Coldplay Viva La Vida Concert Dates
Author: Alison Stieven-Taylor | 
The tour kicks off on February 27th in Perth and wraps in Sydney on 15th March. Coldplay’s Australian label EMI has reported more than 120,000 tickets were snapped up in record time for the band’s first Australian tour since 2006. And there are still tickets available for those die-hard fans who don’t mind sitting up in the gods.
The last time Coldplay toured Australia in 2006 the band performed ten shows and entertained more than 100,000 fans.
Viva La Vida
The launch of Coldplay’s Australian tour coincided with the release of Viva La Vida - Prospekt’s March edition - a two-disc deluxe package which includes Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, plus a brand new EP entitled Prospekt’s March. Prospekt's March includes six recently-completed songs that the band had begun recording during the Viva La Vida sessions and brand new versions of two album tracks – Lost + (featuring Jay-Z) and Lovers in Japan (Osaka Sun mix).
The album Viva La Vida has topped the charts in Australia, the UK and US. Critics have remarked it is the band’s most experimental musical outing to date, but still carries the Coldplay stamp.
Coldplay Nominated for 7 Grammy Awards
Coldplay’s Australian tour is boosted by the announcement the band is in the running for seven Grammy Awards this year -
- Record of the Year - Viva La Vida (from Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends)
- Album of the Year - Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends
- Song of the Year - Viva La Vida
- Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals - Viva La Vida
- Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals - Violet HIll
- Best Rock Song - Violet Hill
- Best Rock Album - Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends
Chris Martin says Australia is an Exotic Treat
In an interview with Sydney’s Sunday Telegraph Coldplay’s lead singer Chris Martin said the reason they hadn’t toured to Australia for three years was a matter of perfection.
“For us, touring in your country is kind of exotic, so we feel like it’s kind of a treat. So we wait until we feel like we deserve to go to Australia. We don’t like to play in Australia until we’ve perfected our concert.”
Those fans lucky enough to have scored a ticket, and who live within access of the four tour cities – Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth – will be in for a treat if Martin’s words are any indication.
However, not all Coldplay fans are happy with those in Adelaide snubbed by this tour schedule. Rumours have it that there isn’t a comparable arena venue in Adelaide, although promoter Michael Chugg puts the omission down to a simple case of the band’s availability.
Coldplay Australian Tour Dates
- Friday 27 February - Perth, Burswood Dome
- Saturday 28 February - Perth, Buswood Dome
- Tuesday 3 March - Melbourne, Rod Laver Arena
- Wednesday 4 March - Melbourne, Rod Laver Arena
- Thursday 5 March – Melbourne, Rod Laver Arena
- Sunday 8 March - Brisbane, Entertainment Centre
- Monday 9 March - Brisbane, Entertainment Centre
- Wednesday 11 March - Sydney, Acer Arena
- Thursday 12 March - Sydney, Acer Arena
- Saturday 14 March - Sydney, Acer Arena
- Sunday 15March – Sydney, Acer Arena
B52s Psychedelic Rock Puts Fun in New Wave Music Author: Shelley Aylesworth-Spink |
Take some feel-good music with garage-sounding guitar, add a wacky lead singer, a few thrift store dressed women and you have pop culture icons the B-52s.
As one of new wave’s most fun additions to the psychedelic and punk music scene, the B-52s are most recently known for Funplex, released in March 2008 as the band's first original album in 16 years. The B-52s roots go back to when it smashed into the limelight in 1979 with “Rock Lobster” straight from the tune’s huge underground success. As its most iconic song, “Rock Lobster,” a beach-styled tune that features sounds one might just expect from a crustacean, would be the first in a string of hits for a band that has had people flocking to the dance floors for 30 years. Fans have good reason to continue their attraction with the B-52s, who built their sound and persona on the values of good fun, having a few laughs and dancing the night away. Unofficially dubbed “The World’s Greatest Party Band,” the popularity of the band is based on its roots as distinctly new wave, yet mixed with vintage and punk music undertones. An Inspiration to Pop CulturePop culture takes a page from the band, as it inspired a list of other party-style groups whose feel-good purpose is also based on simple melodies, quirky lyrics and loud colored and mixed clothes. Scissor Sisters, The New Pornographers, the New Yorkers, the Rapture, LCD Soundsystem and The Boggs all take inspiration from their highly dance-oriented rock sound and thoughtful, lyrical qualities. Many of the B-52s songs are themselves inspired by Pop Culture. After “Rock Lobster,” and “Dance This Mess Around,” on their self-titled 1979 breakthrough album, they released Wild Planet in 1980 with the hits “Give Me Back My Man” and “Private Idaho” (a track that inspired the film “My Own Private Idaho.”) Already, the band was enjoying the same success as the likes of Blondie and The Talking Heads. MTV and 1980s Music Feature Classic B-52sMTV became a perfect playground for the B-52s whose videos command strong visual appeal with their primary colors, wild costumes, the theatrical antics of lead singer Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson and the band's brand of punk/new wave style. Keith Strickland, one of the band's founders and songwriter, has today stepped up from behind the drums and now plays lead guitar. The death of guitarist and band founder Ricky Wilson in 1985 caused the band to take a break. They returned in 1989 with the release of their chart-topping “Cosmic Thing” which included their #1 hit “Love Shack,” still a classic that signals an instant party, and “Roam” which also enjoyed great success. From most recent to earliest, as found on Rolling Stone, here are the band’s album releases: 2008, Funplex 2007, Time Capsule: The Mixes - Summer of Love '98 2002, Nude on the Moon: The B-52's Anthology 1998, Time Capsule - Mixes: Hallucinating Pluto 1998, Time Capsule - Mixes: Summer of Love 98 1998, Tim Capsule 1995, Planet Claire 1992, Good Stuff 1989, Cosmic Thing 1986, Bounding Off The Satellites 1983, Whammy! 1982, Party Mix/Mesopotamia 1980, Wild Planet 1979, The B-52’s The B-52s remain a band whose sound is a cure for anything that brings people down. With the release of Funplex, the amount of airtime the band still commands on commercial and satellite radio and views on its You Tube videos, the B-52s are a band with a history and a strong future. |