This is topic Finally saw Radiohead Live for the first time!(updated: free live show mp3 available) in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.
Seriously, I knew I would love it, and it was one of a handful of times where the experience actually exceeded what were already unreasonable expectations.
It was a very very interesting set list. I don't know if this is on par for what they've been doing this summer, but I was completely on board for the musical journey they took me on. Here's the set list below. Camden, NJ 8/12/08:
quote:15 Step There There Morning Bell All I Need The National Anthem Videotape Weird Fishes/Arpeggi The Gloaming Where I End And You Begin Faust Arp No Surprises Jigsaw The Bends Idioteque Climbing Up The Walls Nude Bodysnatchers
Encore 1
House of Cards Lucky Go Slowly Just Street Spirit
2nd Encore
Reckoner Planet Telex Everything In Its Right Place
So, all of In Rainbows, then a mix of Hail to To Thief, The Bends, and OK Computer. Just one track from Amnesiac and nothing from Pablo Honey. But everything they picked off those other albums really meshed well with the In Rainbows vibe. So much so that I didn't mind at all not hearing songs like High and Dry or Fake Plastic Trees or Paranoid Android or some bigger songs like that. They had a certain vibe going and it was completely perfect for what it was. Also, something I never realized about Radiohead, even given how much I listen to them, is how dancy and energizing some of their songs are. I was completely exhausted by the end of the show.
The light show they're doing right now is also really spectacular.
I could continue babbling for hours, so I won't. Sufficed to say I had the time of my life. My only complaint is that I haven't seen them more! I'm seriously considering going out to San Francisco for Outside Lands just so I can see them again(and the line up there is fantastic in its own right anyway).
[ September 16, 2008, 08:13 PM: Message edited by: Strider ]
Posted by LargeTuna (Member # 10512) on :
wow! my brother was at that concert yesterday! cool ... he liked it too XD Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
Sounds wonderful! I hope I get to see them some time. Thanks for the report. =)
Posted by Launchywiggin (Member # 9116) on :
Missed them outside Boston earlier tonight. Visiting friends in Montreal.
OH WELL. I love the Radiohead.
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
I saw them at Lollapalooza two weeks ago and the set list was similar, but you got more of my favourite songs than I did -- Planet Telex, Just, Climbing Up The Walls...
Setlist: 01. 15 Step 02. Airbag 03. There There 04. All I Need 05. Nude 06. Arpeggi 07. The Gloaming 08. The National Anthem 09. Faust Arp 10. No Surprises 11. Jigsaw Falling Into Place 12. Reckoner 13. Lucky 14. The Bends 15. Everything In Its Right Place 16. Fake Plastic Trees 17. Bodysnatchers
Encore 1: 18. Videotape 19. Paranoid Android 20. Dollar and Cents 21. House of Cards 22. Optimistic
Encore 2: 23. 2+2=5 24. Idioteque
Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :
i like your set list too. Paranoid Android live would've been sweet. But I did love hearing Street Spirit. The version of Go Slowly was great and the finish with Everything in its Right Place was simply amazing.
Posted by Orincoro (Member # 8854) on :
I am going to see them in Golden Gate park on the 22nd. I just want to hear all of in rainbows, then Idioteque, Kid A, Everything in it's right place, Paranoid android, 2+2=5, and maybe a few others. But I'll settle for anything.
Posted by Orincoro (Member # 8854) on :
quote:Originally posted by Tatiana: Sounds wonderful! I hope I get to see them some time. Thanks for the report. =)
Their tours are few and far between. If you want to see them, this might be one of their last.
Posted by Tarrsk (Member # 332) on :
I saw them last night at the Tweeter Center near Boston. I've seen them once before, back on the Hail to the Thief tour, and they were phenomenal both times. Even better, their setlist last night was very different from the one I saw five years ago. Pretty much the only song I would love to see performed that I haven't yet is "Fake Plastic Trees."
Our setlist last night: 1. Reckoner 2. Optimistic 3. There There 4. 15 Step 5. Kid A 6. Nude 7. All I Need 8. The Gloaming 9. The National Anthem 10. Videotape 11. Jigsaw Falling Into Place 12. The Bends 13. Faust Arp 14. Weird Fishes/ Arpeggi 15. Everything In Its Right Place 16. Exit Music 17. Bodysnatchers
Encore 1 18. House of Cards 19. I Might Be Wrong 20. Paranoid Android 21. A Wolf At The Door 22. How To Disappear Completely
Encore 2: 23. Cymbal Rush 24. Karma Police 25. Idioteque
The interesting thing about a Radiohead show is that the highlights are frequently not the songs you might expect. Of course "Paranoid Android" and "Idioteque" burned the house down, but you'd never expect from their studio incarnations how incendiary songs like "Kid A" and "The Gloaming" are live. "House of Cards" had a serene beauty missing from the more eerie album version. And "I Might Be Wrong" is an overdriven blues rock monster live.
Also, Thom's solo performance of "Cymbal Rush" reinforced my strong belief that "The Eraser" is a set of beautiful songs marred by overenthusiastic production.
Posted by Luet13 (Member # 9274) on :
I get to see them in Auburn, WA next Wednesday. This will be my third Radiohead show, and I'm starting to get excited. They are just so amazing live and I love that they play songs from almost all of their albums. Posted by scifibum (Member # 7625) on :
I'd be sad if I went to a Radiohead concert and they didn't play "Creep". But then, i don't own any of their albums and I don't hear them on the radio very much, so I don't know what I'm missing (or what I'd be getting if I was missing out on "Creep" live).
Posted by Luet13 (Member # 9274) on :
They actually stopped playing Creep at their shows many years ago. I don't know if they started again, but I doubt it.
Posted by scifibum (Member # 7625) on :
It's just one of maybe 3 Radiohead songs I'm familiar with. Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
quote:Originally posted by Luet13: They actually stopped playing Creep at their shows many years ago. I don't know if they started again, but I doubt it.
They've got some pretty big baggage regarding creep, the song almost killed them as a band. In fact they wrote, "Iron Lung" in response to the obsession everyone had with Creep.
Makes the lyric, "We are losing it, can't you tell?" jump out alot more. I'm glad they got through that hangup.
Posted by Orincoro (Member # 8854) on :
Yeah, the band almost broke up over that song. It's an ok song, but it's a terrible irony that it is their most known work, because it's inferior in many ways to virtually every other song they've done since Kid A.
It just has that angsty-pop appeal. bleh.
Posted by Tarrsk (Member # 332) on :
quote:Originally posted by Luet13: They actually stopped playing Creep at their shows many years ago. I don't know if they started again, but I doubt it.
They stopped playing "Creep" entirely after the OK Computer tours in the late 90s. Other than a single appearance in 2001, it wasn't performed until the 2003 tour, during which they actually played it fairly often. They haven't played it since, except once in the 2006 tour.
I was lucky enough to see them play it at Madison Square Garden in 2003. Although I'm not terribly fond of the song in its studio form (and the lyrics are some of the worst Thom Yorke ever penned), it's undeniably awesome live. "Creep" is a song that lives and dies by how well the Pixies-esque LOUDquietLOUD transitions come through, and live rock performances inevitably have much more of a sense of dynamics than studio recordings. Plus, Thom has improved immeasurably as a singer since the "Pablo Honey" days- he now sings the entire bridge as one nearly continuous howl.
Posted by advice for robots (Member # 2544) on :
quote:Originally posted by Orincoro:
quote:Originally posted by Tatiana: Sounds wonderful! I hope I get to see them some time. Thanks for the report. =)
Their tours are few and far between. If you want to see them, this might be one of their last.
I hope not. Radiohead must go on forever.
Posted by Orincoro (Member # 8854) on :
Well considering that their average age is around 39, historically not many bands continue to produce many albums, and certainly not of sustained quality, after so many years.
Still, if you consider that In Rainbows comes after over two decades of the band playing together, and its being one of their best albums, who knows? There was this feeling though, throughout In Rainbows, of "this is it." Was I the only one to sense this? I couldn't say they have exhausted their creative ability, because in Rainbows is not as "ambitious" as some of their music has been, but it is the most finely crafted- like something out of the studio of a master craftsman in his golden period.
This album is unmarred, unlike any of their other albums, by failed experiments. There are stinkers in practically every album from practically every band, but In Rainbows doesn't seem to have one. Personally, I think this has a lot to do with the (for lack of better terms) "conservative" influence of aging. It's just incredible to me that this band could sustain their kind of quality over so many years. When taken in context of the music industry as a whole, in years to come, I think they'll emerge alongside the Beatles as one of the greatest bands ever.
Posted by Orincoro (Member # 8854) on :
quote:Originally posted by Tarrsk: Plus, Thom has improved immeasurably as a singer since the "Pablo Honey" days- he now sings the entire bridge as one nearly continuous howl.
I'd be halfway interested in Radiohead doing a Reprise album of some of their songs. Not necessarily the best songs, or the most well known ones, but ones they could do better today. I doubt that would happen though, as you can currently download about 25 albums of their live renditions, and they're ALL different.
Posted by Luet13 (Member # 9274) on :
Ah, sweet Radiohead. I'm not as good as the rest of you that are able to remember the set list in order. Also we were a little late due to the HORRID traffic from Seattle to Auburn.
I do know they played lots of my favorites including: Talk Show Host, How to Disappear Completely, Pyramid Song, No Surprises, Street Spirit (Fade Out), The National Anthem, You and Whose Army? (which Thom dedicated to the people of Seattle, after saying his favorite thing about Seattle was what happened to the WTO.) And I remember they closed out with Everything in it's right place.
They played many other songs that I love, unfortunately I've always been horrible with song names to begin with. There was a really cute moment when Thom and the guitarist (whose name is escaping me ) were trying to play a song on two acoustic guitars and just keep messing up. They finally got through it with the crowd cheering. Once they were finally on a roll with it, I seriously don't think I've ever heard 20,000 people be that quiet.
All in all, my third amazing Radiohead concert. Except for the travel time. I don't think I'll ever go to the White River Amphitheater again. Unless, of course, Radiohead plays there.
Posted by BryanP (Member # 7772) on :
quote:Originally posted by Orincoro: Well considering that their average age is around 39, historically not many bands continue to produce many albums, and certainly not of sustained quality, after so many years.
Still, if you consider that In Rainbows comes after over two decades of the band playing together, and its being one of their best albums, who knows? There was this feeling though, throughout In Rainbows, of "this is it." Was I the only one to sense this? I couldn't say they have exhausted their creative ability, because in Rainbows is not as "ambitious" as some of their music has been, but it is the most finely crafted- like something out of the studio of a master craftsman in his golden period.
This album is unmarred, unlike any of their other albums, by failed experiments. There are stinkers in practically every album from practically every band, but In Rainbows doesn't seem to have one. Personally, I think this has a lot to do with the (for lack of better terms) "conservative" influence of aging. It's just incredible to me that this band could sustain their kind of quality over so many years. When taken in context of the music industry as a whole, in years to come, I think they'll emerge alongside the Beatles as one of the greatest bands ever.
Reading interviews with the band, it sounds as if the whole In Rainbows experience has really rejuvenated them and I think you can tell when you watch them on this tour, where it looks like they are really having a good time. I'd be surprised if they didn't release at least one or two more albums and I don't think they'll ever properly break-up.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
quote:There was a really cute moment when Thom and the guitarist (whose name is escaping me [Blushing] )
Probably Johnny Greenwood, resident composer of BBC.
Posted by Orincoro (Member # 8854) on :
Yeah, it would be Greenwood. He also did the There Will Be Blood soundtrack. He's awesome.
Edit: I'm going to the concert tomorrow (about 15 hours from now). SO EXCITED!
[ August 22, 2008, 05:01 AM: Message edited by: Orincoro ]
Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :
quote:The interesting thing about a Radiohead show is that the highlights are frequently not the songs you might expect. Of course "Paranoid Android" and "Idioteque" burned the house down, but you'd never expect from their studio incarnations how incendiary songs like "Kid A" and "The Gloaming" are live. "House of Cards" had a serene beauty missing from the more eerie album version.
Agreed on all accounts. I'm not a huge fan of the House of Cards album version, but was in love with the live performance. So much so that I've been digging the album version more since the show last week.
quote:Ah, sweet Radiohead. I'm not as good as the rest of you that are able to remember the set list in order
Ha, there's no way I'd be able to remember the whole set list Luet, let alone remembering it in perfect order. Just do a google search on Radiohead, your venue, and the date. That's how I found my set list. I also found a ton of videos on youtube that people who were at the show uploaded.
A week and a half later and I'm still thinking about it.
Posted by graywolfe (Member # 3852) on :
quote:Originally posted by scifibum: I'd be sad if I went to a Radiohead concert and they didn't play "Creep". But then, i don't own any of their albums and I don't hear them on the radio very much, so I don't know what I'm missing (or what I'd be getting if I was missing out on "Creep" live).
A lot. Creep is a classic, timeless tune. Amazing. But The Bends, and OK Computer for my money are 2 of the best 10 or so albums to be released since I went on to college in '93. They are extraordinary. I was turned off by Kid A and Amnesiac and am no doubt missing out and will rectify that.
I'll say that the bends and ok computer are extraordinary, ok computer has higher highs for me, and is like some alien piece of music from a nother universe, nothing anything anybody did including them sounded like it before or after, and so i prefer that, but the bends is absolutely amazing if for no other reason than they managed to create essentially an album of nothing but high's in terms of quality tunes.
Posted by Orincoro (Member # 8854) on :
If I had to pick one album of theirs not to listen to, it would be either The Bends or Pablo Honey. I love everything else. Luckily the vast majority of their live rep appears to be Ok Computer and after. At the concert tonight, they played just one song (Just) from the Bends.
IT WAS AMAZING. I have never seen a show quite like that, nor may I ever again. In all fairness though, the songs that took the house down were the older ones. They got through quite a bit of the In Rainbows rep early, and you could tell there were quite a few fans that didn't know the album. They did seem to have a lot of fun with "You and Who's Army?" with Thom staring straight into a camera mounted on the piano, and then busting up in laughter halfway through the intro, and starting over. Another highlight was of course "Exit Music," which had the crowd in total silence. Paranoid Android was surprisingly anti-climactic, with far less punch than the album version, but "Everything In It's Right Place," the show closer, was an absolute killer, with an amazing light display and very slow fade out that had people cheering for about 5 minutes. Sweet.
Edit: The set List
1. 15 Step 2. Reckoner 3. Airbag 4. There There 5. All I Need 6. Nude 7. Talk Show Host 8. National Anthem 9. The Gloaming 10. Videotape 11. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi 12. Idioteque 13. Karma Police 14. Jigsaw Falling Into Place 15. Just 16. Exit Music (for a film) 17. Bodysnatchers
18. Pyramid Song 19. You And Whose Army? 20. Paranoid Android 21. Fake Plastic Trees 22. Everything In Its Right Place
Looking back I was a little disappointed that the set list was composed of essentially the "greatest hits" of Radiohead. Given that it was a festival show, and with a curfew of 10pm, they couldn't do any deep tracks, or any interesting alternate versions of their lesser known songs. They also didn't interact with the crowd, other than to apologize for a technical malfunction when the sound cut out a few times- so they never acknowledged anything about the crowd or the venue, or the fact that this was an historic first-ever nightime concert in Golden Gate Park.
I don't know if they ever do talk to the crowd though, or do anything else I've mentioned. Given the technical demands of their songs, I'd bet it's pretty hard for them to be spontaneous. I mean, virtually every song requires a change of instruments, and has a complicated lights component. And that's just the visible difference- the voice and instrument processing and levels are a whole other monkey-wrench. The show is a marvel of technical achievement.
[ August 23, 2008, 06:46 AM: Message edited by: Orincoro ]
Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :
The All Songs Considered: Live Concerts latest podcast is one of Radiohead's last shows from this summer's tour.
i'm in the process of downloading it right now, and I'm pretty excited.
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Cool]](cool.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
Radiohead must go on forever.
![[Blushing]](graemlins/blushing.gif)
) were trying to play a song on two acoustic guitars and just keep messing up. They finally got through it with the crowd cheering. Once they were finally on a roll with it, I seriously don't think I've ever heard 20,000 people be that quiet.