In spectacle and sound, Radiohead delivers

  • By Jackson Holtz
  • Tuesday, April 10, 2012 1:05pm
  • Life

Rarely during Monday night’s two-hour show did Radiohead begin a song.

No, Radiohead exploded to create complex sounds and rhythms, mixed with lush melodies and driven by a bass line so powerful it shook KeyArena.

Draped by a trippy digital backdrop lit in hues of green, yellow and magenta, Thom Yorke and the band proved yet again that they own the vanguard of contemporary rock music.

The British band drew from their catalog, playing songs from “Kid A,” “OK Computer,” and “In Rainbows,” but playing mostly from “The King of Limbs.”

Despite coming off a three-week break, the band was tight and forceful, even if Yorke needed a cheat sheet to remember lyrics.

It’s taken me a while to fully commit to Radiohead, but last night made me a complete convert. Yorke’s ethereal voice and the bands innovative approach to music-making are in a category of their own. Combine that with their phenomenal stage show, and I’m looking forward to seeing Radiohead again and again and again.

Radiohead setlist, KeyArena, April 9:

Bloom

15 Step

Airbag

Little by Little

Myxomatosis

The Gloaming

Morning Mr. Magpie

Pyramid Song

The Daily Mail

These Are My Twisted Words

Nude

Identikit

Lotus Flower

There There

Feral

Idioteque

Encore:

How to Disappear Completely

Weird Fishes/Arpeggi

You and Whose Army?

Lucky

Second encore:

Give Up the Ghost

Reckoner

Everything In Its Right Place

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