Coldplay @ Nissan Pavilion 5/21/09

Last night I saw Coldplay in concert at Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, Virginia. I interned with Live Nation-DC last summer in their booking office and my former boss is awesome and hooked me up with section 101 seats (read: OMG).

I’ve always wanted to see Coldplay live, it’s been a “something to do before I die,” and I was very happy to experience it with my awesome friend Sarah who enjoys their music just as much as I do (click the link, she blogged about our concert adventure too!).

Despite the fact that Chris Martin (lead singer, Coldplay) loves himself more than he should (read: outrageous ego), I couldn’t help but really like him! He said “Thank you” after every song, and really let the audience know that he appreciated our time, support and money (Ok, he didn’t say money, but lets be honest…).

He kept saying something that was a little odd: “This is our last time in Washington, D.C. for long time” or “I don’t know when we’ll be back here yet.” Are they going on a break? Are they breaking up? Does this mean, “don’t expect an album anytime soon”?

Hum.

Nonetheless, the show was fantastic and I’m currently suffereing “Post Concert Depression- that sad feeling you feel after experiencing a great show, knowing you won’t experience that same moment again. Something I love about concerts is the audience/community aspect- You’re best friends with the stranger sitting next to you and everyone is a family. Ah, it’s a beautiful thing! Seriously, when the concert started EVERYONE was screaming and cheering, it was almost emotional- I literally said to Sarah, “I feel like I’m going to cry!!”

Anyways, the set list is below, the staging was awesome, and I couldn’t have imagined a better night.

-pictures after the jump-

SET LIST:

Life In Technicolor
Violet Hill
Clocks
In My Place
Yellow
Glass Of Water
Cemeteries Of London
42
Fix You
Strawberry Swing
God Put A Smile Upon Your Face (techno version)
Talk (techno version)
The Hardest Part (Chris piano)
Postcards From Far Away (piano instrumental)
Viva La Vida
Lost!
Green Eyes (acoustic)
Death Will Never Conquer (acoustic – Will vocals)
I’m A Believer (Neil Diamond Cover – acoustic)
Viva La Vida (remix interlude)
——
Politik
Lovers In Japan
Death And All His Friends
——-
The Scientist
Life in Technicolor ii
The Escapist (outro)

Because our tix were free, we felt as though it was ok to purchase $16 frozen Margaritas:

Definitely delicious:

The moment the show started:

Butterfly confetti:

Sarah and I with the Butterfly confetti:

The stage during Strawberry Swing (my favorite song):

Bouncing yellow balloons filled with confetti during Yellow:
(side note: Sarah’s been waiting to see this happen for 9 years!
She heard about it in 9th grade after someone saw them in concert)

Final view of the stage:

This picture was taken by NDwas and it is awesome:

Around the world in a day- DC Embassy tour, part 1

Last Saturday I ventured into Washington, D.C. with some friends for Passport DC Open House. It’s an annual event where many of the Embassies open their doors and invite the public to come and learn about their country.

The event went from 10am-4pm, but we got a late start and didn’t make it into the city until about 1:30- bad idea! We really didn’t get a lot of time to “take it in” so to speak. Nonetheless, we were still able to enjoy the Embassies of Uzbekistan, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Thailand.

Not only was it fun to explore the embassies, but being in D.C. is always refreshing. I documented our adventure “around the world” and in and around DC, check it out below.

The first stop was Uzbekistan and I have to admit, I wish there was a map so I could pinpoint where exactly this country was located. The last time I was seriously familiar with this country’s location was freshman year of college in my general geography class.

For your situational awareness, here’s a map:

Click image to visit the Uzbekistan Embassy's Web site

Most embassy’s offered a sample of their country’s popular cuisine. Uzbekistan gave out….raisins.

I was a little leery about the raisins, but Sarah was brave and gave them a try. The look says it all.

While there wasn’t anything too particularly engaging, the detail and workmanship of many of the displays were impressive:

Lots of engraved gold

A traditional cradle

A “big kid” bed

That was it for Uzbekistan. Like I said, I’m not packing my bags to go, but I was really happy to learn about a country I didn’t know much about.

The next stop was the Australian embassy. The line to get in was quite long, but who’d expect any less from such a cool country? We waited in line for about 20 minutes and were greeted by this gentleman as we walked through the doors:

First thing that came across my mind: “How long does it take him to get ready in the morning?!”

My blackberry’s camera certainly does not give it any justice, but the ceiling of the embassy emulated the night sky and was simply beautiful. This embassy was certainly a lot bigger and more crowded than Uzbekistan’s.

The Australian’s definitely took it up a notch in the food department as well, they rocked Lamb.

After Australia, we headed to Trinidad and Tobago where it was definitely a party.

Even from blocks away, you could hear the steel drums and feel the energy

Inside, EVERYONE was dancing. People weren’t full on breaking it down, but there was a definite pep in everyone’s step and body language.

After T & T, we took a quick lunch break at Kramer Books & Afterwards Cafe. I’ve been here only once before and was excited to come back. If you haven’t been, this cute “little” joint is a unique bookstore and restaurant. The best thing about this combination is that while you’re waiting to be seated, you’ve got something to do.

Jen, looking smart as usual

Cute little books.

Lunchtime! I had the Grilled Chicken Breast Sandwich

Jen had the Tuna

Oh, and if you have to use the restroom, a token is required
[many thanks to Hannah for her hand modeling skills]

After lunch, we decided a little dessert was in order and headed over to Hello Cupcake at 1351 Connecticut Ave.

I decided to go with the Chocolate Chocolate Cupcake [definitely delicious]

The last stop on our journey around the world was the Thai Embassy

We saw lots of carved fruit

and played games for free beer [no, I'm not joking]!

[apologies for the camera quality, I was working with my blackberry pearl]

We left D.C. around 8pm and took the metro back to Old Town, Alexandria where we had parked.
Sarah and I decided to continue the night roaming around down by the water. If you haven’t visited Old Town at night, I highly recommend it.

All in all, it was a great weekend in and around our Nations capitol.

This weekend the European Embassies are doing an open house and I expect to be in attendance.
See full details here: http://europe-in-dc.com/