After playing a gig in Chicago this Monday, Coldplay has cancelled the remaining dates on its current U.S. tour, and will head on back to England Tuesday. The cancellation can be attributed to a pesky flu bug that has attacked Coldplay members Chris Martin and Guy Berryman. Folks holding tickets to Saturday night's Boston gig, Tuesday night's Toronto gig, and Friday night's Miami gig are fresh out of luck. "On the behalf of the band, I would like to apologize for the inevitable disappointment and inconvenience these cancellations cause," reads a statement on Colplay's website, www.coldplay.com, by the band's manager Phil Harvey. "By way of solace, all I can say is that I am already working on an extensive North American tour for May/June." The band had to stop mid-show at Friday night's New York City gig at Irving Plaza. That show was rescheduled to Roseland Ballroom for April 9. Since Roseland is bigger, there will be additional tickets to go on sale at a later date. And for those of you who wanna know what Friday night's New York City show was like, our own Paul Familetti ) was there-here's the story:

February 16, 2001-Though Coldplay's highly anticipated New York City debut has yet to really occur, the over-sold Irving Plaza crowd did walk away Friday night having witnessed a hugely significant moment in the fledgling career of the London-based quartet. If there were any doubts as to the importance of this band, they can be laid to rest after Friday night's events.

Coldplay's tour manager, Jerry, took the stage at 10:30 PM to announce that lead singer Chris Martin had been suffering from a severe sore throat all day, and would not be able to perform. However, to show its appreciation for the audience, the band did take the stage for two songs-and that's when the magic began.

Martin, perched at his electric piano, broke into the solemn opening bars of the all-too-apropos "Trouble," as a hush came over the crowd. And despite his voice being noticeably dogged and hoarse, Martin gutted out the words, "I never meant to cause you trouble / And I never meant to do you wrong," as the rest of the band rose into the crescendo of the chorus.

At the end of the number, Martin, now with acoustic guitar in hand, apologized again on behalf of the band before launching into, you guessed it, Coldplay's sweeping single, "Yellow." It was at this point that Coldplay put its achievement to the test, as Martin suggested that someone from the crowd sing the song instead of himself, and plucked a girl from the masses to front the vocals in his place. And not only did this girl lead the crowd in is a joyous sing-along, but to the amazement of Martin himself, carried it through to the end without missing a step. At one point, Martin stepped to the mic, but the girl motioned him away, which only brought a wider smile across his face. After finishing the song, Martin hugged the girl and thanked her profusely as she humbly climbed back into the crowd only to be told that she should go with the band. No show, sadly, but a New York rock and roll moment for the ages.

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