"See the arrow they shot
Trying to tear us apart
Take the fire from my belly and the beat from my heart
Still I won't let go
Still I won't let go" 
-Coldplay, Hurts Like Heaven, Mylo Xyloto

Almost a year ago, I remember seeing a headline about Coldplay, a band I love, opening their European tour dates and tickets up online. My boys, also music fans, scrambled around me as they finished their homework that night, and helped me try to line up tickets. Coldplay was coming to Prague! Our town!

Just before the Coldplay concert, the announcment in Czech

Getting to see a great band like Coldplay in a historic music city like Prague is a once-in-a-lifetime deal. The tickets didn’t come easily — whole rows sold while I tried to get the form information to work. But by the time dinner was supposed to be on the table, I didn’t have dinner made, but my golly, I had 5 tickets to Coldplay! In Prague! In September 2012!

It seemed so far away then, but the year passed — and this past Sunday night, my husband and I and our three sons stepped onto the Prague Metro to venture to the Slavia Stadium in Prague 10. Eleven subway stops and 3 tram stops later, we were there, and the entire stadium surroundings (Soviet Bloc highrises) and crowd was electric. It only got better from there…

Following, photos of the concert taken on my iPhone:

The incredible show, Coldplay in Prague

A stadium filled with color and light, the crowd with bracelets, Coldplay in Prague

Fireworks at Mylo Xyloto tour! Coldplay in Prague

The Coldplay Mylo Xyloto concert wasn’t about Coldplay the band — it was about music and the crowd and having fun. They made it all interactive with lighted bracelets, massive beach balls, confetti sprays, fireworks, etc. It was amazing.

The Band gave everyone lighted bracelets, Coldplay in Prague

Lights, Coldplay in Prague

Chris Martin singing, Coldplay in Prague

Lesson learned: Pursue what it is you love to do, learn to do it well, and people will want to come and watch you do what you love. And when you make it to the top, make it not about you but about the people and it will shine so bright it will blow everyone’s minds.

Thank you, Coldplay, for being a first-class act. Your concert made for one great family memory in Prague!

The Latest at Great New Books:

This month at Great New Books, we’re reading Erika Robuck’s great new novel, Hemingway’s Girl. And this week, if you enter a comment in our discussion, you are eligible to win a personalized signed copy of our October book pick, Lydia Netzer’s Shine Shine Shine! Come join in the fun and discover these great books with us!

Question for you: Have you seen a live concert recently? What did you think? What made you like it / love it? Did it inspire you?