Coldplay: Live 2003

Riding high on the phenomenal success of A Rush of Blood to the Head, Coldplay is in peak form on Coldplay Live 2003. This CD/DVD two-pack was filmed (on Super-16mm film) and recorded in Sydney's Horden Pavilion on July 21 and 22, 2003, during an exhaustive year-long world tour, and the medium-sized arena provides a fitting stage for the London-based rock quartet, not so grand as to overwhelm the music, but large enough to indicate their large and loyal following, which includes enthusiastic fans of either gender. Especially when played in DTS 5.1 surround, this 90-minute concert is richer, thicker, and (of course) louder than Coldplay's studio recordings, lending a wall-of-sound expansiveness to the band's signature sound, which draws from such diverse influences as Genesis, Pink Floyd, The Verve, U2, and their own unique sonic landscape. "Politik" gets the gig off to a rousing start, and other impressive highlights include "Daylight," "Yellow," the as-yet-unreleased new song "Moses," and the popular hits "In My Place," "Clocks," and "The Scientist." And while the concert visuals are slick and professional (perhaps placing a bit too much emphasis on singer/frontman Chris Martin), this DVD and CD--the latter containing a truncated 70-minute version of the same performance--are best appreciated for their pristine audio quality. Culled from 400 hours of home video, the 40-minute "concert diary" represents a wasted opportunity, enjoyable for hardcore fans but offering no insight into the band or its individual members. Much better, then, to play the concert at healthy high volume, and appreciate Coldplay in the prime of their young career. --Jeff Shannon
Customer Review: The best concert I never went to!!
I got the Coldplay 2003 DVD as a birthday present in '04. Coldplay's my favorite band, so you can imagine my excitement. Back in the days, I never thought I could ever be in a real concert of the band, I lived too far away from any place they toured. Almost four years later, I still think the DVD was the best concert in my life. That is, taking into consideration that I went to see them, against all odds, in NYC in 2006. It's not that the concert was bad, it was one of the best days in my life. It's that to me, the DVD is so good that I can't get enough of it. The band plays perfectly, the connection with the crowd is real, the choice of songs is fantastic, the sound is epic, the transitions that go along with songs, including colors, angles and views of the crowd and the band are nothing but exciting and bright. If there's any DVD I would ever recommend, it's this one. It's the closest you'll come to live the Coldplay experience if you haven't got the chance to live it already.
Customer Review: Wow. That's all I have to say.
Not only is the music CD great, but the DVD packs quite the punch. The only tiny thing that bugged me was how the CD didn't have every song off of the DVD, but I guess that's what makes the DVD that much better. If you like Coldplay, but this DVD, you will not regret it. Best $20 musical purchase I've made in a long time.

As the back to school flyers pour in and I visually digest the crisp images of mechanical pencils and Shrek lunch boxes, I am compelled to seek out new learning opportunities to make the rainy dying days of summer a smooth transition into winter.

Between Toastmasters Club, community orchestras, night classes at the local community college and a botched attempt at learning saxophone five autumns past, I have realised my school-aged programming has left a permanent impression: I see brown leaves and I run for the nearest sign-up sheet.

I decided this year, after having delved into expensive hobbies and projects started and soon abandoned, to limit my fall learning frenzies to those activities which are affordable, work well with my busy life as a wife and mother and which I am sure I will stick to long-term.

So I went out and bought a piano.

Affordable? Not really. It set us back from buying a new couch, but as I explained to my loved ones that if you dexterously avoid the gaping holes and sharp jutting springs, the existing couch really is quite comfortable.

Non-intrusive to family life? The thing takes up half of my living room and almost all of my attention, resulting in several burned suppers, neglected piles of dishes and ignored phone calls. Things of little importance when I am immersed in a snappy rendition of “Polly Wolly Doodle.”

Which leads to the last criteria: Will I stick with it long-term? You betcha!

To be honest, I did not expect this new musical venture to be this successful. I've always wanted a piano in my home; my German heritage nagging, “it's not home unless it's got a piano.” As a violinist and violin junkie I've never much cared for piano music (I know I'll get heat from my piano-playing colleagues for that one).

I figured I'd noodle around on it here and there, waiting until my preschool-aged son was taking lessons for it to be studied on, as my past ventures in new instruments (saxophone, bagpipes and other instruments that require air) resulted in me me giving up from breathless frustration.

As the burly piano movers heaved the massive antique into place, one of them wheezed, “Someone had better learn to play this thing.” Though I was down with a gawdawful flu the day the piano arrived, I played it for hours at a time, ignoring my 39-degree fever and laryngitis.

I started with the basics: “Twinkle Twinkle” and “Mary had a Little Lamb.” Ok, I have no pride.

I found the whole “two hand, two clef” concept a bit of a hurdle, like severing one half of my brain from the other then asking them to co-operate. After three days of inspired practice (and cold leftovers for dinner) things seemed to click and other songs flowed more easily.

I've discovered I'm really good at this, a real natural! I play a wicked two-handed “Chicken Dance” and I'm pretty solid at the first page of Beethoven's “Moonlight” Sonata. Ok, fifteen years of violin playing and a college music education probably has something to do with that, but let me dream!

In the past learning a new instrument, or anything new for that matter, was unbearably frustrating because didn't like feeling like a “beginner” and set unachievable goals. I enjoy playing piano far too much to wreck it with guilt or self-doubt, so I am softening my expectations and have surrendered to my vulnerability in starting over again. This humbling experience has gained me far more respect for my students who, like me, are beginners in an instrument.

It feels like I'm back in school again with all the other kids, learning and growing with my mechanical pencil and lunch box, singing “Poll-y Woll-y Doo-dle all the Day!”

**Rhiannon Schmitt (nee Nachbaur) is a professional violinist and music teacher who has enjoyed creative writing for years. She writes for two Canadian publications and Australia's "Music Teacher Magazine."

Her business, Fiddleheads Violin School & Shop, has won several distinguished young entrepreneur business awards and offers beginner to professional level instruments, accessories and supplies for very reasonable prices: Visit http://www.fiddleheads.ca

dance dance music video