Radiohead Live

I've never seen Radiohead before and I never expected to see them so soon. But I found myself going to their show at the Madison Square Garden Theater. This isn't really a review per se, but more of a listing of my impressions. It was a very moving show. I stood there alone (well, alone with a couple thousand people) just dancing and smiling and muttering to myself with pleasure. It was not your grandfather's rock show. Affected or not, their interaction with the audience is unusual and perhaps unique. Thom as front man acts at once sexual and shamanistic but also disinterested almost to the point of autistic. My brother always jokes that bassists are necessarily understated but their bassist (Colin) was tucked away in the back and never addressed the audience.

Usually, when I go to a rock concert I have this embarassed feeling about the other people I see there. I feel I don't fit in and wonder how we can all share the same music. But this crowd looked a lot like me: pasty white geeks. Actually the near complete whiteness of the crowd is something that must be mentioned. Another demographic note: there were a number of people in wheelchairs. I don't know if this is an unusual number (I saw at least five) or if the venue is particularly friendly to handicapped people but I can't help wondering if the music somehow resonates with "them". I feel this paragraph is going to get me lynched.

A NY Times review had a couple of interesting things to say that I agree with. The reviewer made the point that "sound has supplanted technique for the musicians in the band." This is true. The two guitarists (Ed and Jonny) spent a lot of time sitting on the floor fiddling with effect pedals creating soundscapes. They also played various instruments, wandering around the stage to different stations where a keyboard or a piano could be found.

I did notice them rushing through older songs as bands seem to do when they're tired of them and they did indulge in some circus antics, i.e. Thom playing a mini drumset on Bangers and Mash.

It was the first concert I'd been to where digital cameras were held aloft throughout the show. I wonder what will supplant this practice and when.