You couldn’t have scripted it any better. Radiohead announce that they are playing New York City for two nights, one of which just happens to be the night before my 21st birthday. It just so happens I’m home from break, and somehow scored two tickets on ticketmaster. If that’s not fate working it’s magic, I don’t know what is.
The last time I saw Radiohead was at All Points West (night one, night two), which was the last time they played the New York area. This is arguably one of “the” shows of 2011, right next to LCD Soundsystem’s farewell. You don’t get many opportunities to see Radiohead in places like Roseland Ballroom.
Radiohead’s illustrious career has proven that there is no genre of music that they can’t tackle. They are able to evolve in ways that most bands can only dream about. This trend trickles over to their live shows. They take songs that we all know and love, and deliver them in ways that expand your mind to its full capacity. Next thing you know, your mind is blown.
The night was considerate to The King Of Limbs, which was no surprise. What was a surprise was just how ferocious “Good Morning Mr Magpie” is live. It’s a three headed animal that is relentless in all the right ways.
Getting to hear “Subterranean Homesick Alien” is an achievement in itself. It’s just one of those songs that serves as a reminder of just how special Radiohead is. Thom Yorke and the rest of the band were all smiles and they looked like they were having a blast. It really came through on the veteran tracks such as “The National Anthem”, “Like Spinning Plates”, and “Everything In Its Right Place”.
From “15 Step” to “Bodysnatchers”, and “Reckoner”, the In Rainbows tracks are still going very strong. In between all this the band surprised us with the first ever full band performance of “Supercollider”, a real treat indeed.
“Nude” was the final song of the night, and it ended literally as the clock struck midnight, taking me towards my new adulthood. Here I am, now 21 years of age. It’s a great feeling that became that much more special because it was spent with Radiohead.
That’s not something many people get to say.
Photos, videos, and setlist after the jump:
Setlist:
1. Bloom
2. Little By Little
3. Staircase
4. The National Anthem
5. Feral
7. Like Spinning Plates
8. All I Need
9. True Love Waits/Everything In Its Right Place
10. 15 Step
11. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
12. Lotus Flower
13. Codex
14. The Daily Mail
15. Good Morning Mr Magpie
16. Reckoner
Encore
17. Give Up The Ghost
18. Myxomatosis
19. Bodysnatchers
Encore 2
20. Supercollider
21. Nude
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