| As you may know, Katrina (read her write-up!) and I flew in to LA from Texas and NY, respectively, determined to see our beloved boys, Radiohead, bounce about a California stage. The Greek Theatre, I must say is a gorgeous outdoor venue, surrounded by trees and mountains. It was like camping. Except with 2500 drunk people talking loudly over the music and smoking obscene amounts of ganja.
Radiohead opened big with three energetic staples - 'Airbag', 'The National Anthem', and 'There, There'. After 'There, There,' Phil plays a beat in 5/4* time, while Ed and Colin clap to it. It quickly becomes painfully obvious that no one in the crowd has been introduced to the concept of rhythm. "How come I end up where I started..." wails Thom and I just knew it was going to be a good night. The next song was 'Exit Music,' my favorite song to hear live, as it was in 2003, even when punctuated with a "shut up" from Thom. Other standouts were 'My Iron Lung,' 'Videotape,' 'Spooks,' 'House of Cards,' and 'Fake Plastic Trees.' I wasn't impressed by Thom's "welcome to the future-ture-ture" rendition of 'True Love Waits' and kept wishing he'd bust out the acoustic (honestly, those chords beg to be played on guitar).
The highlight of my night was 'Nude.' It's sometimes called Radiohead's best "never released" song, and is written in a traditional 6/8. It's extremely sensual but it's an uneasy sensuality as the rolling guitar, pulsing bass, and minimal drums give way to Thom crooning the climatic lyrics, "you'll go to hell for what your dirty mind is thiiiiinking." The song reminds me of the Kierkegaard quote, "pleasure disappoints, possibility never." I picture a person in the heat of cheating, caught up in the possibility of ultimate passion but finally seeing that once he's had it, it doesn't play out the way it did in his imagination. Because hardly anything does. "Don't get any big ideas/they're not gonna happen," Mr. Yorke warns in blue notes and falsettos.
Sufjan Stevens is touring again! *does the I  Sufjan dance* The public can buy tickets July 14th. There's a rumor he's also playing a NYC show in August.
*5/4 is, incidentally, the same time signature in which Sufjan Stevens writes 'All Good Naysayers, Speak Up! Or Forever Hold Your Peace!' |
