Last Friday night Philip Selway, who you may know as the drummer of some band known as Radiohead, played Le Poisson Rouge. The show was a part of his first ever U.S. tour, and came in support of his sophomore album, last year’s Weatherhouse.
The show was opened with a set from Adem, the moniker of English musician Adem Ilhan, who also plays in Selway’s live band (and produced Weatherhouse). Adem played a stunning 30-minutes set of dreamy acoustic-based folk music that definitely shared a connection with Selway and some of Radiohead’s earlier work. He formed a connection with the crowd early, and won us over with a genuinely awesome opening set that left an impression.
Often when members of prolific bands go solo, you’ll expect a great deal of fans of the band there. Sometimes crowed members are there just by association the band that they love, without that same love for the members solo work. This certainly wasn’t the case for Selway’s show at Le Poisson Rouge last Friday. Surely everyone there was a Radiohead fan (I mean, who isn’t?), but it was clear that people were there to see Selway. They knew his material and were enthusiastic about it.
He played a very solid 18-song setlist featuring practically everything from his two album discography. He gave us the title and little stories before most songs, clearly really enjoying the freedom and leadership that being the frontman allows.
It was definitely odd to see Selway emerge to the front of the stage, a strong counter to the usual position in the back of stages when playing with Radiohead, a position which he jokingly deemed his “drummer alter ego.” But make no mistake, Selway is a more than capable frontman, with a effective presence and leadership of his band, which included multi-instrumentalist Katherine Mann (also known as Quinta), Antibalas’ drummer Chris Vatalaro, as well as Adem.
Selway is a natural frontman, one who will have no problem captiviating audiences for many more albums and shows to come. When we get to have both his solo efforts as well as his work as Radiohead, we really are getting the best of both worlds.
Photos of Adem and Philip Selway posted below, along with the setlist.
Philip Selway Setlist:
1. Miles Away
2. By Some Miracle
3. Around Again
4. The Ties That Bind Us
5. Don’t Go Now
6. Drawn to the Light
7. A Simple Life
8. Running Blind
9. Ghosts
10. Coming Up for Air
11. Patron Saint
12. Turning It Inside Out
13. All Eyes On You
14. Waiting for a Sign
15. Beyond Reason
16. It Will End in Tears
Encore:
17. Broken Promises
18. Let It Go
Adem:
Philip Selway:
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