Ever been to a music gig? Want to go again? Want to know who is worth seeing?
Music gigs and festivals is a blog dedicated to telling you where and when the coolest bands are playing in NY and the UK. In addition to this I will also be sharing reviews about gigs and festivals I have attended which are definitely worth checking out.
Kodaline is an irish indie band made up of Stephen Garrigan, Vinnie May Jr, Jason Boland and Mark Prendergastan. I first came across this band when their single "All I want" featured in an episode of Greys Anatomy.
Kodaline have released a self titled, four track EP which includes the singles: All I want, Pray, Perfect World, and Lose Your Mind.
For me this band reminds me a great deal of Damien Rice, Coldplay and Aiden Grimshaw. Despite being new to the scene, I would urge everyone to check this band out - we haven't the last of them yet!
Tour Dates:
31st January. Mercury Lounge - NYC
7th February. Fibbers - York
8th February. Cabaret Voltaire - Edinburgh
9th February. Coventry Kasbah - Coventry
11th February. The Green Door Store - Brighton
12th February. The Portland Arms - Cambridge
13th February. Jericho Tavern - Oxford
14th February. Dingwalls - London
Coldplay have been one of those bands that I have been desperate to see live for quite some time now. I have previously posted about this band back in April (Coldplay).
First on stage were the support acts; Robyn and Rita Ora. Although I only caught the end of Rita Ora's set I was impressed by both her onstage presence and vocal ability. The same could not be said for Robyn however. Having heard a number of Robyn's songs before, I was interested to see how she would be live. Sadly the capacity of the Emirate Stadium in North London, UK seemed to great for her. She worked the stage well but her songs did little to work the sell out crowd. Another thing I was surprised/shocked about was Robyn's choice to cover a Coldplay song. Overall I would say Robyn's performance was very disappointing and one which I would not repeat again.
Support Act: Robyn
So the crowd were ready for Coldplay. The anticipation for the bands arrival was high - the back to the future theme blared out from the speakers and the stage screens lit up - out walked the band and the crowd went wild.
The set list for the 4th June show was: Hurts Like Heaven, In My Place, Mylo Xyloto, Lovers in Japan, The Scientist, Yellow, Violet Hill, God Put A Smile Upon Your Face, Princess of China, Up In Flames, Warning Sign, Dont Let it Break Your Heart, Viva La Vida, Charlie Brown and Paradise.
Encore; Us Against the World, Speed of Sound (ft Simon Pegg on Harmonica), Clocks, Fix You, Every Teardrop is a Waterfall.
What was great about this show was the level of interaction between the crowd and Chris Martin. His constant jumping around the stage and continual forcing of the crowd to 'sing along' seemed to make the crowd even more pumped. To say he had the entire sell out crowd in his hand would be an understatement.
In addition to Coldplay's great vocal and instrumental performance, was the stage and visual effects. Upon entry of the stadium, each person received an Xylobracelet which we were told to wear on our writs for the duration of the show. Throughout the show each Xylobracelet lit up in various colours which made the atmopshere within the stadium even more awesome and unreal. Despite the brilliance of bracelets, this was by no means all Coldplay had planned for the night. There were fireworks, confetti, inflatable balls, and even a surprise appearance from Simom Pegg who played the harmonica during the bands encore performance of Speed of Sound.
Overall I would say if you can, GO and see them live. I had an absolutely awesome night. I was fortunate enough to find a great spot on the pitch allowing me to see everything really well. However I will say this is definitely one of those gigs that whether you are seated right at the very back or at the front, you are still in for a great night.
You either love them or hate them. I absolutely love this band.
Coldplay, an alternative rock band from London, are one of my all time favorite bands. They have achieved great success since they first formed together back in 1996. To date they have won 6 Brit Awards, 4 MTV awards, and 7 Grammy Awards. This band is one of the world's best selling music artists, with over 55 million records sold worldwide.
Coldplay have released a number of albums including: 'Parachutes,' 'A Rush of Blood to the Head,' 'X&Y' and 'Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends.' Coldplay's recently released fifth album "Mylo Xyloto" has proven to be a great success, with it being the best selling rock album in the UK, and featuring the best selling rock single "Paradise."
Although I have never seen Coldplay live I have been fortunate enough to get tickets to one of their London shows this summer. I would certainly urge you to see them if you have the chance. Although many people complain that Coldplay try to be the next U2 I would have to disagree. Coldplay writes amazing philosophical material and perform with so much energy and attack that their live performances are truly brilliant. Although Chris Martin has been labeled in the past as too geeky and controlling, their is no question he has tremendous ability to captivate the entire audience and have them all begging to hear more.
Tour dates
May 29th. Ricoh Arena - Coventry, UK
June 1st. Emirates Stadium - London, UK
June 2nd. Emirates Stadium - London, UK
June 4th. Emirates Stadium - London, UK
June 7th. Stadium of Light - Sunderland, UK
June 9th. Etihad Stadium - Manchester, UK
June 10th. Etihad Stadium - Manchester, UK
Aug 3rd. IZOD Center - East Rotherford, NJ
Aug 4th. IZOD Center - East Rotherford, NJ
