5/17/2008: Radiohead – The Woodlands, TX

It had been a night I’d been eagerly anticipating for months, and yet the events leading up to it were not filled with anticipation, but frustration and stress.  After logging on to Ticketmaster the exact moment tickets went on sale and winding up empty-handed, I was able to work some connections and score 4 fairly decent seats to the show.  I sold two to a gentleman with an incorrect address, was given 4 more for free (two for myself, and two to give away), had to run a last-minute contest, choose which friends were to receive tickets from me, and hand deliver those tickets marked “Return to Sender” to a hotel on the day of the show.  That’s a lot of unnecessary rubbish when all you want to do is go see Radiohead.

But, of course, there was one more hurdle in the way by the time the doors opened, and that was Liars.  Now, as an indie music kind of guy, you would think that I’d be familiar with this band.  Totally not, outside of seeing reviews of them and hearing generally positive things.  But if their performance last night was any sort of indication, I don’t think I’ll be rushing out to pick up on of their albums any time soon.

Hey, it’s Jim Halpert!

The most gracious comment I can bestow upon the group is that they’re “Alright at best,” and I’m not entirely sure that would even be 100% truthful.  The percussion was the only thing the band really had going for them, and they played one song with the drum kit being run through a phaser to give a truly cool sound.  Unfortunately, the vocalist was just flat out poor and either under the influence of something, or just naturally flimsy.  I was glad when their 45 minute set was over.  Let’s just leave it at that.

This is the part where you stop skimming and start reading.  This is the part about Radiohead.  Now usually when I review a show, I always take some sort of notes or comments as the show is going on.  But for this one, I set that aside.  I wanted to take in every ounce of this show, every visual, every sound, every draft of pot smoke that blew in from behind me.

The setlist was huge, but not without its share of disappointments.  In Rainbows was all over the place, with nearly every song given the proper amount of time.  The biggest shock to me was the notable lack of OK Computer’s better moments.  There was no “Karma Police,” “Electioneering,” “Let Down,” “No Surprises,” and much to the chagrin of me, no “Paranoid Android.”  Kinda strange that the band would skip over most of their most popular album, right?  That didn’t keep the show from being totally enjoyable, however.

The stage itself was gorgeous – with dozens of, I don’t know, plasma bulbs(??) hanging down and changing colors continuously.  A screen at the back of the stage kept an image on each member of the band at all times, and it was quite engaging, to say the absolute least.  On “You and Whose Army?,” a personal favorite, the camera was mounted on Thom’s piano, and while singing, he would peer creepily into the lens, as if staring straight out into the audience.  It was really, really cool…and very disturbing.  Check out this picture:

My favorite part of the night was the band playing “Everything In It’s Right Place,” from Kid A.  It’s my second favorite song by the band, and having seen a video of them perform it at Glastonbury a few years back, I was pumped as soon as I saw the guitarist kneel down and grab a Kaoss Pad (always a sure sign that the song is coming up).  In fact, I was pleasantly surprised at the number of songs they did from Kid A, my personal favorite Radiohead album.  “The National Anthem,” “Idioteque,” “Morning Bell,” “Optimistic,” and the aforementioned “Everything In It’s Right Place” all got equal representation.  Really cool stuff.

Overall, the evening was undeniably awesome.  Radiohead is one of the few bands that play their songs perfectly live, perhaps even better than they are on the albums for some.  Thom Yorke kept his ADD-fits to a minimum (but he totally made up for lost time in “Idioteque”), and the crowd was pretty into everything that was going on.  And they were nice to the band, which is always good to see.  Quote of the night goes to Thom, when introducing “Optimistic.”  He said, “This was on a record called Kid A that was number one in the US.  Back in England they thought we had completely lost it.  We thought that was the point.”  Needless to say, if Radiohead ever strolls through your town (or state, really) you need to A.) have connections, and B.) go at all costs.  This was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen.

I’ve made a montage video below.  Nothing too special, just a bunch of clips from the show set to music.  If you went to the show last night, leave a comment below.  What was your favorite part?  Were there any disappointments?  I need to know these things!

Full-size photos (and more of them) available at my myspace page, if you’re interested.