Andy Pedisich August 13 2008 09:53:59 AM
We left the house for the sold out
Radiohead show without tickets. Linda was confident her Craig's List connection would come through for 2 lawn seats, and she was pretty sure we could score another on the cheap. Mission accomplished. But traffic and ticket scoring cut into our time, so we missed the first act completely. We did have plenty of time to settle in for Radiohead, however.
I think I have a bit of whiplash because the show was such a 180 degree turn from last night's King Crimson performance. And even though the venue was an arena rather than a theater, I think that the sound was so much more superior.
Radiohead had me in their clutches right at the second song, There There (The Boney King of Nowhere).
This was my first time seeing Radiohead, and they are an extremely innovative band. I found them to be much more accessible in a live context than in a recorded studio setting. And what I heard and saw will make me backtrack over their stuff now that I have a better understanding of the nuances of their material.
I took no pictures of the lighting that would do them justice. Most times, bands use spots to highlight the musicians. While Radiohead performed, the lights were mega, total stage paintings, with almost no spots at all on the players. You were drawn into to the hypnotics of the music and the total effect of the illumination.
Lead singer Thom Yorke's vocal renderings were carefully woven into the band's often minimalistic arrangements, and his voice was at once plaintive and prayerful The music was tightly conceptual and always well calculated, creating a column of sound that would bear down on your senses.
It wasn't until I sat on the lawn and closed my eyes to listed that I realized how concentrated and truly beautiful their sound was. Lights and visual presentation, while excellent and abstract, were really unnecessary.
See them if you can. But try not to wait until the last minute to get tickets. You might miss the opening act.
- Andy
The crowd on the lawn anxiously waits for the show to start.
Location: Office - working feverishly