RadioRoryAs a band, Coldplay is “fine.”
I’m a dedicated U2 fan and always resented the comparisons between the two groups, specifically the “Is Coldplay the next U2?” stories. I mean let U2 finish being U2 before you start replacing them with Coldplay.
When I saw that Coldplay was performing in Auckland I decided to check them out. I went online and found a single seat that was in a really good spot. I don’t think I ever paid that much for a concert ticket in my life (thanks radio career!), but I kept telling myself it wasn’t so bad after the currency conversion from NZD to USD.
I was in my seat before the show checking out the 40,000+ people at Mount Smart Stadium when a man sat next to me saying “You bought my wife’s ticket.” He went on to explain that his wife broke her leg and was in a wheelchair, unable to attend the show so they put the seat up for sale.
It was good to talk to a local and get some advice on things to do in Auckland. He told me I shouldn’t have Ubered to the stadium, instead recommending the free light rail that would get me closer to the city. He said an Uber from there would be a lot cheaper. Fast-forward two hours and at the end of the concert he showed me the way to the rail station and even offered to drive me back to my AirBnB. It turns out he lives on the same street where I was staying, just four houses down.
And I thought Rhode Island was small!
Anyway, the show was fantastic. If Coldplay is “fine” as a band, they are “awesome” as performers. I can’t remember when I ever had so much fun at a show or saw the band and its lead singer just so damn happy. Again, I love U2 but I always leave their shows feeling guilty for my capitalist ways and regretting what we did to Native Americans.
This show made me a fan.