When you get an unexpected call from Oz, you learn to expect the absolute unexpected. This entire story started with one of those exact moments.
Oz called me out of the blue and asked me to meet him in Amman, Jordan. The catch? The trip was scheduled for the day right before Coldplay’s highly anticipated Everyday Life album release livestream event. I told him he was being completely crazy given how massive of a journey that would be, especially since our only real plan was to hover outside the ancient Amman Citadel walls in the hopes of catching a few stray notes of music. I firmly told him no.
Over the following week, somehow plans changed, and I gave in. Somehow, I always end up agreeing to Oz’s wild plans.
After an incredibly long journey, I finally touched down in Amman just six hours before sunrise, which was exactly when the band was scheduled to livestream the live debut of their new album on YouTube. By the time I reached the hotel, I had just enough time to meet up with Oz and close my eyes for an hour. Sleeping was completely impossible anyway because of the sheer excitement buzzing through me. Before I knew it, we were heading out into the pitch-black 4:00 AM darkness toward the Citadel.
Through a bit of early morning confusion, we made it, and it ended up being entirely worth it. Still running on pure adrenaline and sleep deprivation, we headed back to our rooms afterward to rest before the sunset stream scheduled for later that afternoon.
Fueling Up in Amman
We quickly realized that sleep simply was not on the agenda for us that day. Since we were wide awake, we decided to hit the town and explore. We asked a few locals for food recommendations, and every single person pointed us toward the exact same spot: Shawerma Reem.
Once we discovered that place, it became an absolute staple of the trip. I think we made multiple stops there every single day we were in the city.
While we were out doing some sightseeing, we ran into another Coldplay fan, Lukas. Coincidentally, he had booked a holiday to Amman months before this global event was even publicly announced. We instantly made a new friend and decided to go to a Go Kart track to race a bit while killing time before we all headed up to the Citadel together for the sunset part of the album livestream event.
The atmosphere outside the Citadel walls was something truly special. A small community of fans had gathered together in the afternoon heat, all hoping to catch a glimpse or an echo of the performance over the ancient stone. Luckily, we had the official YouTube stream pulled up on our phones while simultaneously listening to the live audio echoing over the walls.
The moment the band finished playing, they actually walked over to the edge of the wall and waved down at all of us watching from below. It was a beautiful moment. Everyone we met in Jordan was incredibly kind, welcoming, and genuinely eager to ensure that visitors had the best possible experience in their country. We wrapped up the night having dinner with another new friend, and finally got some much-needed rest because the actual concert was the very next day.
Front Row Seats and a Royal Surprise
The next morning, Oz suggested we head down to get in line early. It was significantly earlier than what I thought was necessary, but I went along with it anyway.
It turned out my instincts were right, because we ended up being the absolute only people there for hours. To pass the time, we made friends with a local stray cat that hung out in line with us, and chatted with the incredibly polite military personnel guarding the area.
As the gates neared opening time, a group of very important people arrived, who I believe were members of the Royal Family. To our complete surprise, the crowd and staff stopped everything, pointed at Oz and me, and insisted that we be let into the venue first since we had been waiting for so long and were guests in their country.
We thanked them and quickly ran inside to secure our spots at the front. The only problem was that we did not fully know the layout of the venue. Seeing the Citadel in the pitch black the night before meant we had absolutely no reference for where to go in daylight. I made us take a wrong turn and panicked, worrying we had ruined our chances of making it to the stage in time. Fortunately, we found our way back, navigated the ancient paths, and ended up exactly where we wanted to be. We could finally breathe a massive sigh of relief.
A Top Three Night
The concert itself was nothing short of incredible.
Hearing Lovers in Japan performed with live strings was a massive highlight, and it will forever be one of my favorite live arrangements of a song I have loved for years.
People have asked me how this performance compared to the other shows I have seen around the world. At that specific point in time, it was my 86th Coldplay show, and I can confidently say it easily ranks in my top three of all time. The crowd was full of positive energy, the band looked like they were having the time of their lives, and Oz even walked away with an amazing new piece for his memorabilia collection when Chris Martin’s fez hat fell straight off his head and right into Oz’s arms.
After the show ended, we got to spend time hanging out with some familiar faces and connecting with more new friends. By the time I hit the pillow, I was completely wiped out.
Perspectives from Petra
The next day brought a pretty hilarious reality check. My friend Lukas and I decided to take a day trip to explore the ancient city of Petra.
As we were hiking up a steep cliffside, a young woman stopped me dead in my tracks. She looked at me confused and asked if Coldplay was currently in Petra. I laughed and told her I had no idea, asking why she thought they would be there. She smiled and said she recognized me from online and knew that I travel all across the globe to see the band, so if I was climbing a cliff in Petra, she assumed the band must be performing at the top.
It was a funny moment, but it really made me reflect on how lucky I am to experience so many different corners of the world and meet people from all walks of life. The more you travel and experience these moments, the more you realize that we are all remarkably similar. At the end of the day, people living on completely opposite sides of the globe share far more in common than they do differences.
