Made a playlist yesterday for my iPod using the set list from Saturday night. Let's see how many times I listen to this sucker. I'm already to 5, 3 times yesterday, twice today and the sun hasn't even gone down yet.
Hey Zeus! I've never heard the band sound as good as they did. I might never have heard A band sound as good as they did. Besides living up to the expectations of getting blown away from the light & video show, the music is so powerful live, its one of those moments that a convert or long time fans usually just leave as indescribable. I was a packt sardine about 50 yards from the stage. It was the best loud it can be. So rich and clear and definitely knocking on heavens door if you choose to be buried in a grave. There were moments throughout the weekend when there were two or three popular powerful rock bands playing at the same time pumped through arena sized stage amplification, where I thought mother earth is gonna fight back. Coachella does take place over a convergence of major geographical fault lines. Channeling all this human primitive soul and the power of music and pounding it into the native American grounds sounds like a recipe for the karma police to show up, no?
Being 6'1", I had a clear view of the band when I wasn't rocking myself. There are no visual images or themes on the multitude of stationary and mobile hi-definition screens, other than the band members and digitally animated electronic graphics being used as the piercing light source, setting the drama and emotion into action with the full dynamic range in rainbow color pallette, in brightness, in size and in speed of motion and intensity. You will get lost or hypnotized if you don't have the opportunity to focus on the stage and see that there's an actual live band pulling off what your senses are telling you seems impossible. They've made the penultimate pc visualizer. Footnote, see George Orwell 1984.
I've seen Radiohead live five times now, spanning from The Bends until now. I got on board just a little late. Besides helping various bands make their own music, I was busy listening to Crazy Horse's Ragged Glory, Nirvana and Pearl Jam and on a first impression, it sounded like the kid in radiohead is kind of a skinny punk that I could take in a fight. Not that I'm all that tough, but I like my rock stars, guys and dolls, to be able to kick my ass. Then I saw Thom Yorke dancing behind the microphone and I figured I needed to give this new Pablo Honey record another shot. My point or observation here is, I've noticed now people are used to his moves. This past weekend instead of saying he dances crazy, folk just point out that he can't stop dancing.
Highlight you ask? 13 songs in, the band drops out and the entire audience sings along and over and over with Thom during Karma Police. "For a minute, I lost myself."
Seems its clear to the world that they have become the greatest active rock and roll band judging from the mix of people all in love with the music, the conscious and unconscious swaying and dancing is incredible. Mind you, Coachella is still in Southern California where I'm betting 40% of the crowd is made up of the jaded Los Angelinos and radiohead even works on them(me). And I say the world, just from my gringo Coachella experience. Between sets, walking the grounds if you listen closely, you will hear every language spoken round the globe. Just one visual example of the radiohead packed house, think two strangers before the show, one a dude that looks like he'd be comfortable at a rodeo after he rode the bull, standing next to or better yet, dancing with one of Jimmy Cliff's backup singers like two long time congregation members in a pew. Everybody came to see radiohead and talked about it all the time all weekend.
I did.
Adam J. Weiner
SCHAWK!
