Radiohead: Random Hail To The Thief Talk MMCDLXXVIII

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As a person who's favorite Radiohead songs are something like (in chronological order):

You
Creep
Stop Whispering
Thinking About You
Ripcord
Prove Yourself
LURGEE
Planet Telex
The Bends
High and Dry
FAKE PLASTIC TREES
Just
Bullet Proof...I Wish I Was
Black Star
Sulk
Fade Out (Street Spirit)
Airbag
Paranoid Android
Subterranean Homesick Alien
Karma Police
ELECTIONEERING
No Surprises
How to Disappear Completely
Treefingers
In Limbo
IDIOTEQUE
Motion Picture Soundtrack
15 Step
Weird Fishes (but not Arpeggi)
All I Need
RECKONER
Lotus Flower
CODEX
Give Up the Ghost
Separator

and not the world's greatest Radiohead fan, I'm kind of glad I looked at the setlists for the shows before attending tonight (and I'm not trying to be a dick to those of you who can't attend), because it's not looking like it's going to be chock full of my favorites.

Not sitting there waiting and wondering if they'll play songs I love, I can enjoy more what I'm hearing, ya'dig?
 
But I am pretty damn excited about going. I haven't been to a concert in a few months, and I do love Caribou's Swim, plus, fuck, I get to watch Thom Yorke dance in person. Does it get better?
 
Lurgee, Fake Plastic Trees and Electioneering are some of my favourite Radiohead songs as well, but I had long given up on hearing those live.
 
djerdap said:
Lurgee, Fake Plastic Trees and Electioneering are some of my favourite Radiohead songs as well, but I had long given up on hearing those live.
Click to expand...

I just really like old Radiohead a lot, what can I say?

This is likely going to be the first of many times I see them, marrying a big fan and all, so maybe once they reach their old man phase of playing THE HITS I'll be able to get a setlist of the classics. lol.
 
bono_212 said:
plus, fuck, I get to watch Thom Yorke dance in person. Does it get better?
Click to expand...

Not really, no.

My sister's favorite RH record is Pablo Honey. She knew she would not hear any of it, and precious little if any from the next two. But she is very cool, and without ever having gone online and argued with rabid fans about setlists, without even having gone to a lot of concerts or anything, her comment after the show was: "Why would a band want to go back and play all those old songs when they're in such a different place now? They're true artists. They're not a greatest hits band." Then she went back and looked at PH/Bends videos and said, "Wow, they were so angry then. They have a completely different energy now. I love those early songs but Radiohead today are at their absolute best."

Hope you love it. :)
 
I really respect them as artists for not pandering to the masses and making Creep, High & Dry, Fake Plastic Trees, Just, Karma Police, No Surprises etc main parts of their setlists. They truly are in a different place now, just as U2 are not the same band as they were when they wrote "Pride", and they certainly don't play that with the same conviction as they did in 1984.

However, I think Fake Plastic Trees is one of the greatest, most beautiful songs ever written, and would LOVE to hear it live.

Furthermore, after watching that Bonnaroo performance, I am absolutely KICKING myself for not just going to the Cleveland concert by myself when my friend had to cancel on me at last minute and I couldn't find a replacement on such short notice. If they ever tour the US again, I absolutely WILL be there, and I don't care if I have to go by myself like a loser.
 
The_acrobat said:
However, I think Fake Plastic Trees is one of the greatest, most beautiful songs ever written, and would LOVE to hear it live.
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Yes. :sad:

The_acrobat said:
Furthermore, after watching that Bonnaroo performance, I am absolutely KICKING myself for not just going to the Cleveland concert by myself when my friend had to cancel on me at last minute and I couldn't find a replacement on such short notice. If they ever tour the US again, I absolutely WILL be there, and I don't care if I have to go by myself like a loser.
Click to expand...

I went to the Phoenix show alone and sat beside a cute guy who had flown in from LA to also see them alone. I'm pretty sure neither of us felt like losers. But I guess it's weird if you're not used to doing that. I'm sorry your shows have gotten screwed up. I know how that feels.

LemonMelon said:
I am in douchebag seats..
Click to expand...

:love: Have a great time!
 
One of the reviews of the Seattle show I read had a whine about how they didn't play any of their hits.

I was agog. Hits? You mean, uh Creep? The song they haven't played in umpteenity years? I suppose he could have been thinking of Karma Police or even something off The Bends, but my main thought was "what the hell band do you think you're seeing?"
 
Frankly, I like it more than Staircase, Identikit and a good chunk of King of Limbs. It's heavy and badass and sounded awesome live.

Now, for my review:

First, our setlist was as follows:

Bloom
There There
15 Step
Kid A
Staircase
Morning Mr. Magpie
The Gloaming
Codex
The Amazing Sounds of Orgy
Karma Police
Reckoner
Lotus Flower
Myxomatosis
Feral
Little by Little
Idioteque

Encore:
Separator
Full Stop (New song, live debut)
Bodysnatchers
Everything In Its Right Place (The One I Love intro)

Encore 2:
Give Up the Ghost
Identikit
Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
Street Spirit (Fade Out)

As far I (the fan the band isn't pandering to) am concerned, something is deeply wrong about this:

Pablo Honey/The Bends/OK Computer/Kid A/Amnesiac - 5 songs
Unreleased/B-sides - 4 songs

I don't need hits (I think it sucks that they played Karma Police for the trillionth time instead of Airbag or Subterranean Homesick Alien) and I don't pity the crowd, as such. But I will say that it would GREATLY benefit the pacing of the show if they implemented more of these tracks. And since when should fans who have stood by the band for years and love these albums since release be treated as if they're commoners with awful taste? Like their tastes aren't worth taking the time of day to implement? The consensus best Radiohead album is hands-down OK Computer and is packed with songs that would fit nicely into the set (Subterranean Homesick Alien, Exit Music, Climbing Up The Walls, Lucky, The Tourist) and you include one? There's a wealth of material the band is scanning over in favor of a lot of mid-tempo material from the last decade, and it's not really working for me. It's really not about the hits, it's about balancing tempo and energy. I fully recognize that there have been shows that feature more of this material, but I'm trying to explain the reasoning behind the complaints this tour has faced without labeling the whiners "casual fans." I, for one, am very much not.

On the plus side, DAMN this band is playing great. Tight as a drum. Great sound. Thom was drunk or high or something; he referred to us as "peeps" and asked "whaaaazzaaappp" at one point. Holy crap, he was goofy. Great songs/moments:

  • There There. Holy fucking shit, what an amazing song live. OMGOMGOMG
  • Weird Fishes. They should play this song every night until they die.
  • Bodysnatchers disappointed me at first because I thought it was I Might Be Wrong, but then I remembered how much ass Bodysnatchers kicks live. Awesome
  • The band getting back on the horse and knocking Idioteque out of the park
  • The bass on Lotus Flower is immense
  • So are the visuals, btw. Gorgeous, and I had no idea what they looked like going in. Awesome surprise. They were really immersive too, because they practically framed my line of sight.
  • Back to songs: Street Spirit was excellent, of course, and a good replacement for Paranoid Android IMO. Wish we could have had both instead of fucking Myxomatosis/Feral (I went to the bathroom during this and got back just in time to miss nothing else; good choice on my part)
  • In spite of the idiots talking over it, I'm convinced that Codex is one of their all-time greats
  • The jam at the end of Everything In Its Right Place is sublime, and it always has been.
  • As much as I bitch about Feral and Little By Little, it's fucking awesome that Radiohead played two albums in full over the two nights I've seen them (In Rainbows in 2008 and King of Limbs in 2012)
  • KID A!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111111

I paid like $150 to go (found some dude with WASTE tickets who sold them to us for face) and that isn't cheap for me, but in spite of my misgivings, it was a remarkable show. I just wish this direction they're heading in translated better live. It really doesn't, but the songs are still great. Mix them in with a few from those OTHER records (The Bends, OK Computer, Amnesiac), and I doubt I would have noticed.
 
Also, Caribou played for like 25 minutes. Every minute of it was great and it allowed Radiohead to start earlier. :up:
 
It's way better live, but so are most Radiohead songs. I've already seen it live and was pretty meh on it then too, though I recognized the clear improvement. I walked in about 30 seconds into Feral, and while it sucks a lot less, it still sounds like a corny interlude as opposed to strong song all its own. I have no idea why they give it a spot in the setlist over, I dunno, anything else.

Full Stop rules.
 
SO:

While I had a wonderful time tonight, it was a bit marred by the fact that I got incredibly sick nearly the minute we walked into the venue (which was quite a nice place, I thought). Pretty much that meant I spent most of the show sitting in my seat/falling asleep (I know, horrible, right?). I never actually fell asleep asleep, I was always aware of what was going on, but I'm sure people around me thought I was the worst person in the world. Oh well, at least I'm not those douchebags who were talking during "Codex" and who I desperately wanted to murder.

Anyways, I had a wonderful time at the show. It took me a few songs to get one I knew without Travis having to tell the title of it (Jesus, and that song was "Morning Mr. Magpie". What the hell?

The only song of the whole show I didn't like was "...Orgy" (sorry Joyful :() and I thought "Feral" was pretty great, but I think that song may be growing on me in general.

"Idioteque" was fucking amazing and I counted myself lucky by the end of the set to have even been able to see that and "Codex", let alone the rest of a truly rocking (if not completely familiar to me) set.

Then the fucking encores happened.

"Separator" was excellent, then they played a new fucking song which rocked so damn hard it was ridiculous. Then when I think they're about to leave (they'd mostly been doing 3 song encores that I could tell) they start playing "One I Love" which was a little wtf, and then "Everything In Its Right Place" which, like "Idioteque" was so damn exciting that I momentarily forgot how shitty I felt and was just having a great time (lost in the music, I suppose).

Then you get that second encore, which started by Thom possibly bashing on the Chicago beach for a moment. I'm not exactly sure what he was trying to say, but it seemed vaguely fighting-words-esque. Regardless, I don't want to think about Thom laying out on the beach :yikes:. I realized that hadn't played "Weird Fishes" yet, so when it started, I wasn't surprised, and expected it to be the closer. I was sitting down and VERY VERY out of it at this point, so when they started playing another song, I just assumed it was "Paranoid Android", since they hadn't played it. I knew the song right away, which I suppose should have sent off some sort of signal in my head, but again, verge of death over here. So I'm listening to the song, having my own little peaceful jam and suddenly I hear "faaaaade outttt agaaaain" and the very slow gears in my head finally stopped for a second and went "wait a minute...this isn't how Paranoid Android goes at all". It still took another like 30 seconds to click with me what I was hearing. Needless to say, I managed to have a fucking KICKASSMOTHERFUCKINGTIME for the next and last few minutes of the show.

So, yeah, I had a great time, and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to go. I don't know that I'd agree with the sentiment that their older material doesn't fit in this show (especially stuff from OK Computer) but I wasn't heartbroken that they didn't play anything either (hell, I knew that "Street Spirit" or "Planet Telex" were remote, remote possibilities, but I never expected them to actually play one) so, really, I just had so much fucking fun.

Thom, btw, I mean...does he know he can't dance? I mean...he's aware...right? :yikes:

Happy, Cobbler?
 
I'm with you on Myxomatosis, LM. Shitty song if there ever was one. I do very much enjoy Feral live though. As far as your gripes about OK Computer go, I have to say that I like the fact that they are so progressive-minded if you will, not giving a shit about the past and what made them famous in the first place. They are very much living in the present and are proud of it.

Would I love to hear at least 4 songs from OK Computer on my concert that's coming up in one month? Most definitely. After all, Climbing Up the Walls is the one track I would like to hear live before they retire. Will I be very much disappointed if this doesn't happen (which it won't)? Nah.
 
bono_212 said:
SO:

While I had a wonderful time tonight, it was a bit marred by the fact that I got incredibly sick nearly the minute we walked into the venue (which was quite a nice place, I thought). Pretty much that meant I spent most of the show sitting in my seat/falling asleep (I know, horrible, right?). I never actually fell asleep asleep, I was always aware of what was going on, but I'm sure people around me thought I was the worst person in the world. Oh well, at least I'm not those douchebags who were talking during "Codex" and who I desperately wanted to murder.

Anyways, I had a wonderful time at the show. It took me a few songs to get one I knew without Travis having to tell the title of it (Jesus, and that song was "Morning Mr. Magpie". What the hell?

The only song of the whole show I didn't like was "...Orgy" (sorry Joyful :() and I thought "Feral" was pretty great, but I think that song may be growing on me in general.

"Idioteque" was fucking amazing and I counted myself lucky by the end of the set to have even been able to see that and "Codex", let alone the rest of a truly rocking (if not completely familiar to me) set.

Then the fucking encores happened.

"Separator" was excellent, then they played a new fucking song which rocked so damn hard it was ridiculous. Then when I think they're about to leave (they'd mostly been doing 3 song encores that I could tell) they start playing "One I Love" which was a little wtf, and then "Everything In Its Right Place" which, like "Idioteque" was so damn exciting that I momentarily forgot how shitty I felt and was just having a great time (lost in the music, I suppose).

Then you get that second encore, which started by Thom possibly bashing on the Chicago beach for a moment. I'm not exactly sure what he was trying to say, but it seemed vaguely fighting-words-esque. Regardless, I don't want to think about Thom laying out on the beach :yikes:. I realized that hadn't played "Weird Fishes" yet, so when it started, I wasn't surprised, and expected it to be the closer. I was sitting down and VERY VERY out of it at this point, so when they started playing another song, I just assumed it was "Paranoid Android", since they hadn't played it. I knew the song right away, which I suppose should have sent off some sort of signal in my head, but again, verge of death over here. So I'm listening to the song, having my own little peaceful jam and suddenly I hear "faaaaade outttt agaaaain" and the very slow gears in my head finally stopped for a second and went "wait a minute...this isn't how Paranoid Android goes at all". It still took another like 30 seconds to click with me what I was hearing. Needless to say, I managed to have a fucking KICKASSMOTHERFUCKINGTIME for the next and last few minutes of the show.

So, yeah, I had a great time, and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to go. I don't know that I'd agree with the sentiment that their older material doesn't fit in this show (especially stuff from OK Computer) but I wasn't heartbroken that they didn't play anything either (hell, I knew that "Street Spirit" or "Planet Telex" were remote, remote possibilities, but I never expected them to actually play one) so, really, I just had so much fucking fun.

Thom, btw, I mean...does he know he can't dance? I mean...he's aware...right? :yikes:

Happy, Cobbler?
Click to expand...

Haha, yes! I'm glad you were able to push through the sickness and still rock out... god knows I can push through anything when I'm at a concert. Your review is certainly better than LM's in that from all I've heard over the years, Radiohead live shows are one of the few that can match U2's. You can be very sure that I will post a mammoth review after each Radiohead gig I see in November (which is gonna be an awesome week. Harvest festival Saturday, Coldplay Tuesday, Radiohead Fri/Sat).

The beat in Myxo is unstoppable! But I'm one of these people who would still engage intently even if they just played Pulk/Pull for two hours.
 
Myxo was on when I felt my worst, so I don't really remember it, but I didn't recall disliking it, just found it nice to listen to.

The thing you gotta understand with my review compared to LM's is he's more likely to be critical because he's such a fan. Jesus, if you read any of my reviews of U2 concerts, they're always like incredibly negative and then by the end I'm like, Best. Show. Ever.

But no, this probably isn't going to make my top 5 concert experiences ever (maybe top 10, definitely top 15), but I did have a great time. Who knows, I probably would be singing a different tune if I'd felt remotely better.
 
U2's actually my #3:
1) roger Waters The Wall
2) Bruce Springsteen -St. Louis 200I
3) U2 - 9/20/06

after that, I'd have to think.
 
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