre on Market St. My gf
LOVED that.
All in all it was a great weekend....Now..coldplay tomorrow...cant wait.!!!!
sarah9263
the show was
awesome, i am sorry you were next to a mean scary fat guy that wanted
to dance. i was next to some evil girl that didnt know any of the boy's
names but thought they were all "hot" and the only songs she
really new were yellow and trouble, but yet, she got to be right in
the front? whats up with that? and she screamed during the whole freaking
thing. it ok, i caught chris's guitar pick right after he played shiver
with it, which is my favorite song of theres ever, so i was way excited.
C16:
Berkeley
Show: Excellent!
Just returned from the Berkeley show. Excellent show
and fine sound quality. They covered most of the tunes from both albums,
although they didn't do High Speed, a favorite. Band was very psyched
to be in the U.S. and Chris was joking throughout the show. Lasted about
1 1/2 hours max. Any ColdPlay fan would love these guys live!!!
oceanlife2000
Amazing, Energetic,
Fun, Mesmerizing - UC Berkeley Greek Theatre Show
I just got back from the UC Berkeley Greek Theatre
show--listening to coldplay's last & current album on the way home.
The show was one of the happiest that I've been to--and that's not the
secondhand pot smoke talking! There was a tremendous amount of energy--in
the band, in the crowd. My throat is sore from screaming my brains out
from the nosebleed section of the threatre, but tonight was, without
a doubt, so worth it! I sincerely hope that coldplay takes in all of
the positive energy that every one of us who were with them tonight
gave back to them & that coldplay believes that what they did on
their past album, what they did on their current album, and what they
will do on their next album, will be well-received, especially by the
SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA!!!!!!!!! Coldplay, come back & play for us
real soon!!!!!! Oh, and PLEASE, play WE NEVER CHANGE!!!!!
Ru21:
I saw Coldplay with Ash last Friday at the Greek Theatre. They were
AMAZING!!! Who could ask for a better show? It's the best concert I've
been to in my life. They were so great live. Greater than great! I'm
glad they're doing so well here in the states. I hope Ash makes some
more appearances too.
Axeman:
Just got back from the Berkeley show. Loads of people and of different
ages and races. Never seen such a diverse crowd. From tall to short,
white to black, and of course girls who just can't stop screaming (especially
those behind me...even louder than the loudest part of the music.)
Setlist was virtually identical to Seattle's, except they played "A
Rush of Blood To The Head", and "Green Eyes" (Jonny and
Chris only) instead of "See You Soon". No Amsterdam! :-(
A shame about the 11:00 pm curfew at the Berkeley Greek Theater, otherwise
we would have gotten more songs.
Highlights included a mini piano jam by Chris of "Sitting on the
dock of the Bay" for a few verses before launching into "Life
Is For Living", plus another song which Chris sang a verse of (Nelly?)
towards the end of Everything's Not Lost that sent the crowd wild and
the annoying little girls behind me screaming to no end.
Maybe it was the acoustics and the lack of intimacy due to the 8000
people capacity venue, but I enjoyed the SF Bimbo's gig a whole lot
more.
Ash to my surprise were really good. Lots of fast and hard rocking songs,
and the audience seemed to recognize most of them.
shakermaker9
Those girls were driving me insane. i've never wanted to smack someone
so hard in my life. there was one to my left who screamed a scream from
hell every time chris said something. and i can't say how many times
i kept hearing "he's so cute" or something to that effect.
my god, i'm so bitter and that's so uncool of me but in all honesty
this gig was depressing. the music is incredible still but when you
can't hear bits cos of the screaming, that's mighty fucked up. it reminded
me of what i think an nsync concert must be like with so many wannabes
and scenesters trying to get the band's attention at every turn. it's
just that something special's over and it got me down a bit but i need
to let that go.
bimbo's blew tonight away. and no one threw their granny underwear on
stage that night.
i did however see will before the gig and waited after but we hadda
leave at midnight and they'd not come out yet. i know some of you had
to be there, there was quite a little crowd going there.
Electroclash:
This is gonna be really short (for I am hungry right now, and must leave
to get some dinner/early breakfast...somewhere in the city...whatever's
opened) but tonight's show was AMAZING!!!!!! Highlights included Chris
singing a verse of Otis Redding's classic "Sitting on the Dock
of the Bay" (in honor of San Francisco of course....YEAH! SAN FRANCISCO
ALL THE WAY!); an acoustic rendition of "Green Eyes" (Chris
introduced this song with a little joke about how Coldplay would be
reduced to just him and Jonny playing songs in Vegas); Tim Wheeler (ooh
what a cutie!) joking about the number of heads they - ah, I won't get
into that; seeing Coldplay in utter amazement of the fans! Did anyone
else watch Guy's reaction during "Yellow"? I've never seen
him look like that...ever. Guy was totally IMPRESSED!!!!!! (note: Guy
is a very sexy man...and so is Jonny!). Ok, I'm out. I'll add more later.
Watch this space.
Chris also mentioned that the show at the Greek was
the band's biggest solo concert EVER! He thanked us profusely for it...and
the band performed their hearts out! Coldplay are the best fuckin' band
on the planet...and they're the nicest bunch of guys around. And damn
it, I didn't get to see Will (again!). I guess you guys have to come
back so that I can see the genius pounding away on the drums! I'll make
a note to stand on the left side of the stage the next time around.
Coldplay and Ash @ UC Berkeley (Greek Theatre) - September
6, 2002
As promised...my review of last Friday’s concert at the Greek (...finally!).
I suppose I should call this a “final copy” as opposed to the “rough
draft” I posted early Saturday morning? (What a pleasantly cheesy sentence!).
Ok, let’s move on...
Here’s a little piece advice for ya--if you’ve never seen Coldplay live
in concert, then go bustle your butt over to ticketmaster and buy yourself
a pair of tickets (bring a very good pal along). As I said before, I’m
awfully horrible when it comes to writing concert reviews, therefore
this may look a bit unconventional...but here goes nothing:
Opening Act (ASH):
Um, can Tim Wheeler get any cuter?
The four heroes from Northern Ireland came back to the States after
gracing the stage of Moby’s Area 2 Summer Tour. I’ve been a fan of Ash’s
music since 1996 (my first year in college), and oddly enough this was
my first time seeing the band in action (so thanks to Coldplay for giving
the coveted support slot to Ash). Those in the crowd who were familiar
with the band shouldn’t have gone home disappointed. Unfortunately,
there were a couple of rotten people standing near me taunting Ash to
“get the fuck off the stage”...sounds like some people need to go home
and learn some manners.
Tim was a very kind frontman...saying “thanks” after every song (there’s
nothing like a guy who says “thanks” every now and then!), and cracking
a couple of jokes with the audience. I don’t remember all the songs
they performed, but Ash put on a solid set. Highlights of their set
included:
- “Girl From Mars” (second song of the set. spotted chris watching ash
from the side of the stage...and later saw guy watching - towards the
end of the set)
- “Cherry Bomb”
- “The Shining Light”
- “Sometimes” (with a line like “cigarettes keep you skinny”, who the
hell can resist this song?)
- “Goldfinger” (tim introduced this song by saying thanks to coldplay,
and dedicated it to the band...how sweet!)
- “Kung Fu” (do you recall the clapping part towards the end? tim encouraged
the audience to clap along...a good moment for all ash fans)
- “Burn Baby Burn” (last song of the set. ash received a hearty round
of applause. after witnessing this performance, i’ll be sure to catch
them the next time they visit san francisco!).
Headlining Act (COLDPLAY):
The band who had given the performance of a lifetime at Bimbo’s made
a triumphant return to the San Francisco Bay Area. Having sold more
than 100,000 copies of their latest cd in the USA (in its first week),
the Coldplay fellas proved to the capacity crowd just why they’re considered
one of the best bands on the planet. Performing a set somewhat similar
to that at Bimbo’s, Coldplay amazed their crowd with each and every
song. As usual, Chris was fantastically funny, Jonny (with his gorgeous,
gorgeous smile) was in fine form, Guy was extremely sexy in his charcoal
colored Adidas track top, and yes, I couldn’t see Will...AGAIN! I don’t
remember their set, exactly, but...
Highlights of their fantastic set included (in no particular order):
- “Trouble” (apparently, chris has done his fair share of watching “american
idol”. he said that “trouble” was a little indie hit and quipped about
having kelly--the winner of “american idol”--sing the song one day and
making it a huge success! chris invited the audience to sing the last
few lines...he said we were “marvelous!”)
- “Yellow” (what can i say? the song is phenomenal. the band is phenomenal.
the crowd went absolutely nuts! chris thanked us repeatedly since it
was the band’s first biggest solo gig ever. guy--the sexiest bassist
on earth--was in total awe of the audience...you should’ve seen the
look on his face, it was priceless! did anyone capture this on film?)
- “Clocks” (move over mozart!...chris is a genius on the piano! look
at the way he plays. goodness, he’s practically kissing the keys!...fabulous
song. fabulous performance. chris closed it by repeating the phrase
“make trade fair dot com”)
- “Green Eyes” (oh goodness, chris and jonny performed the most gorgeous
acoustic version of this song last friday...definitely worthy of a future
b-side. it was the first time i’ve seen them perform “green eyes” and
i do hope that one of the local radio stations recorded it. anyway,
chris introduced the song with the prediction that the band would “split-up”--halved
to him and jonny--and play shows in vegas a couple of years down the
line. i was never a fan of this song till i saw this performance...simply
superb! the best song of the night. caught jonny smiling when chris
sang “whoa oh oh”...oh honey, jonny is hot!)
- “In My Place” (no wall climbing tonight...chris’ mic chord got tangled
up!)
- “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay/Life is for Living” (the final performance
of the night. chris, armed with his piano, wowed the audience with a
verse from otis redding’s classic “sitting on the dock of the bay” before
launching into “life is for living”...”i left my home in georgia/headed
for the frisco bay...” the audience clapped in unison...man, this was
for us, the people of san francisco...what a moment...)
- and a classic line from Chris -- “let’s see those tanned Californian
hands”
I’ve been a Coldplay fan since the year 2000. This was the third time
I’ve seen them live in concert, and I still can't believe how down-to-earth
the guys are. What an exceptionally humble band (the members even clapped
for us before exiting the stage). Overall, the show at the Greek was
amazing...but not as brilliant as the one at Bimbo’s (I just finished
listening to the re-broadcast on KFOG, and I’m convinced that nothing
could ever beat that show). Hopefully Coldplay can have another round
at Bimbo’s and outperform August 18.
Helementa:
Coldplay are wonderful! ASH ROCKS too!!
At the greek theatre i believe me and my friends were a few of the very
scarce Ash fans there. There wasnt nobody else jumpin and dancin around
us during Ash, they were all still( and/or making out, it was gross).
But whatever dude, Ash was cool! I've been a fan of theirs since '96
and i've finally FINALLY been able to see them! And of course I just
didn't go for Ash, it was a lovely 2 for 1 deal with Coldplay (lucky
there wasnt any moshing!) SHIVER was great and going into the intro
of YELLOWwas fun and mysterious. I enjoyed the Nelly reference and well
as Otis Redding. It was a great set, wish i was able to get the set
list, but i got some awesome pictures with my snuck in Digi cam, maybe
they'll let me post them up here when im done recharging the battery!
ne? HEE!!! HEE!!
Asianz88:
the show was truly amazing. the energy and wow the
fans were all so excited. i really believe the band performed and put
on such a wonderful show. i met some cool people from the boards, i
can't remember all your names but i think there was sarah w/the angelina
picture and her friends.
your dig cam must have been small, my sister tried to sneak hers in
but couldn't. But I took pictures with our disposable camera so that
makes up for it. Did anyone else wait after the show for the band? My
sister and I waited 2 hours and the band came out afterwards and signed
stuff. But Chris declined to take pictures with people probably because
he was tired.
I'm going to get my pictures developed and I'll put a link to them when
I get them scanned in
dazzle:
i almost got a little annoyed when i read some of the
lesser enthusiastic posts about the berkeley gig... and it's not because
i travelled 6000 miles to see that concert... i never knew there were
obviously 2 berkeleys in the sf bay area, with 2 greek theatres and,
you won't believe that, 2 bands called coldplay performing there on
the same night! for the gig i went to, could never have been the one
i read about in those posts!
now, let me tell you i've been to quite a few concerts all over the
world during the last 25 years and am therefore not easily impressed...
but last friday night was special.
i got to the greek pretty late, just as ash had started playing. i did
not want to miss any of that as i like ash and was looking forward to
seeing them open up for coldplay. i also did not want to waste time
looking for a good seat in vain, so i settled for the lawn. well, i
was amazed at the quality of the acoustics up there, not to mention
the entire visual setting... a simply, not extravagantly, but still
effectively lit stage covered by a dramatic, slowly darkening sky, bringing
out the lights of berkeley and the bay bridge in the back... pretty
stunning! it may not have been the front rows, but gosh... what a view,
what an experience! and all of that while listening to the perfectly
mixed, overwhelming sounds of coldplay...
definetely one of the best gigs ever, thumbs-up for the all-over feeling.
did i read about someone apologizing for singing along in a post? i
believe so... please don't, i wish there had been more "a little
less cool" people singing along without being constantly asked
to do so by chris... (i was one of them and if i annoyed anyone by doing
so, i really don't care!) yes, that was for me the only flaw about yesterday's
show: the audience was - for my taste at least - a little too mellow...
ps: thank you baby for taking me there...
lindabinda
Although I came to the Greek to see Coldplay, I was glad to hear that
Ash was opening for them. It made the show even better! I was also one
of the few rocking out to both Ash and Coldplay last night. I caught
Ash a couple of months ago at Popscene and they were great. They were
even better at the Greek.
It was my first time seeing Coldplay and hopefully not my last time.
After seeing them live and how humble they are (being brilliant and
all), I just can't get enough!! I love love them!! That show is at the
top as one of my all time favorites!!
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Several
audience recordings exist 
