Radiohead
Coachella Festival
Indio
May 1, 2004

Peter: One thing I discovered in the days leading up to Coachella is that lots of people have pretty awesome Radiohead memories. Mine's pretty hard to beat: One month before 9/11, watching them take thousands to higher levels while performing in Liberty State Park with the Twin Towers, the Statue of Liberty, and the rest of Lower Manhattan as a backdrop. Maybe it was exhaustion or perhaps a reluctance to let this memory be eclipsed, but by the end of their set I found myself laying in the grass, staring up at the stars and the festival's pyramid-like arrangement of spotlights while a gorgeous rendition of "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" soothingly washed through my brain.

Natalie: Amazingly, this was my first Radiohead sighting and it was pretty perfect. There was a bit of a scare that they wouldn't play because Thom Yorke had injured his voice. I assure you, his voice sounded perfect. As I lay on the grass, exausted and exultant, I was instantly whisked back to teenage-dom as they launched into a perfect version of "Creep."

Peter Gaston & Natalie Sweet

Spin
13.05.04