Coldplay reward passionate fans with front row seats
Coldplay give away the best seats at their gigs to passionate fans.
The 'Viva La Vida' hitmakers don't sell tickets for the front rows of the venues they play but instead send staff to look for excitable audience members sitting far away from the stage as they think their energy makes for a better show than the prestigious seats being taken by "the highest bidders".
Discussing correspondence with some fans, the group's roadie wrote on their blog: "After a bit of email back and forth, it turns out that they were in the front row after being 'upgraded' from seats way up the back. The band have done this for ages now.
"It came about after struggling with shows where the seats closest to the stage were often full of just 'the highest bidders' and not necessarily the most enthusiastic fans.
"In European standing shows, the front rows are the kids who've been outside the venue since daybreak and who've sprinted in to get the pole position. Usually by the time the opening acts have finished they're at fever pitch with excitement.
"In contrast, folks who'd paid astronomical sums for the tickets could often just sit with an arms folded sense of entitlement, emoting 'come on then, entertain me, have you any idea how much I paid for this?'.
"So the band don't sell the tickets to the front few rows any more. Instead, various crew members are sent out to scan the highest, furthest seats to find folks who look genuinely excited and giddy to be seeing the band. They're then given tickets to the front row."
The group believe the gesture "genuinely" makes for a better gig.
The blog continued: "For them, it's a Willy Wonka golden ticket. For the band, it's guaranteed energy from the folks closest to them. It genuinely does make the shows better. We've all said it many times. How good a show is, is largely to do with how good the audience are. It's what fuels the whole thing."
Coldplay & Rihanna - Princess of China on MUZU.TV.
