Coldplay in India has left a lot of people hot and bothered.
The iconic millennial British band announced two concerts in India on January 18 and 19, 2025. Tickets for these dates, which went on sale yesterday (September 22), were sold out immediately, causing the booking site to crash. (Or rather, first, the site crashed, and then the tickets sold out instantly once it was back online.)
I wasn’t there when it happened.
The Outrage!
But I was there when the outrage hit my social media. People who didn’t get tickets to see Coldplay in India were posting crying emojis, begging for tickets. Some shared screenshots of their 900,000-plus spot in the waiting queue. Others posted videos of people who had no clue who Coldplay’s frontman is but somehow managed to get a hold of tickets (SOOOOOO UNFAIR!). Meanwhile, scalpers had their inboxes fuller than a thirst trap on Valentine’s Day.
Guys, what the actual fuck?
I don’t get it. Why do people even bother to get in a queue “for a chance” to spend their OWN money on something non-essential? And then add insult to injury by ranting on social media when they can’t part with their money despite enduring a totally frustrating experience?
I’d understand if this were the ’70s or ’80s. You loved a band but couldn’t experience its music in high fidelity at home or watch its performances on large-screen TVs. I’d get it if the experience of seeing Coldplay in India meant being allowed to carry your own booze, buy cheap drinks, have enough elbow room to down that booze without spilling it on your band t-shirt, and genuinely enjoy the music without you and thousands of people watching it on smaller mobile screens anyway because #coldplayconcert.
Instead, people are howling about not getting a chance to get stuck in traffic jams on the way to the Coldplay in India venue, only to be stripped of their belongings at the gate, smushed into a packed space with hardly room to breathe, buy EXPENSIVE bad beer (if there is beer) and smokes, while thousands of extended arms hold up cellphones blocking your view to record bits they’ll post on social media, never to be watched again.
Some will say, “But you’re not a fan,” “You’re old,” or “You can’t EXPERIENCE remotely what happens at a live concert”. And they’d be right.
But I’ll say, “You’re being daft by spending so much money for an experience that’s marred by so many inconveniences that enjoying the music becomes a fractional joy.”
Also, “You’re a dumbass for crying foul on social media about not getting a chance to do so.”
Anyhow, Coldplay has responded to the “phenomenal demand” by adding another concert date on the 21st in India. May you and your money be soon parted.