Coldplay, or U2, Jr. as I like to call them (I will also accept Radio-play or Cold-head), are the easiest punching bag in music right now.  That's going to happen when you are the champ and your fans are rabid acolytes and you are so mainstream Oprah is touting you.   But the fact is, no matter how much hate we throw at Mr. Paltrow and his Peanut's Schroeder antics on the piano, Coldplay is not going anywhere.  Vive La Vida or Death and All His Friends, or whatever is the damn album title, is going to sell like 400,000 copies its first week (a huge accomplishment in today's ravaged music industry) and keep EMI from going bankrupt for at least one more month. 

So despite those numbers, and the monstrous ticket sales this tour will yield, alot of the criticism for this new LP will go to the wayside.  This sucker, like a Michael Bay film, is pretty much critic proof.  But, I will say this: the new free track has about as much aftertaste for me as a vintage bottle of Zephyrhills.  I am thinking producer Brian Eno did a sabotage job on this, considering he is also producing U2's pending studio release.

I do notice a lull in the tour during August and September, I am sure they will be returning to Florida as they have had huge turnout the last two times that played.  Check back here for updates.

From Billboard:

June 29: Philadelphia, PA; Wachovia Center
July 2: Washington, DC; Verizon Center
July 3: Hartford, CT (XL Center)
July 5: Detroit, MI (The Palace of Auburn Hills)
July 6: Cleveland, OH (Quicken Loans Arena)
July 8: St. Paul, MN (Xcel Energy Center)
July 9: Kansas City, MO (Sprint Center)
July 10: Oklahoma City, OK (Ford Center)
July 12: Phoenix, AZ (Jobbing.com Arena)
July 19: Las Vegas, NV (MGM Grand Garden Arena)
July 21: Sacramento, CA (ARCO Arena)
July 24: San Jose, CA (HP Pavilion)
July 27: Pemberton, BC (Pemberton Festival)
July 29: Edmonton, AB (Rexall Place)
July 30: Calgary, AB (Pengrowth Saddledome)
August 1: Winnipeg, MB (MTS Centre)
August 3: Omaha, NE (Qwest Center)
August 4: Chicago, IL (United Center)
October 20: Montreal, QC (Bell Centre)
October 21: Ottawa, ON, (Scotiabank Place)
October 26: East Rutherford, NJ (Izod Center)
October 29: Toronto, ON (Air Canada Centre)
October 30: Toronto, ON (Air Canada Centre)
November 3: Boston, MA (TD Banknorth Garden)
November 11: Atlanta, GA (Philips Arena)
November 18: Houston, TX (Toyota Center)
November 19: Dallas, TX (American Airlines Center)
November 21: Denver, CO (Pepsi Center Arena)
November 22: Salt Lake City, UT (Energy Solutions Arena)

For the ladies. . .