Coldplay

June 29th-Fall 2008 Tickets  $50-$85 Opener  TBA

Photo:Getty

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin says the band members have been looking forward to their U.S. tour for a year and a half — which is how long they've been working on their new album, Viva La Vida. The disc comes out June 17th, and the band plays a free show at New York's Madison Square Garden a week later.

When you're in the studio, do you think about how the songs will sound live?
The knowledge that you're going to play something live has a huge influence on whether or not you record it. You know you've crossed a line into self-indulgence if you can't play it live. That probably means it's not worth it.

Are you planning anything new this tour?
We have some tricks up our sleeve. When we go to concerts we get quite bored unless it has things that you wouldn't expect. There will be a mini-acoustic set. We've got some visual things, some technical things, some emotional things, some audience-participation things, some gymnastic things — the only rule is no flying.

How do you decide which songs to play?
We're gonna play a nine-hour set and provide mattresses when people need to sleep. We're going to play all our catalog and all Bruce Springsteen's. No, we're not idiots. We're not gonna just play B sides.

Why does New York get a free show?
At the beginning of our last tour, we fucked up in New York and played a couple of shit concerts, and we were embarrassed about it. We thought, "What's the best way to say thanks for putting up with us last time?" Plus the fact that no one's ever done a free show there before.

Watch Coldplay perform "Talk" Live View all tour dates

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