From SPIN Magazine....

Coldplay Go Epic in Lolla Debut

Chris Martin / Photo by Dave Mead for Lollapalooza

Catharsis can come in many forms, but there are certain times where it’s best felt in the middle of an enormous crowd. Coldplay closed out the first day of Lollapalooza as only Coldplay can: equal parts epic and endearing, with tens of thousands of fans singing in unison. Oddly enough, it was the London quartet’s first time at the fest.
“It took us 20 years to get to Lollapalooza,” said Chris Martin. (Of course, the band only formed in 1996.) “You guys are making four men’s dreams come true.”

One could chalk the sentiment up to English manners, but that’s the thing about the star singer-songwriter — in his hands, sentiment never feels like a put-on. When SPIN arrived, the band was in the midst of their 2000 breakthrough “Yellow” (whilst bathed in amber stage light, no less). Without missing a beat, they rolled into 2002’s ubiquitous “In My Place,” seemingly just cranking out the midtempo megahits, but Martin handily disarmed cynics with a few simple words:
“Let’s sing it together, come on.”
It’s no secret that Coldplay’s lyrics aim straight for that main vein where universal heartache meets everyman yearning, but experienced in the middle of a sea positively frothing with those same emotions, that broad-stroke general interest bigness becomes strikingly personal. Who can’t graft the following couplet, from “Scientist,” onto some bit of sadness in their own life?
“Nobody said it was easy / No one ever said it would be this hard.”
The band pulled another trick too — one far more impressive. In between the inescapable familiars (including a spiky, percussive remake of “God Put a Smile Upon Your Face”) and a handful of new ones from their pending fifth album, Coldplay frequently dipped back to their debut Parachutes. The best moments were “Shiver” and “Everything’s Not Lost,” and on each, they managed to sound like a much smaller act — four guys not yet famous, but aiming for those stars (the yellow ones, of course).
— Chris Martins

Photos by Dave Mead for Lollapalooza

Coldplay - Fix You recorded live at Lollapalooza, August 5th, 2011

Iron Maiden: 'We'll make at least one more album'

Iron Maiden will make "at least one more album" - but are planning to stick to their tried and tested metal template.

Speaking to the Daily Star, frontman Bruce Dickinson confirmed plans are in place for a follow-up to 2010's 'The Final Frontier', which was the 15th studio LP of the veteran band's career.

However, he admitted that the group are aware of the "boundaries" of what they can do musically and ruled out an unlikely hip-hop collaboration, commenting:

We're not the kind of band who could say: 'Hey, let's do an album with Kanye West' because that wouldn't interest Maiden fans at all.

Dickinson added that the band often struggle to discuss ideas for new material with each other, concluding:

We try to keep things on an even keel. Being English we still have some reserve when we're communicating ideas to each other. If we hugged each other we'd have to go straight into rehab

It was thought that the band were set to quit music following the release of 'The Final Frontier', with guitarist Adrian Smith stating in 2008 that they had only ever expected to release 15 albums. However, a year later he said there had been a shift in attitudes in the group and that they were keen to carry on.

Coldplay pay tribute to Amy Winehouse with 'Rehab' cover – check it out below

Coldplay have paid tribute to Amy Winehouse with a brief cover of one of her most famous songs.

During the Splendour In The Grass festival in Australia, Chris Martin added the chorus of Amy's hit single 'Rehab' into the opening bars of 'Fix You'.

As you can hear in the video below, the Australian crowd lent their voices to the singalong with gusto.

Posting on their website, the band said:

There's little that can be said about Amy Winehouse's passing that hasn't already been said. It's just such a sad waste. We'll leave aside the awful irony and just let the Aussie choir sing.

Amy

glad i didn't buy tickets this time around...maybe next year!

Kings of Leon's Cancelled Tour Could Be Very Expensive

Lloyd's of London might have to pay up to $15 million in insurance claims

Kings of Leon lead singer Caleb Followill

Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

The official reason that Kings of Leon abruptly canceled the remaining 29 shows on their U.S. tour is frontman Caleb Followill's "vocal issues and exhaustion." But in the concert business, such benign explanations can hide larger issues, as the band's bassist, Jared Followill, suggested via Twitter shortly afterwards. "There are internal sicknesses & problems that have needed to be addressed," he wrote. "I can't lie, there are problems in our band bigger than not drinking enough Gatorade."
Friday night, during a show at Dallas' Gexa Energy Pavilion, Caleb Followill reportedly was obsessed with the heat and said the following to the audience: "I'm gonna go backstage and I'm gonna vomit. I'm gonna drink a beer and I'm gonna come back out and play three more songs." He did not come back.
"Exhaustion"-type euphemisms were prevalent last summer: Christina Aguilera canceled her tour before it began due to "prior commitments"; Limp Bizkit called off a planned tour because frontman Fred Durst demanded to play in larger venues; Rihanna canceled at least one date due to "production changes." All, according to numerous sources, were due to surprisingly low ticket sales.
Before that, mysterious cancellations have come from Britney Spears, who canceled a 2004 tour due to a bona fide knee injury, but it turned out to be the beginning of her infamous public meltdown; Mariah Carey, who canceled remaining appearances in 2008 for undisclosed reasons, although just about everybody guessed she was actually pregnant; and Billy Joel, who canceled 2009 shows due to exhaustion, then irked Elton John for not participating in a possible 2010 tour.
Although Dennis Arfa – agent for Joel, Metallica and Rod Stewart – has no knowledge of what's happening within the Kings of Leon camp, "exhaustion" raises a red flag. "Well, I mean, it tells me stuff is goin' on. Something's not right, obviously," he says. "Exhaustion is a label. It doesn't tell you the detail – just says 'exhaustion.' Exhaustion usually means you have issues going on beyond just being physically tired. It's a convenient label."
For Kings of Leon and the band's business partners, it's potentially a costly exhaustion. Lloyd's of London could have to pay as much as $15 million to promoters, venues and others who lost money from the tour. And it may be more difficult than ever for the band to procure insurance on future gigs. "There's a lot of rating factors – whatever the contract says, size of the venue, age of the performer, health of the performer, how far they have to travel, plane, train or automobile," says Elizabeth Wightman, chief operating officer for SteelBridge Insurance, in Santa Cruz, California, which regularly insures large music festivals. "It's kind of like a credit report. You have to earn your reputation over time. Insurance companies are going to be looking at that."

well I guess I got my answer...!

Kings of Leon Cancel U.S. Tour

Singer Caleb Followill is suffering from 'vocal issues and exhaustion'

Kings of Leon

 

Kings of Leon have canceled the remainder of their summer tour in the wake of a disastrous show in Dallas on Friday that was cut short after lead singer Caleb Followill left the stage to vomit. According to the Kings' representative, Followill has been "suffering from vocal issues and exhaustion," and the band have opted to scrap the tour rather than play subpar gigs for their fans.

Due to the Kings' touring commitments abroad, their U.S. shows will not rescheduled. Tickets for those gigs will be refunded at point of purchase, or automatically refunded if ordered online. The band will head back out on tour on September 28th with a show at the Rogers Center in Vancouver, a show originally scheduled for September 14th.


Though the band's official line regarding Caleb Followill's meltdown in Dallas is attributed to exhaustion, comments from his brothers at the concert and on Twitter suggest that he may be dealing with a bigger issue. When apologizing on Twitter, bassist Jared Followill wrote "there are internal sicknesses & problems that have needed to be address" and "I know you guys aren't stupid. I can't lie. There are problems in our band bigger than not drinking enough Gatorade."