Last night, I had the great fortune to see Radiohead live. I don't know if it was the best concert I have ever
witnessed (How can you rate experiences?), but it was certainly among the three best concerts I have attended. The
staging, the sound quality (Hearing music performed live is perhaps always better than the best reproduced sound
quality.), the antics of Thom Yorke, and the performance of (IMO) some of the best music of our times made it an
experience I will certainly never forget.
Before last night, I had never even considered Thom Yorke to be a great performer. He always seemed to be moody and
withdrawn. But, he proved last night that he is definitely a great performer and communicator. He was the music.
He mugged for the camera and danced like a spastic monkey, and his antics were perfectly in form with the music
which was performed even better than it sounds on the recordings.
Perhaps what was most striking about Thom Yorke was the quality of his voice. I told my son after the concert that
I don't think Thom hit a wrong note the entire evening, and he displayed a remarkable wide range. Even more
remarkable was the emotion communicated in his singing. You left believing that Yorke believed every word that he
sang. Each song seemed to have deep emotional significance. So, even though the concert was attended by thousands,
it still had a personal quality - It was like one person was communicating his private, emotional experiences to a vast
public audience. I feel extremely lucky to have been a part of that audience!
Perhaps I overemphasized Thom Yorke's performance to the exclusion of other members of the band. Everyone knows
that Jonny Greenwood contributes a lot to the music, and he was fantastic in his guitar, synthesizer, and effects
work. But, the other members of the band were also great in their supporting roles - the band is very tight.
I'm not good at remembering song titles or capturing set lists. But I do know that they played almost every song
from In Rainbows (Which I now believe is among the best albums ever recorded). They also played two songs from each
of the following albums: KidA, OK Computer, The Bends, and Amnesia. Below is a short listing of the set. There
were two encores.
I paid $375 for two tickets to the concert (I bought the tix on EBay). We (My son and I) sat in the 17th row of the
center orchestra section. It was the most I ever paid for a concert, and it was definitely worth every cent that I
paid.
If you get a chance to see them this summer, you should definitely take advantage of that opportunity - particularly
if you are a Radiohead fan (as I know many of you already are)!
Here's the set list (Please forgive me for omissions and other mistakes):
Bodysnatchers
Reckoner
15 Steps
Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
Idioteque
Airbag
The National Anthem
Optimistic
House of Cards
The Bends
witnessed (How can you rate experiences?), but it was certainly among the three best concerts I have attended. The
staging, the sound quality (Hearing music performed live is perhaps always better than the best reproduced sound
quality.), the antics of Thom Yorke, and the performance of (IMO) some of the best music of our times made it an
experience I will certainly never forget.
Before last night, I had never even considered Thom Yorke to be a great performer. He always seemed to be moody and
withdrawn. But, he proved last night that he is definitely a great performer and communicator. He was the music.
He mugged for the camera and danced like a spastic monkey, and his antics were perfectly in form with the music
which was performed even better than it sounds on the recordings.
Perhaps what was most striking about Thom Yorke was the quality of his voice. I told my son after the concert that
I don't think Thom hit a wrong note the entire evening, and he displayed a remarkable wide range. Even more
remarkable was the emotion communicated in his singing. You left believing that Yorke believed every word that he
sang. Each song seemed to have deep emotional significance. So, even though the concert was attended by thousands,
it still had a personal quality - It was like one person was communicating his private, emotional experiences to a vast
public audience. I feel extremely lucky to have been a part of that audience!
Perhaps I overemphasized Thom Yorke's performance to the exclusion of other members of the band. Everyone knows
that Jonny Greenwood contributes a lot to the music, and he was fantastic in his guitar, synthesizer, and effects
work. But, the other members of the band were also great in their supporting roles - the band is very tight.
I'm not good at remembering song titles or capturing set lists. But I do know that they played almost every song
from In Rainbows (Which I now believe is among the best albums ever recorded). They also played two songs from each
of the following albums: KidA, OK Computer, The Bends, and Amnesia. Below is a short listing of the set. There
were two encores.
I paid $375 for two tickets to the concert (I bought the tix on EBay). We (My son and I) sat in the 17th row of the
center orchestra section. It was the most I ever paid for a concert, and it was definitely worth every cent that I
paid.
If you get a chance to see them this summer, you should definitely take advantage of that opportunity - particularly
if you are a Radiohead fan (as I know many of you already are)!
Here's the set list (Please forgive me for omissions and other mistakes):
Bodysnatchers
Reckoner
15 Steps
Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
Idioteque
Airbag
The National Anthem
Optimistic
House of Cards
The Bends
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