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Coldplay in Cape Town
"I turn the music up, I got my records on
I shut the world outside until the lights come on
Maybe the streets alight, maybe the trees are gone
I feel my heart start beating to my favourite song
And all the kids they dance, all the kids all night
Until Monday morning feels like another life"
Date: 5 October 2011
Venue: Cape Town Stadium
Location: Cape Town. South Africa
Supporting act: The Parlotones
I hadn't intended in going to the see Coldplay. I'm not much of a fan and the tickets when they came out were more expensive than I was willing to pay. The concert was well worth it though.
The morning of the concert W contacted me bemoaning how the girl he had bought tickets to go watch them with had bailed on him, along with with her 2 friends that he had also purchased tickets for. I leapt into action to boost his spirits and cease the opportunity that had presented itself. The tickets weren't bad seats - red area seats on the right side when facing the stage. A quick bit of frantic IMing, tweeting and texting, and I had roped another friend, K, into going with us. Lifts were arranged and excitement started building.
I took the the RBT* into town and met W at the station. K was meeting us at the stadium. W and I walked the fan walk to the stadium, stopping to buy lemon gelato and flog the remaining ticket along the way. It was a beautiful warm dry evening in Cape Town; great night for a concert.
The queues to get in were well managed and soon we were inside in search of beer and snacks. My gran had sent me cash for my birthday so I bought a T-shirt and promptly pulled it on. :D The beer we found wasn't bad but was barely chilled.
We found our seats during The Parlotones set. They weren't too bad but the free standing and golden circle areas were still mostly empty due to a bit of bad planning resulting in a trickle of people trying to flow into the stadium basin. During the short break between acts, the entrance to the standing areas was opened up and the crowd surged into the area. Strnagely though, even by the end of concert, the standing areas were never truly filled as I had expected them to be.
Coldplay took the stage during a small fireworks display and proceeded to wow the crowd. They are true showmen and the show was awesome to watch. At one point they released beach balls into the golden circle, at another large balloons were thrown into the regular standing area. The balloons bounced around a lot and even made their way up into the stands (and I got to touch one!) Some of the songs were sung on the raise X in the middle of the golden circle, engaging the crowd and giving a more personal, connected feeling to the softer tunes.
Acknowledging the number of mobile phones in the crowd, Chris Martin called for a "light wave" - a mexican wave done with lit up cellphone screens. It was quite awesome to watch the lights flow around the stadium; also quite amazing as to just how many phones were in the stadium.
They encored with "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall" ending a particularly awesome night on a high note that stayed with the crowd as they flowed out the stadium.
K lifted me home and I have to commend the traffic flow designers as the traffic was surprisingly and pleasantly light, much better than trying to escape Val de Wie after The Killers.
It was an awesome night and a great decision for some birthday-related adventure. Still not a fan but I would go see them again.
*Rabid Bus Transport system
