An Interstellar Burst: Saturday Night in Chicago, Radiohead Largely Delights, Despite Some Static -- Chicago Concert Review

Concert Review

Radiohead 

w/ opening act Junun

July 7 (also played 7/6)

United Center, Chicago

@@@@1/2

Per more than a few--though hopefully not enough to cause permanent damage--perusals of the divisive and derisive netherworld known as the internet comments section, it would seem there are but two prevailing opinions about the British rock band, Radiohead.

Either they are absolutely brilliant and can do no wrong or they are infinitely overrated and deathly boring.

So I guess in writing this review of their concert Saturday at Chicago's United Center--their second of two sold out shows--I should apologize upfront to the outrageously aggrieved on both sides of the spectrum, for it would seem my perspective is not in fact permissible.

Especially as, in these hyper-polarized times, it seems we are not allowed to espouse any negative thoughts about the things we "love" nor positive ones about that which we "hate."

As I intrepidly charge ahead, I--theoretically--much more fall into "Radiohead rules" camp than the "Radiohead sucks" crowd.

And yet, some of my thoughts--that the band can be dour, self-indulgent and dull--would likely get me thrown out of the former camp, like a gypsy radioheaded to the vast but forboding middle ground.

Even more taboo, seemingly, would be to openly admit that I like pre-21st century, guitar-driven Radiohead more than the endlessly experimental new millennium version.

I've liked, even loved, the band enough to have now seen them live 10 times over the past 20 years, yet their penchant for filling setlists with--what I consider--discordant, somewhat esoteric material while eschewing low-hanging glories from Pablo Honey, The Bends and OK Computer has posed something of a fence-straddling problem.

And I imagine there's nothing more heretical to the Radiohead acolytes than to gripe about Thom Yorke & Co. almost never playing "Creep," their 1992 debut single, first hit and--with great regard for much of their catalog, even the more recent albums--still my favorite song of theirs.

I've never heard it live, and per a check of Setlist.fm, the band hasn't played the song in Chicago since 1996.

For the record, I've also seen Radiohead in Montreal, Alpine Valley, Indianapolis and, last year, Kansas City.

Likewise part of their tour behind 2016's A Moon Shaped Pool album, I found the KC show outstanding, and though I didn't write a full review, considered it a @@@@@ (out of 5) concert.

Though also quite light on '90s material, it--like Saturday's UC show--dazzled with an impressive audiovisual display.

So good in fact, I thought it cured me from worrying about what I wanted to hear vs. what the band wanted to play.

And let me be clear, far more than not, I loved Saturday's show. (I did not attend Friday's gig, where 20 of 25 songs were different, but its setlist was actually lighter on early material, although "Paranoid Android" and "Fake Plastic Trees" were played.)

The concert Saturday opened with an intriguing set by Junun, which features Radiohead
guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Jonny Greenwood along with Israeli singer Shye Ben-Tzur and the Rajasthan Express, a group of Indian musicians.

As best I can describe, the mix of Indian and Middle-Eastern music was enchanting, and though it didn't sound like Radiohead, it did suggest where the band--and particularly Greenwood--draw some of their musical inspiration.

As with most of the shows on this tour, including Friday's, Radiohead's set began rather demurely with "Daydreaming" from A Moon Shaped Pool, which was abetted midway through by a brilliant lighting display (see the first photo above).

"Desert Island Disk" and "Ful Stop" are similarly new songs enhanced by exciting lighting, and after the enjoyable "Myxomatosis" from 2003's Hail to the Thief came "Lucky" off of 1997's masterful OK Computer.

Compared to some prior Radiohead shows I've attended, I heard a relative lot of tunes from that album, including also "Exit Music (for a Film)," "Climbing the Walls," "Airbag" and the closing "Karma Police."

Two more came off The Bends--"My Iron Lung" and "Street Spirit (Fade Out)"--so while there were a few songs that tested my patience, I can't really complain about what was played.

"The National Anthem" and "2+2=5" in the first encore were also great highlights, and pushed a show I might have given @@@@ up an extra 1/2@.

Though it felt like "Creep" would have been an idyllic way to close a pair of sold out Chicago arena shows 25 years after Radiohead first played the Metro, "Karma Police" was sweet, and my not quite being blown away--to a full @@@@@---wasn't really about the setlist.

Perhaps my hearing what it once was, but from my seat in Section 303 of the United Center, the sound seemed a bit muted.

Songs like "My Iron Lung" and "Airbag" just didn't blow my head off like they should have.

And some of the more esoteric stuff--"Feral," "Separator," "The Gloaming"--likely also suffered sonically.

Yes, I had a far away, high up seat at the lower of two price levels, but my vantage point for Depeche Mode a month ago at the UC was even worse, and they sounded phenomenal.

So while I'm not really too concerned with what the Radiohead lovers, or haters, may think, this review reflects my personal experience on this particular night.

If you were at either Chicago show--or both--and found it absolutely phenomenal, I'm glad you did.

I thoroughly enjoyed seeing a great band once again, but not only do I suggest they get in touch with Depeche Mode's sound engineer, but--damn the torpedoes--I sure wish they had played "Creep."


---
Here's a clip of "Lucky" that was posted to YouTube by godieinhell2:

Radiohead Excels at Being Radiohead, Which is (Mostly) a Good Thing -- Chicago Concert Review

Concert Review

Radiohead
First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
Tinley Park, IL
June 10, 2012
@@@@

When it comes to Radiohead, I must cop to a certain amount of cognitive dissonance.

Especially amidst an age of artifice, I very much admire, respect and applaud the British band for staying true to themselves. Which, since the year 2000, has meant a preponderance of their recorded material--and concert setlists--has been infused with electronic textures and minimalist beats, rather than more conventional guitar and lyric driven songs.

This music, which is more disparate than my brief description conveys, is often brilliant and invariably amplified on stage by powerful instrumentation and dazzling lighting displays. Over the years--often quite beyond the initial release of each new album--I've come to appreciate the beauty, and even melodicism, of what at first can sound avant garde, jarring and/or droning.

But while Radiohead is great because they excel without making easily-digestible ear candy, before the new millennium came about their music--while still quite innovative--was a good bit more stylistically traditional. 1995's The Bends and 1997's OK Computer remain my favorite Radiohead albums; I just enjoy them more than last year's The King of Limbs or other 21st century releases, excellent as several of them are.

So without wanting to sound like a philistine, I wish they would play a little bit more of the old stuff.

Much to their credit, Radiohead's experimental, arguably anti-populist musical proclivities have not hurt their popularity. After headlining the Bonnaroo Festival on Friday night, the band drew what looked like a full-house (perhaps 28,000 or so) to the inconveniently-located First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre in Chicago's south suburbs.

Having seen Radiohead on seven previous occasions and routinely checking their live setlists (you can see Sunday's on Setlist.fm), I was well aware before I bought my tickets that their shows are always heavy on their latest material, with perhaps just 2 or 3 more traditional, theoretically crowd-pleasing '90s songs sprinkled in.

Led by lead singer Thom Yorke, Radiohead is still fantastic at what they do, as they amply demonstrated again in Tinley Park at a venue I've long abhorred (fortunately, I had pavilion seats rather than the often acoustically-challenged lawn). My friend who had never seen the band and knew very little of their music was tremendously, and a bit surprisingly, impressed with the concert.

While I anticipated nothing less, the six musicians onstage made wonderful noise over 130 minutes that--despite "Karma Police" and "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" being the only sing-along "oldies"--never dragged.

Every song played was well-presented and several were pretty astonishing, including a few that go back to early in the '00s: "Myxomatosis," "Idioteque"  and "Everything in Its Right Place."

In sum, Radiohead delivered the show I was expecting and as my @@@@ rating should suggest, I liked it far more than I didn't.

But where my dissonance comes in is that I really think their concerts would be more satisfying--at least for me, but probably not just--if the band weren't so stingy in exploring their exceptional back catalog.

"Creep" (which I've never heard live) and pretty much everything off The Bends and OK Computer are among the best, most intelligent rock songs written in the past 20 years. I understand the band's--and especially Yorke's--desire to move in different directions when they head into the studio, but I can't help but want to hear more of their great older material. And given the money, time and effort invested getting to any show--but particularly this one--I don't think it's unjust to want to hear what I want to hear.

I respect their right to play what they please, especially if the adoring crowds keep turning out, and wouldn't really want them to compromise themselves by putting on a pandering, greatest hits performance. But I can't deny that Sunday's concert wasn't as fun, or as enjoyable, as it would have been if Radiohead played 3-4 more well-placed early gems.

Given how the crowd sang along lustily with "Karma Police" and cheered the show closing "Spirit Street," I don't think anyone would've minded if the band decided to give us "Fake Plastic Trees" or "No Surprises." Even setlist stalwart "Paranoid Android" was MIA.

Certainly, an imagined retort of "Don't complain about it; just don't go. You know what you're getting." isn't entirely unreasonable. But to reiterate, it's not that I didn't like Radiohead last night; I very much did. And I would not hesitate to see them deliver a similar performance again.

But that doesn't mean I can't wish they liked their old stuff as much as I do.

---
In Sunday's encore, Radiohead debuted a new song called "Full Stop," in the vein of their recent material. This is a clip I found on YouTube: