Radiohead
September 3, 2003
As the final sounds of “Everything in its Right Place” echoed through the sold out Tweeter Center in Camden, the word ‘Forever’ scrolled on the backdrop screen. Radiohead indeed seemed immortal on Aug. 18. The band played a flawless two-hour set crammed with 23 songs ranging from the electronic landscape of “Kid A” to the acoustic sing-a-long that was “Fake Plastic Trees.”
Frontman Thom Yorke looked giddy at times; he and his bandmates were clearly enjoying themselves at this fourth stop on their North American tour in support of their critically acclaimed album “Hail to the Thief.”
“The Gloaming” opened the set. A dark, subdued song at first seemed odd to begin a concert, but Yorke’s words, “It is now the witching hour,” seemed to capture the atmosphere of the Tweeter Center. From here, the band dove into “There There,” the song that opened many European dates earlier this year. Guitarists Ed O’Brien and Jonny Greenwood joined drummer Phil Selway on percussions, pounding a beat that ignited the audience.
After a few more tracks off “Hail to the Thief” the band reached into its vault to play one of the nights many highlights, “Exit Music.” The audience listened in silent reverence to Yorke playing solo on an acoustic guitar, only to join in at the dazzling climax with electric guitars and brilliant lights to sing, “We hope that you choke.”
The audience was again thrust into the twisted landscape of electronica with “Backdrifts.” Yorke took the helm manning a sound machine, dropping beats and looping. The song evolved into a Jonny Greenwood guitar solo. Greenwood staggered around stage coaxing his instrument into uncharted territory. Greenwood’s genius at the guitar can only be experienced in a live setting; he was at his best at the end of “Backdrifts” and “Paranoid Android.”
Late in the first set the crowd was treated to a rare rendition of “Fake Plastic Trees,” which followed “Idioteque.” Indeed, the crowd did hear both brilliant sides of Radiohead tonight.
Arguably the best part of the night was the first encore consisting of four crowd favorites: “Nice Dream,” “My Iron Lung,” “No Surprises” and “Karma Police.” As the band left the stage, Yorke ran back to the audience, leading the crowd in an acapella rendition of the line, “For a minute there I lost myself.”
The band closed the show with a second encore consisting of two album opening songs, “2+2=5” and “Everything in its Right Place.”
For a band that at times seems too peculiar to be taken seriously, the concert was a refreshing glimpse at the entire career of one of the biggest bands in the world. Radiohead is a band that seems to be reborn with every album it releases. “Hail to the Thief” and the promotion of it have brought Radiohead closer to the mainstream. The album, however, is a twisted landscape of electronics, acoustic guitar and everything in between. The set list at the Tweeter Center had a similar eclectic feeling.
Although the band insists the title of their recent album is not related to President George W. Bush, the atmosphere in Camden was politically charged. Yorke dedicated “Karma Police” to stopping “insane people” from running the US and UK. Later, the crowd cheered as Yorke sang the words, “Bring down the government, they don’t speak for us.”