The One Where We Spend The Night With COLDPLAY

May 29th, 2022 - The best night of my life. This was the third time I've seen Coldplay live and let me tell you - Third times a charm, baby! If I had to describe the Coldplay 'experience,' I'd simply put it as they start off the show with the amount of energy that most artists leave until their encore performance at the end of the show. There is no question that Coldplay puts on the most visually and aesthetically pleasing shows around. From the stage lighting to Xylobands to multicolored confetti that rained down multiple times throughout the night... We were in the first row in section 311 and were able to catch the star-shaped confetti. I brought some home for the kiddo - He thought it was pretty cool to see. The stage, catwalk and mini stage all illuminated with colors changing for each song. The 'bonus' stage was there for the acoustic sets and Chicago's own special guest, Lupe Fiasco. What a surprise!

It's not shock that Coldplay's strengths stem from their classic hits and the band is fully aware of this. 'Yellow' was played mid-show with all of the audiences' bands lighting up in mellow yellow. The energy from both the band and the crowd made this much better. As if the crowd wasn't great enough, the heart and soul from Chris Martin was strong as he sang with the biggest grin. You felt so alive and one with those around you. Nothing else mattered in that moment.

I did my best to conserve my battery for one specific song: A Sky Full of Stars. Quick tangent - my boyfriends son and I were on the Xbox a couple months ago, as we often are once he's home from school; he asked me if he could tell me one of his goals. I love this kid like my own so any goal that he has that he wants to achieve is something I want to be aware of. If there's anything I can help to do to have him achieve those goals, I want to be there. Anyways, he told me there was a song from the movie Sing 2 and he wanted to learn how to sing it and play the piano. He was able to get a part of the song title out and it just so happened to be ASFoS. Being a personal favorite of mine, I wanted to help. I told him I'd buy him the piano score and print out the lyrics so I could help him learn. I was never great at reading music, but I did play piano growing up. For privacy reasons, I'm not going to post him playing, but he's freakin' amazing. He's so good. He doesn't play or practice nonstop, so for the amount of time he's put into it, you'd be shocked how amazing he is. We're very proud of him. This is why I needed to get the full version of this recorded so I could show him the song live. Check it out below!

Everyone knows 'Paradise' in relation the the elephant in the music video - whom was also strolling around on the floor level. There's no question that this song was made for arenas. As soon as the first note was played, the crowd erupted in cheers. We were lit up in multiple colors and our wrists were angrily flashing in every shade of the rainbow.

'The Scientist' is another classic and one I couldn't wait for them to play. Though this song is, in Chris Martin's words, 'just about girls,' - it really is more than that. I can get into the whole meaning per Martin, but the overall on this one is that there is no issue that worries a man more than losing the woman he loves. For someone who has never really been appreciated the way I thought was fit, being in a relationship now where I don't have to worry about that is a feeling I hope everyone experiences sometime in their lives. Looking at 'The Scientist' through that lense, this song is everything.

"Nobody said it was easy. It's such a shame for us to part. Nobody said it was easy. No one ever said it would be this hard. Oh, take me back to the start."

Chris did amazing on 'The Scientist' - both his performance and the writing. This ballad also hit close to home. I was in attendance with my boyfriend, his best friend and his best friends' wife. They made this night one to remember. Something about hearing this song live with them made it one-hundred times better. Throughout this show, it was clear that we, as a country, need to spread the love to those who lack it, pray for those who need it and be a friend to one another, always. Coldplay does an excellent job achieving their goals each night: making every single person in the stadium feel loved. There was no lack of love in that stadium Sunday night.

COLDPLAY | Music of the Spheres

Chris does an outstanding job at really captivating his fans. His lovable energy is truly infectious. The show ended with some unforgettable fireworks from center and side stages. I had held tickets to this show for nearly eight months as a surprise for my boyfriend - an early Father's Day gift for him since he is by far, the best father out there. I contacted his best friend and mother to see if we could make this work. I wanted to have a fun date night. I think both couples needed and wanted this getaway. Once his friend was onboard with the plan and the grandparents and aunts knew they were getting the kiddos for the night, I knew I had to make this the best night ever. I made sure I was free for presale and had my laptop and phone ready to purchase us our tickets. After lots of glitches and loading screens, I was able to grab four amazing tickets. We had club seats so bathrooms were super accessible (yes, even the ladies' room!) and beer was always close by - the most important thing if we're being honest! It was easy in and out in terms of amount of people. I think I did a good job with the spot. We had a breathtaking view of the stage as well. My boyfriend is the tallest of our bunch and coming in at only 5' 5" myself, I wanted to get front row and close to the end so we didn't have people walking past us every few minutes. Once I secured tickets, I had to cover transportation. I wasn't going to make one of us drive down so I booked us a Black Car service. As we got closer to the date, I switched it up and got a limo. I thought an open layout would be better than three-row seating and it worked out in our favor. We had a mini bar, cold beers, beautiful night and the best company - what else could you ask for?

"You, you are, my universe and I just want to put you first. You, you are, my universe and you make my world light up inside."

When it came to telling my boyfriend, I waited until New Years Eve to tell him. I traveled out to him in Texas where he was living at the time and I'm not sure how his friend and I kept it a secret. I was so excited to share the news. I got him a space-themed card and made up the four 'fake' tickets via Canvas. The price, sections, rows, seats and gates were all our actual information. All of the other numbers on the ticket had some sort of relevancy to relationship, as well - so super personal and truly made for him. There was a photo collage of him and his son from baby stages to current that said "Happy Father's Day." I threw in the tour logos with the lyrics from 'My Universe,' one of their newer songs. He was taken back and shocked. I love surprising him but he guesses everything! He usually knows what I'm up to and I am the worst liar, so I needed to make sure I wasn't in the position to be questioned on anything or I would've ruined the gift. So much credit to his best friend for helping me keep this a secret.

I try not to take things for granted often, but I think, subconsciously, I took live music for granted in the last couple of years. It was so soothing to be at a live concert event, in Chicago, with the person and people I love and 50,000 complete strangers. It felt like home. All that mattered that night was who I was with. The greatest feeling I can ever describe. It sounds silly, but we've been living in a box, unnecessarily, for the last two years. This was what we needed. My advice would be to get out of the house, spend this short life we have with people you love and do well for yourself and others. Do these things with no regrets. The best advice I've ever received from a previous coach was to date your spouse. I'm not married, but I couldn't agree more. Parents need date nights. If you're dating with kids, you need date nights. Kids are great and I hope to have a child of my own one day, but breaks are necessary and this was proof. When you get out of your box, you realize something deeper than you know. The love you have for your spouse or significant other reach a different place - a place you may not realize is there. A place some may not have deemed possible or at least not yet.

Although the four of us wish Coldplay was coming back next week, we cannot wait for the next show. I'm hoping to bring my boyfriend's son to the next Coldplay show, but until then, we can soak up the surplus of events going on from now until then. A night for the books and one we will remember for years to come.

One love, always.