coldplay

They've been my favorite band for years. I can never get sick of their songs. I've never seen them in concert though; until last Saturday night.

I remember a call I got from my dear friend Tara back in 2006 while I was living in Kauai. I couldn't really hear her, but I could hear a familiar song in the background. One of my favorite Coldplay songs. Tara was in Las Vegas at the Coldplay concert. Without me. It was one of the few times I truly wanted to get off that Island.

Since that day, I've had an ever-increasing urge to see them live. Finally, the opportunity came to purchase tickets in the Springs. They were finally coming to Salt Lake City. We purchased our tickets, but the best seats we could get were the front row of the upper bowl. It didn't really matter, though. I was going to see my favorite band.

We arrived at the Delta Center (yes, I still call it that) and I immediately headed to the gift counter to purchase my concert t-shirt. I usually get one at the concerts I attend. After I put it on, we headed up the long flight of stairs to our seats.

We found our portal WW and I started to walk through the double doors. I noticed soon that Tara, Sarah, and Kelly were not following me anymore. I turned around and saw them talking to two British strangers. I went over and joined their conversation.

Marta and Stephanie introduced themselves to us in their British accents. They asked us if they could kindly see our tickets. We handed them over and they examined our seats. Marta said, "You paid all this to sit clear up here?" Um, yes.

Stephanie went on, "How's about we play a little game with you? A game of trivia - no, trust. A game of trust?"

I suspiciously looked at them, but soon my tension eased because they wore the Official VIVA band jackets. They had to be trustworthy to wear those. They continued, "You hand us all of your tickets, close your eyes, and we'll put different tickets in your hands. You must trust us that they will be better. Don't open your eyes."

I've never closed my eyes so tightly before. I didn't want Marta and Stephanie to think I was cheating in anyway. Too much was at stake.

They placed new tickets in our hands and said, "Open your eyes. You've just won 2nd row tickets on the floor!"

As you can imagine, we screamed, cried, cheered, and hugged our new friends. We were pretty much in shock. Then we screamed, cried, cheered and hugged our friends again. We seriously couldn't believe it. So lucky.

We made our way to the floor and watched as they really did let us through and lead us to our 2nd row seats. Front and center. It seemed like a dream. My favorite band. Right there. Just mere feet away.

Well, the rest is history. Chris Martin and Co. came out and put on one of the best shows I've ever seen. It was so incredible and intense being right there. I yelled out, "I love you Chris!" once, and he actually heard me. Too convenient.

Thanks Tara, Sarah, Kelly, Marta, Stephanie, Chris, Guy, Jonny, and Will for making it such a fantastic night.