I realize that today's date will never be said aloud or noted in writing without bringing back memories of that day four years ago (can it be four years already?). I wasn't going to write an entry at all today, but I realize that doing so would be pointless, and a kind of admission of defeat. Plus, I wanted to write about something bright and full of positive energy.

That event was the Coldplay concert last night at Walnut Creek here in Raleigh. Elizabeth and I were both apprehensive about the concert, because we didn't think it'd be that engaging or exciting, plus we'd be leaving Drew overnight with her folks, so that was sort of a bummer. And personally, I was a bit underwhelmed by their newest album.

Thankfully, by the time they hit the stage around 9:30 last night, with a lovely, cool wind whipping through the arena, all our doubts were blown away. Coldplay puts on a hell of a show, and it's the whole package -- music, lights, snippets of video, crowd interaction. I have a new appreciation for their new album, and Elizabeth, our friend Clarke (a big-time Coldplay fan), and I all agreed that the band's enthusiasm for their music and their fans was contagious and addictive. We didn't sit down for the entire show.

Probably the best part of the show was when they played the song they'd written to sing with Johnny Cash, only to have Cash pass away before it could be recorded -- "'Til Kingdom Come." It's a great song. Then they kept jamming, all four of them lined up in a row with their guitars, and played Cash's "Ring of Fire" (and followed that up with a quick round of "Happy Birthday" for the guitarist).

Another highlight was their second take on "The Scientist" -- lead singer Chris Martin coughed ten words into the song(!), and then about five lines later the guitarist grabbed him and said the drummer was demanding they start the song over. So they did. Pretty cool. Martin made fun of himself the rest of the night about that.

And they played one of the best all-time songs, "Clocks," with its infectious piano line, and ended it with a frenetic, sped-up version of the song that was just awesome.

I could go on and on, but you know, you had to be there. I'm just glad that we were! Later.