Hello From Italy,
I got 4 tickets of The Smile Concert in Ferrara, Fri. Jul 15, 2022.
I can't go. Is somebody interested in this?
Thanks!
Concert (27)
WOW!!! TODAY APRIL 22 nd RADIOHEAD CONCERT IN SÃO PAULO!!!!!THAT'S GREAT!!!
iT WAS 9 YEARS AGO THEY WERE PLAYING IN SÃO PAULO MARCH 22nd 2009!
I WAS THERE AND STAYED OF THE FRONT TO AMAZING ED O' BRIEN SEXY, HANDSOME MAN!!
IT WAS ONE OF THE BEST MOMENTS IN MY LIFE!!!!i WILL NEVER FORGET IT!
AND TODAY AFTER 9 YEARS RADIOHEAD COME BACK AGAIN IN SÃO PAULO!!!
i CAN'T WAIT MORE FOR IT!
WISH A GREAT CONCERT GUYS AND GOOD VIBES!!!
natercia(Planet Ed O' Brien)
Hey there, to whomever reads this. I´m really angry right now.
I´ve been waiting a lifetime to see Radiohead and I always told myself when the moment came I´d do it right.
When the venue was changed for this concert I was told my ticket could be exchanged for a Front Standing Ticket or I could have a refund instead. Given that I was offered the Front Standing Ticket I decided to go for it instead of the refund. However, if I had known the possibility existed of getting a seated ticket by selecting this option, I WOULD HAVE ASKED FOR A REFUND. I´ve been in the Cricket Ground before in Manchester and being seated is the worst possible sound and concert experience I´ve had in my life.
But this wasn´t said to me. I am so frustrated and so angry. Now I can´t even resell my ticket at face value, get a refund, or see the concert the way I wanted to see it.
I am so sad, frustrated, and angry. I have no where to go and nothing I can do. Bought my train tickets which no one will refund either. Man, it´s just a matter of making the front area slightly bigger in order to fit the 40/50 of us that have the same scenario where we were supposed to get Front Standing but instead we´re now seated (Eventim mentioned I was one of the very few that had to be seated...) . Below is a screenshot of the email where I´m offered a refund or the replacement ticket. I was promised one thing and given another one, in any place in the world that is unfair.
Please help somebody? Is anybody in the same boat as me?
Hi everybody, I sell two tickets for the Monza concert. If interested message me. Thanks, Ico.
I am an Australian living in Hong Kong. When I discovered that Radiohead were going on tour this year, I quickly checked to see if they were playing in Hong Kong.
I saw that they weren't and checked where else they were playing. I saw that they were going to Tai Wan, and I asked my parents if we could fly over. My parents, being fans too, attempted to book tickets on the Tai Wan site, which is only in Chinese. After hours of looking for an english translation and clicking on every possible link on the site, we gave up.
My mother then saw that Radiohead was playing in Rome during my school holidays and spent days planning a trip there. Unfortunately, the tickets were sold out. We found a site that said they had some spare and spent thousands and thousands of dollars on these tickets which were meant to be mailed to us. Just weeks before we were due to leave to Rome, we discovered that the site was fake and we had lost all of our money and were about to go to Rome, without Radiohead tickets. My mother quickly emailed a friend living in Rome to arrange tickets and luckily, he had spares!
I had finally relaxed, after months of stressing over whether or not I was going to see my favourite band. I was on my last day of school when I found out about the Toronto incident. On my way to the airport I checked the Radiohead tour dates site and, that was when I saw that the Rome concert had been postponed.
Don't get me wrong, I went to Rome anyway and has a wonderful time, and it really is horrible about what happened in Canada, so I blame no one. It was just an amazingly long series of unfortunate events. I suppose it's fate that I could never see my favourite band. Anyway, I hope to catch them next time and hopefully they will reconsider coming to Hong Kong.
Thom reaction to a fan while singing you and whose army!
Florence, Italy 23/09
Coming to an end soon will be my project, 365Stories, to write a story a day every day for a year. It's been fun, annoying, hard working, monotonous, labouring and above all disruptive to my evenings, but in exactly 60 days I will be finishing my project. In fact, I started on Thom Yorke's birthday and will be finishing the day before. I've had views from around the world and even mentioned in a literary magazine.
It's been fun writing for people, though I'm not sure how many read the entire story! It's also been fun reading the google searches - I do get some odd ones! Some ex-rated ones too!!!
Would love more people to read my stories - any and all feedback is welcome. They are not long - usually between 500-700 words and some of them are serial - so there are several parts to them.
If you are interested in reading them, please visit my website - www.365stories.co.uk
Look forward to singing with you all who are going to the Amsterdam gig on the 14th!
"It's like I've fallen out of bed from a long, weary dream..."
I got to the Comcast Center with my group at around 4:00. We left early so we wouldn't get stuck in rush hour traffic. Sitting by the gates, we could hear Radiohead doing their sound test. Some of the songs they played included "Everything in its Right Place", "Bodysnatchers", and "Go to Sleep". Two of these songs managed to be included in that night's set list. The fact that we could hear them from where we were was a sign of things to come, even if we couldn't make out Thom Yorke's words. The faded sounds of the band's music was enough to make my acquaintance and I very excited.
Looking around me, I noticed that the Comcast Center was located in an incredibly forested area. Having never been there before, this was a completely new experience for me. Radiohead picked a good place to promote something as nature-friendly as The King of Limbs. The weather at that point was perfect where it was as well. No signs of thunderstorms yet.
Once we were finally let inside, I scrambled to find my seat in section 7. The maps online didn't give me a good idea as to how the stage would look from my point-of-view, so I held my breath until I found my seat. Turns out I had a really good spot. I could see the stage clearly from where I was sitting.
The show opened up with Caribou's set. This was the first time I'd ever listened to their music, so I was completely open to them.. The style of music they played tied into Radiohead's electronically-driven beats, so it wasn't something completely random. The band's mixture of post-rock and electronica may have sounded muffled at times, but the rhythm in their music made my heart feel like it was going to beat out of my chest. I was disappointed by the fact that their set was so short, since I wanted to get more of a taste of their music. Caribou isn't a band that I would check out on my own, but hearing them live was a treat.
It wasn't long until Radiohead performed their set. They went on at around 8:40 p.m. At that point, I was screaming in a way that I've never screamed over a concert before. Hearing that chirping chorus of Thom Yorke's voice samples set something off and I was ready for the night of my life.
To make things easier, here's a song-by-song recap:
1. "Bloom" - Opener of the show. Out of all the versions I've heard on the tour thus far, this version was my favorite. The rhythm of the song swung back and forth while not being too overbearing. It also seemed more melodic than usual, or maybe it was just me. The panels on the top of the stage rippled with images of the band's instruments with each power chord on the guitar. Colin Greenwood's bassline finished off the song nicely.
2. "15 Step" - "Greetings", Thom says before launching into this track. For some reason, Thom has a tendency to start singing the song in a different key at times, but here, he was singing in exactly the same key as the album version. The tone on Jonny's guitar was rich and smooth, and to hear it live was one of the highlights of my night. Thom's rising falsetto blended in with the instrumentation incredibly well.
3. "Airbag" - Thom softly thanked the audience before letting the band shock everyone with the opening chords of this track. I wasn't expecting them to play this so early in the show. Even with some of the more electronic instrumentation of the album version stripped away, there was still an air of coolness to the performance. The sound of Jonny's French Connection was subtle, but still made notable improvements to the performance.
4. "Staircase" - Thom introduced this one as a "new song", leading me to believe that he would play something like "Full Stop". The arrangement of the panels was clever, setting them up so they looked like two flights of stairs. The performance was incredibly mellow. A nice change of pace from the high energy of the previous 2 tracks.
5. "The Daily Mail" - A "sort-of" new song, as suggested by Thom. When I saw the road crew bring out the piano, I knew magic was going to happen. The acoustics of the place made the piano and Thom's voice ring out with an incredible purity. That moment of serenity paired with the progressive stylings of the hard rock interlude made for one of the best performances of the night.
6. "Myxomatosis" - Judging by the notes that the band fiddled around with after "Mail", I knew that they were going to play this one. Thom went into one of his political musings before going into the song. With the way he danced, I could have sworn that the soul of Joy Division's Ian Curtis took possession of his body. Thom was just as into the fist-pumping as most of the audience. Whether he was the one who started it or the audience is a line that was blurred. A good example of the band's connectivity with their audience.
7. "The Gloaming" - Much more different than the album version in that it had a more intense finale. I'm glad the band adapted the song for their live performances like that, since it's more trance-like and hypnotic on the album. The lighting was incredibly eerie and it fit the song well. Thom was bouncing all over the place like last time. How he still had the energy to do that is beyond me.
8. "Separator" - This version of the song seemed light compared to the other versions I'd heard. There was an air of nostalgia to it. The lighting during the song seemed to help with that a little. Since I was looking for someone while they were playing, I wasn't able to settle down and give the song a good listen.
---During "Separator", I got a text from a family friend who told me to meet him at the front of section 7. He was going to give me his seat because he wanted to rest from the show a little. As it turned out, he was more tired than he thought, so he left the show altogether and let me keep his seat for the rest of the night. It was a seat in section 2 that was 4 rows from the pit, dead center.
I was directly parallel from Thom Yorke. Now I was really ready to have fun.---
9. "Pyramid Song" - A chilling rendition of the song. Thom's wailing combined with Jonny's "guitar-cello" and the piano created a highly ethereal atmosphere. I didn't think I was on Earth anymore. Jonny's control on the guitar with the cello bow was incredibly precise and structured, caressing the neck of the guitar with care and concentration.Listening to the song was almost like I was swimming in a sea of light and sound. Speaking of which...
10. "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" - This was Ed's time to shine, since the whole audience waited in anticipation to sing the backing vocals with him. The lighting made the band look like they were playing the concert underwater. Despite playing the guitar, Thom was still as into the song as ever. The acoustics of the place made the guitar parts cascade around the audience.
11. "Morning Mr. Magpie" - An electrifying performance from the band. Even with its place on the drum-and-bass inspired King of Limbs, it still had a solid rock element to it. What started off as another rock number broke off into something psychedelic and hypnotic. The way the panels faded in and out added to the echos of the number.
12. "Identikit" - I was more than excited to hear this unreleased track live for the first time. Ed's vocals seemed more prominent than ever, and it was nice to hear him so clearly. There was also a synth-sounding part at the beginning that I wasn't too familiar with, but it added a spacier atmosphere to the song and gave me an experience that was different from listening to the song via YouTube and the Coachella Live Stream. While Ed stood steadfast singing his part, Thom did this sort of seductive dance as he was singing. The synth interlude in the song reminded me of the band's work off of Hail to the Thief, which made me feel nostalgic in a way. Unfortunately, my enjoyment of the song was somewhat spoiled by a man smoking weed next to me, with the smoke blowing right in my face.
13. "Lotus Flower" - Probably my favorite number of the night. From the first note, the Comcast Center practically exploded. The bass from the song rattled throughout my body. This might have also been the point where I looked up and saw an intense look of determination on Phil Selway's face. When the band got to the "slowly we unfurl" part, the stage was illuminated in shades of white and orange and gave it an otherworldly glow. With the way Thom moved and sang, he looked as if he had just descended from the heavens to sing for the crowd. I was completely frozen during that part. Listening to that song live proved its worth as a solid work from a band. It was no ordinary dance tune.
14. "There There" - The audience murmured to each other as the band crew brought out two sets of drums. A good portion of them knew what was coming. Ed and Jonny were completely synchronized in their drumming and led the audience in a clap-along. This version of the song was very identical to the studio version. Very haunting, with the low lights reflecting dark presence of the track. Once the song kicked into gear at the end, the audience was practically swept off their feet. The build in that song was incredible to hear live.
15. "Feral" - Not one of the strongest numbers of the night, though the percussion work in it was very impressive. I'm glad the band brought someone like Clive Deamer along with them. The drumming bounced around and absorbed the vocal chimes made by Thom during the performance. I wasn't able to take any good photos of the performance, which is why it's missing from my album.
16. "Idioteque" - I was amazed I could barely recognize this one until the synth riff came in at the beginning. The beat was probably different from the studio version, that's why. During this song, Thom practically became one with the music, with Ed acting as vocal support to make sure he can come back down to Earth. The panels had an interesting color scheme to them, which worked with the lighting in the back nicely. At the very end of the song, Thom moved as if he was freed from his trance. By that performance, I can tell that the band likes playing that one a lot.
17. "Supercollider" - This song began the first of two encores. This is another song that I wasn't too fond of, so I couldn't get all that into the performance. It didn't seem to move me as much as the other numbers. One cool thing about it, though, was when Thom Yorke thanked the audience, the background animation was a sound wave that mirrored his voice. I think that that applied to the rest of the song as well.
18. "The National Anthem" - Another favorite from last night and Jonny's turn in the spotlight. I didn't catch on to the radio station sounds until a few seconds into the song. I caught a bit of Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know" coming from the radio and maybe Radio 92.9. The best part of the performance, however, was the fact that Jonny managed to land on a jazz station, allowing him to allude to the horn section that's included on the album version. Thom certainly dug it. Then the place erupted in heavy bass and domineering electronics.
19. "Lucky" - The anthem number of the night. The crowd hushed, then cheered, as they recognized the chirps at the beginning of the song. They then sang along to Thom's musical cries, fully connecting the audience to the band. Once the lights came up for the chorus, everyone's hearts seemed to burst with passion and excitement. I was probably more excited that I should have been over the fact that Jonny was playing a mellotron during the second verse.
20. "Everything in Its Right Place" - The band opened this one with a cover Neil Young's "After the Gold Rush". After a few lines, Thom decided to cut it and go straight into the main number. The crowd went wild. Thom seemed to put his philosophy of using his voice as an instrument into practice, with Ed and Jonny taking the reins with their sampler while Thom walks off stage, his role in the process now complete. Even without seeing him on stage, he was able to give life to his disembodied singing through Ed and Jonny's remixing techniques. Thom's voice babbled and popped while the band waved goodbye...until now, at least.
21. "Give Up the Ghost" - Second encore. When I saw the acoustic guitar, I was ready to cry. Tears welled up in my eyes as Thom played while he looped his voice. I was surprised by the prominence of Jonny's guitar in the song, since I thought that that song was completely acoustic. The final result of the looping and sampling was a one-man chorus that overtook the audience. The fact that they managed to stay so quiet during the performance made me proud to be a part of such a respectful group of people.
22. "Bodysnatchers" - If I were to close my eyes while listening to the opening riff of the song, I would have told you that I was listening to the album version. The tone on Thom's guitar was exactly the same as the album, but that was where the similarities ended. The background made the stage look like it was engulfed in flames, and the song itself was just as fiery. It was an adrenaline-pumping number that was the complete antithesis of the last song. There was no stopping the band once they started.
23. "Reckoner" - The show ended on a compassionate note. Even after 2 hours, the band was still able to show exceptional chemistry and musicianship. Jonny melted in the background as another percussionist. Ed retreated into the role of tambourine player, with Thom taking over the main guitar riff off the song. The ending of the song was nothing short of beautiful. Ed's harmonies against Thom's singing were tighter than ever, and gave me a completely different way of listening to the song. I think the placement of "Reckoner" at the end sums up the tour perfectly: music that's experimental and percussion heavy, but played with a love for music and bringing it to people in a harmonious environment.
"It's like I've fallen out of bed from a long, weary dream..."
And waking up this morning...the concert seems like it was just that: a surreal dream that only happened in my imagination, like I was never there to begin with, but going through my photos, I was in fact there. I did see one of my all-time favorite bands perform before me, and mostly near the stage, no less. I couldn't have asked for a better concert experience. The weather held up, despite what newsreporters have been saying, everyone was in high spirits, and I got to be up close to the 6 musicians that have been providing the soundtrack to my life for the past 3 months.
That was one of the best concerts I've ever been to. The band should be proud of themselves for last night's performance, and for the tour in general.
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!
An account of a long time fan's first concert (and the journey getting there).
March 15th, Jobing.com Arena, Glendale AZ
I discovered Radiohead in 2000 after 4 different people recommended them to me. I was advised to start with OK Computer and from first listen I knew I had come across something special. Someone told me to try The Bends next. Again- amazing. I don't think those two cds left my player for 2 years. When I was finally able to try something new, I bought Amnesiac, which was the newest album they had come out with. It threw me for a loop for a few listens- it was different, but boy I warmed up to it fast and was excited for the new sound. For the next few years, I lived in my own Radiohead world. I read a few magazine articles and a few interviews, but mainly, I just listened to the music and bought albums in my own time, getting to know them one by one. I didn't feel the need to rush, I wanted to savor each album until I could feel it deep in my bones.
It was around the time In Rainbows came out that I finally caught up. I bought In Rainbows a few months after it's release and I don't have to tell you guys that it was amazing. After that, I started looking up all I could and getting into what was happening currently. There was a tour, but it came at a bad time for me. I had a baby that year, and we were super strapped financially. They don't come where I live (Utah), so I would have had to travel and we just couldn't do it. I watched the tour happen. I looked at pictures and videos. When they played that final show in Santa Barbara with the streaming, I was there, in bed on my laptop and headphones next to my sleeping husband, cheering and crying, rejoicing for the awesome show and grieving for my loss. It wasn't right not to be there, but I wasn't and I vowed that night that I was not going to miss them again. I'd go without food for a month if I needed to.
Time passed, and in 2009 I drove down to Vegas with my brother to see the Pixies which is the band he has been obsessed with forever. It was his concert of a lifetime. I loved it and loved being with him seeing him see his favorite band. We had a blast we had and he promised he would be there when I got to see Radiohead. I had no idea if they would tour again. Didn't know if there would be a new album, but I couldn't imagine never being able to see them live. Especially since my brother didn't think he had a prayer of ever seeing the Pixies- but a miracle happened and they reunited for a tour. I figured I had a good chance.
Enter 2011 and The King of Limbs. I hoped against hope they would tour for the album. I wasn't sure they would. I started hearing interviews with band members hinting at such a thing. I didn't want to get my hopes up. Then Thom made it pretty clear one day that it was happening. After that I let myself finally believe that it is possible. I waited for announcements. The ticket thing was a nightmare- presales happening on the day of my niece's wedding and stuff like that, I won't bore you with the details. We were finally able to score seated tickets in Glendale Arizona- a 12 hour drive away. I couldn't imagine not being on the floor, but after all the ticket nightmares so many people experienced, I felt lucky to have a ticket. They were good seats, lower bowl, Jonny's side of the stage, first section by the stage. I brought binoculars anyway, thinking I could watch them up close when I wanted. We were only able to get 2, so my brother's wife who also came, got a seat close, but in the upper bowl. My bro and I are the bigger fans, and she was totally cool with sitting up there. We brought her binoculars too. I had a good attitude about having seats. I did but couldn't help feeling a little sad, knowing my place is down below on the floor. I later saw fans on WASTE and the facebook page with extra floor tickets I probably could have scored, but we already had our tickets and I couldn't ask my crew to shell out more money for more tickets, so I accepted my seats and was super excited about it. We also planned to look for an opportunity to sneak to the floor at some point during the last few songs, but I had very little hope in that plan.
Wednesday, the day we left came, I hated leaving my husband at home, he is a fan too (not a super fan, but would have loved to go). He couldn't miss school and work. He called me around noon on the day of the concert and told me how excited he has been all day thinking about me going to the concert. He said, "it's not everyday that someone's dream comes true". He gets it. I Brought my sisters and my little girls for the road trip (my siblings and I get along great and have a lot of fun together). They dropped us off at the venue and watched my girls for the concert. We arrived at 5:30 and went to the gates and got our tickets and two old ladies were minding the tickets and scanning cards. After verifying and giving us our tickets, they slapped wristbands on us and we thought nothing of it. We had our tickets and our seats, so we turned around and left and wandered around the stores until concert time. We decided to head back at 6:30 and went to get our tickets scanned and the guy that scanned mine told me that GA was over there. I said, "I don't have general admission" and showed him my ticket. He said that he was surprised they gave me that and pointed to my wristband. This didn't happen to my brother, but my wheels started turning. I pulled him aside and whispered that I think they gave us wristbands for the floor by mistake. We were in shock. We walked around a little trying to process this information and decide what to do. I knew people had been waiting all day to get a good spot and thought the floor might already be totally packed and we would be in the far back and maybe our seats would be a better option. I have enough respect for the people that waited all day to even try to get in front of any of them. We peaked inside and it was far less packed then we had dreamed. We got super excited. Our minds were definitely made up- then we gave his wife our tickets and binoculars so she ended up having a better seat too. We hugged her goodbye, showed our wristbands to the lady on the stairs and couldn't believe we were walking to the floor. Jonny's side was even a little less crowded. I seriously could not believe what was happening.
I found myself standing on the floor, about 40 feet from the stage (about 9 people back) in shock. We started talking to the people around us. I made some great friends. It was great to talk to fans who get it and love this band like I do. We talked about the order we got the albums, we talked about songs that moved us first. We just talked Radiohead. The opening band was good. I enjoyed them for a few songs, then it just got too close and my brain checked out of anything that wasn't Radiohead. My head buzzed that it was really this close. I couldn't BELIEVE I was where I was. It was a miracle. I found out later what a pain everything was for the devoted fans that waited all day outside. I heard about the run around they got. I feel terrible and hope I don't offend any of them that I got a wristband having a section seat. But I came much after they were in place by the stage and I didn't elbow my way to get closer to the stage. I want you all to know that it felt like a miracle to this long time fan that suffered ticket nightmares, long mornings hitting refresh refresh refresh on waste and ticketmaster, only to get shut out again and again and again. We tried for 4 different concerts. I felt that night, standing there, like the fates stepped in and granted me my rightful spot- where I belonged. I got to stand and cheer when the guys finally came on stage. I was where I should be and I was stunned by the amazing luck I had found. It was magic. All I could do was point and think, "there's Jonny!" "Holy crap- there's Thom!" "Look at Colin! He is adorable!" etc, etc.....
Those feelings lasted all night. They really did. I was hit with double disbelief- actually watching them before my eyes for the first time and being where I was, when a few hours before I was resigned to sitting in my section. It was sensory overload. It was amazing. It was everything I ever dreamed it would be. Have you ever had expectations for something for so long that when it finally happens, it is a bit of a let down? Well, this was everything I could ever have wanted it to be. Radiohead exceeded some very, very high expectations. Thom was even in an extra good mood because it turned out to be the last concert of the first leg of the tour and he was excited to go home and see his family for a few weeks. He didn't stop dancing all night. He was a power house. He had more charisma and energy then I could have imagined and I was enchanted and under his spell. I have always been a Jonny superfan. I think he is BRILLIANT. I was in awe of being able to watch him work. It was like a dream. I was stunned. I had a hard time getting over that. My biggest surprise of the night was how utterly cute Colin was. He was just so happy and cute. I've always thought of him as the most "English gentleman"ish of the lot, and love to hear him in interviews, but boy, he was more adorable in person watching him be in his element then I ever thought. The lights, the monitors, the art of it all together with the music was truly unforgettable. Some unforgettable moments of the night: 1. Packt Like Sardines- holy crap! What a surprise and what a great song to hear live! It was sooooo cool. 2. Thom letting loose all over the stage- dancing and singing to Lotus flower with three giant maracas in one hand. 3. Seeing all the little noises that happen in a Radiohead song being played by actual instruments live instead of just sounds generated by a computer and in the same vein- watching them loop a part of the song right in front of you and playing it during that song. Maybe that shouldn't surprise me or be so cool to me, but it was. They don't take shortcuts and they don't phone it in. 4. A moment at the end of Lucky (my husband's favorite RH song)- Ed, Thom and Jonny all lined up and playing the crap out of their guitars. That moment will live on in my mind forever. 5. Paranoid Android. The perfect topper for the perfect set list. This was my one song that if I could choose any song in their collection for them to play live. It was on my "don't dare to dream wish list" I look at it as the quintessential song that all RH fans need to hear live at least once in their lives. That song is epic. It's an experience in itself and I hoped with all my might, I got to experience it. They closed the show with it and during the last third of the song, my brother said "come on" and I grabbed his arm and we made our way closer to the stage. We didn't get too far, but were directly in front of Thom, about 5 people back (5 very short people for some reason) and Thom looked at us kind of like- who are these tall freaks that just showed up right in front of me? We are both a little taller then average and we know we stood out a bit. It was a magic moment for me and love that my brother thought of that. 6. When the second encore started and just Jonny and Thom stood together and dedicated Give Up the Ghost to their families. In the silence before they started I breathed out, "this is going to be good" and the guy in front of me heard, turned around and nodded.
There was a boy we met and talked to a lot before the show named Marcus and we ran into him after the lights came up and we just looked at each other and hugged. We had shared an amazing experience. We had bonded in our shared love of a band. For days I felt like giving every one I met a hug, I was so filled with happiness.
Well, that was one long time fan's first Radiohead concert experience. Hope it was worth reading (if anyone indeed made it though this beast of a post). For anyone that is reading this, waiting for their first Radiohead concert, I have this to say: You are in for the best night of your life. It is worth every moment of the wait, every click of the refresh button. I envy that you have it ahead of you, but I am also happy to have my memories I will never forget. And the thought that they will tour again some time in the future, cause I will be there, no matter what it takes. They truly ARE the best band on earth.
Hi,
would like to share my experience from todays concert in Berlin
What they did at the soundcheck...in chronological order (I was there from 3pm, so I missed something, I guess)
- Phil did solo drumming of Super Collider
- they jammed a Rollin Stones song (can't find which one...sorry...hope I can add it later)
- Where I End and You Begin (1. first half of the song, 2. full song, 3. last part of the song)
- Super Collider (fullband 2 times)
- Bangers n Mash (1. jam, 2nd and 3rd complete song)
- Drumbeat (couldn't figure out if it was something actually or just a rhythm)
- Thom vocals (maybe teasing something...) + EIIRP (2 times)
- some guitar from Ed
- piano and organ - soundcheck
- a tease on organ which sounds exactly like the first notes in the Burn the Witch teaser from 2006 (right before Thom says "OK, Burn the witch will one day....")
I couldn't hear much vocals (too silent) but Thom actually sang on EIIRP and SC.
Some words on SuperCollider, for whom it may concern....
It is different, as the piano isn't there anymore (or was too silent), but the pianomelody was played by a guitar instead (Jonny maybe). Additionally some effectstuff had been added (Ed ?). Drumming is rhythmwise exactly like the already known pianoversion of Super Collider. In the end it still sounds well underdeveloped ("some are sketchy....some of them are very sketchy..." wink.gif ) so I can understand that they don't play this version live, but it sounds definately promising..... biggrin.gif
Some words on Thom vocals (maybe teasing), he did the same thing twice in soundcheck and he did it in the actual set before EIIRP also, so it could be a hint for something (otherwise he'd done something different.....or is just teasing us wink.gif )
Some words on a tease on organ...
well, I heard the teaser on Wons site dozens of times so I know exactly every note of it, so I immediately recognized the notes from the tease.....I don't think it's BTW as the no chords had been played after that, only the first notes of the first BTW-tease....maybe it's nothing... wink.gif
Edit: Honky Tonk Woman from Rolling Stones (if I found the right name of the song)
I first though I missed their soundcheck when I heard this cover but waited until they played WIEAYB smile.gif )
My concert review:
I was pretty surprised seeing Modeselektor as support (hadn't informed myself with who plays their support actually), who played a remix of Skip Divided and two Björk remixes. Right before the latter Björk remix, Thom came up from backstage to watch 'em play live from side of stage (hidden behind equipment, but well....we know him too good so he cannot hide tongue.gif wink.gif )
The actual concert was great, the band was in such a great mood, they all (except Phil, for obvious reasons)were jumping over the stage and grinning and smiling and playing with the audience (never had seen sucha performance from them, beside From The Basement ^^ )
They started with 15th Step where the crowd finally managed the "YEAH !" part smile.gif
After the next song Airbag it started to rain, which Thom replied to with "Sorry for the rain, but it is a Radiohead concert... ^^"
They played nearly all IR, just missing Faust Arp, and also played Bangers'n'Mash, where some effect from Jonny still made some sound and Thom negging into Jonnys direction keeping his drumsticks in the air like waiting to finally start the song wink.gif
Other songs they played included My Iron Lung (Thom mentioned that the last time they where here (meaning 9/11), they played it), Paranoid Android, No Surprises, National Anthem (the radio excerpt telling something (translated) like "in summer months, the audience is bigger than else", Everything in it's right place, Idioteque, Dollars and Cents, You And Whose Army (grinning into the crowd who responded with loud cheering), Cymbal Rush (two false starts, as Thoms earplugs were slipping out of his ears and he made the timing wrong telling someone shouting from the audience to come up and doing it themselves wink.gif ) and finally Street Spirit.
As I said before, the band was in a great mood, which made No Surprises and My Iron Lung a little bit pointless, as obviously the band isn't "depressed" at all to play those old songs from a more personally difficult era....so they lacked a little because of that....on the other hand...have you ever seen Ed and Colin jumping around on stage because they f**ing can't keep still smile.gif
And Jonnys guitarplaying brilliant and energetic as always...
It was such a positived energised concert and I really enjoyed every minute of it smile.gif
Oh...and for all the singing fans.....please learn the lyrics and the songs first before singing, as the climax of a song mostly comes AFTER the 2nd Verse.....just a suggestion wink.gif
I love that concert....I love that band.....and hope I can do for ever and ever smile.gif
Cheers
Edit: some mistakes corrected (was in WOHOOO-mode yesterday and forgot some of my english classes wink.gif )
Edit: after 12 years, I can finally add, that it's Honky Tonk Woman, what they played in soundcheck as Stones-song.
