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First up were Clinic, and what a revelation. I could take or leave them before, but they have somehow grown harder and sharper over the years. The distinctive voice and quirky guitar riffs a welcome rest bite from the usual indie guitar boredom that you find in Camden. They still don the coats and surgical masks, and it was a laugh to see the hundreds of older Radiohead fans scratching their heads, trying to make out what they were all about - many of course left for the bar, but that was their loss. Stand out track - ' The Return Of Evil Bill' - of course. Must check out the debut album. Radiohead opened with a new song 'Optimistic', which gave us a good idea of the type of new material that they have been writing. Sparse guitars overdubbed with fractured singing, and Thom using an acoustic guitar, and use of only the toms from the drumming point of view. After the well known 'Bones' and 'Karma Police' came another new song 'The Morning Bell'. Thom introduced it... "This is a song about amnesia". He then retired further back in the stage to play a piano. It was a slightly hypnotic song ending with Thom repeating the word "walking" and Jonny producing his trademark weird sounds from the guitar - a nice 4-minute piece. Thom then asked Ed if he wanted to tell the audience about the chinchillas - what? All would be revealed later. An absolutely beautiful rendition of 'Street Spirit' had the crowd hooked. This was the song that really got the audience behind them for the rest of the night (as if they weren't already). The first big, loud song of the night was 'Talk Show Host', with Thom choosing this song to be the first one that he did his trademark, head-shaking dance, while Jonny did one of his many instrument changes, to organ this time. A relatively quiet slow build up until all hell was let loose about four minutes into the song - even Colin on bass moving around! 'My Iron Lung' proved a problem, with the song falling down half way through with Thom laughing and getting the rest of the band to pick up the song again, a couple of bars back, just so we could hear the loud brash parts again. Obviously pleased with the reaction from the crowd Thom simply stated, "rock!" 'No Surprises' saw Jonny, yet again playing another instrument - the xylophone, with every note played to perfection. Thom introduced 'You And Whose Army' - "This is dedicated to Tony Blair, I'm so disappointed I never got to shake his hand". Lines such as "you and your cronies", and "you think it's so easy" - the most obvious political song in the set. Four great old songs slowly stepped up the tempo. 'Exit Music (For A Film)', 'Lucky', 'Airbag' and 'Just' had the audience spellbound. Each song ascended in power from the last - a good choice of songs to string together. The main set ended with another new song 'Everything In It's Right Place'. This was by far my favorite of all the new stuff showcased tonight. A quiet start, with Phil using the maracas, Thom on piano and singing with echo on the mic, until it seemed to pack up, Thom moving back to the mic on the back organ to finish the song. While all this was going on Jonny played with some effects on the floor, which distorted and echoed Thom's vocals. Back for the encore and 'Egyptian Song' was dedicated to Scott Walker and his band. Glitter balls filled the hall with shafts of light spinning around for a very atmospheric song. Thom then introduced 'Knives Out'... "This is another new song. This is a song about, well, cannibalism - eating people. When they're dead and gone". This was possibly the most accessible, mainstream song of the new stuff played. 'Fake Plastic Trees Followed' which had the crowd singing along nicely. Then followed the longest dialog the band had with the crowd... 'Paranoid Android' was probably the most powerful song played, with both Thom shaking madly and Jonny crouched even lower than usual to abuse his guitar. Encore two started with just Jonny and Ed creating the mood for a full minute until Thom, Colin and Phil re-joined them. It was a slow build-up with very minimal sound gliding around the large venue. Eight minutes of pure indulgence. Nice. They played a two-hour, 21 song set, including 10 interesting new songs. It's very clear who the two main players are, with Jonny continuing to expand the range and style of all the instruments he plays, and Thom, as ever, the focal point. skippy Radiohead setlist: Optimistic / Bones / Karma Police / The Morning Bell / Street Spirit (Fade Out) / Talk Show Host / National Anthem / My Iron Lung / In Limbo / No Surprises / You And Whose Army / Dollars And Cents / Exit Music (For A Film) / Lucky / Airbag / Just / Everything In It's Right Place |