And yeah everybody here's got somebody to lean on

So I have this crazy thing (save your breath, I'll beat you to the obligatory "...which one?!" ) about seeing a band/musician more than once. Really I've just always felt like it would either be trying to copy + paste a new experience over top of a past one or that it just couldn't live up to the original moment.

Short story long, my Sister & I just got back from Coldplay, the 2nd time we'd gotten to seen them together in 6 months, the rare occasion that I would go against one of my 'concert commandments' (though maybe it was alright as just about all my other's were broken, read on if you dare), the only others being for U2 (which was as much a guarantee of being greater the 2nd time as anything can be), Interpol (which, true to the 'commandment', fell well short of the 1st time) and my first ever indie band The Alkaline Trio on 3 separate occasions (which was great all 3 times for more than 3 separate reasons actually).

I bent the rules this time around for a few simple reasons:

1.) The wondrous Fiona Apple opened for them.
b.) It's Coldplay. Our generation's U2 (that is if you don't consider our generation's U2 to be...well...u2) and
3.) My Sister would be there. Enough just there to assume the risk.

Fiona Apple was just great. Not only was she in a flowered dress, but she played just as many things from the future as from the past. 'Paper Bag' was so very nice. When she wasn't firing off words into the settling crowd (the saddest thing just about, most people didn't even seem to care. To the point where she smiled slightly sarcastically and whispered "Coldplay is coming up next" to wild cheers) she was yelling away from the microphone and flailing about like she was caught in a hurricane. You can tell it is so therapeutic for her and that she cares so much. I was happy as a clam.

Then Coldplay. Then the sea of camera phones. Then the people darting back and forth in and out in front of you between songs. Then the off-beat/for just no reason at all clapping in unison. People leaving early to "beat traffic". All my favourites.

Yet...it didn't get to me. I mean I picked up on them around, but somehow they were brushed away just that suddenly, like a brief hiccup for a second in time. They played everything too wow, we nearly jumped when they played her 'X&Y', laughed at what Chris Martin would say between songs ("We can't bullshit our way around it...but for one night at least, let's all pretend that this one is from local Detroit legend....Johnny Cash" then acoustic 'Ring of Fire' cover) and were just as laughingly puzzled as ever as to why the video during 'Talk' just had to be a Bear in a zoo walking back + forth in a pen.

And it was wonderful. It didn't exceed our first time that summer. It walked hand-in-hand with it. It didn't make us forget the last time, rather remember it so much clearer and with added smiles. It was the same and also different. Just like making another trip to McDonald's afterwards, (jokingly our 'post Coldplay tradition'), I drove us from our first trip, and she drove us from the last one. Growing up... (sigh) I will always remember our pair of perfect concerts together with our band.

I just put on the headphones and performed 'Swallowed in the Sea' in front of the b-room mirror like it was me coming out for the encore... now that's something that falls short of the original.