Friday's show was phenomenal. Got 8th row center from w.a.s.te. (got'em at 6:30 am; learned lesson after waiting until 9 am for the 03 Merriweather show). Tower was an excellenet venue. Big old theater, but intimite feel. The crowd was exstatic and loud. Very humid - which lends itself well to theatre shows (come to think of it, the only really good show I've seen at DAR was Pixies and it was overly hot and humid).
What can I say - Radiohead are mastercraftsmen of sound (and light) in time and space (obviously a pretentious statement . . . but hey, I'm a Radiohead fan). The new songs blended in seamlessly with the classics. And they're ALL classics. Highlights off the top of my head included Dollars and Cents, I Might Be Wrong, The Bends (killed), Paranoid Android (KILLED), Let Down (K-I-L-L-E-D) Black Star (not the best from the Bends, but good to hear), How to Disappear, Idioteque. Don't know the names of the new songs . . . one in particular stood out, kind of a love song . . .
Couple of thoughts (probably of the Lincoln shot, everyone already knows it variety but anyway) - Its amazing how these songs, many with an undercurrent of dread and paranoia, are so EXILLERATING live. Its interesting how the guitar rock songs like the Bends blend with the later day electronic / looped songs. Band is in good spirits, and tight.
Finally, hearing the Kid A (and Amnisiac) songs again, I think Kid A officially belongs in the pantheon with the Bends and OK Computer. And it conveys the underlying darkness and anxiety of the era better than anything else I've heard. Yet it still feels good.
