A wider horizon for Radiohead
The publicity-shy band previews new material before an
adoring crowd in Pennsylvania.
Radiohead/ Willy Mason
Tower Theater
Upper Darby
June 1, 2006
Few rock acts have worked harder to elude the
scrutiny that comes with being a great band than Radiohead, but sometimes you
have to face the inevitable. All eyes were back on the English quintet as it
opened its U.S. tour at the Tower Theater here on Thursday, but at least this
time the focus of curiosity was something even the band members could
appreciate: a preview of Radiohead's first new songs in three years.
In the late 1990s,
when they were neurotically suspicious of adulation and sensitive to
expectations, the attention might have fallen more on their potential for
stardom or for breaking up. But the group has managed a remarkable
adjustment in recent years, carving a space and establishing a pace that
accommodate personal lives and creative freedom.
That
meant withdrawing as a candidate for biggest band in the world, which
Radiohead accomplished by avoiding long tours, predictable recording
schedules and easy, radio-friendly music. In becoming what is essentially
a cult band with a mass audience, the group has renewed its enthusiasm for
performing, something that was obvious on its last tour in 2003 but was
even more apparent Thursday in the intimate setting of a 3,100-seat
theater.
The musicians got a heroes welcome when they hit the
stage, a sign of the strong bond the fans have with Radiohead's music and
its example of uncompromising conduct. And the band could count on that
loyalty and willingness to go against the grain in playing a set loaded
with unfamiliar music.
The process isn't new for Radiohead, which
has taken in-progress material for several of its albums on the road
before finishing the recordings. But U.S. audiences have rarely been
included, so this sold-out, 19-concert tour, following a series of shows
in Europe and concluding with stops June 29 and 30 at the Greek Theatre,
has an air of special occasion.
The group, which is loosely aiming
to complete its album by the end of the year so that singer Thom Yorke can
devote some time to a solo album, worked nine new songs into the 23-song
program, placing them among selections drawn primarily from its most
popular album, OK Computer (1997), and its experimental successor,
Kid
A. Those older tunes felt reinvented and fresh, especially the Kid A
songs. Once remote and icy, they now seem like an integral element in the Radiohead canon.
On first impression, the varied new songs expand
Radiohead's musical range while reconnecting with some of its earlier,
guitar-rock values. "15 Step" started with an all-percussion backdrop for
Yorke's vocal, which proceeded to adopt a Middle Eastern-sounding
intonation. "House of Cards" might have been the biggest stretch, a gentle
groove with a vintage soul-music flavor, uncharacteristically caressing
(though the lyrics posted on fan websites are more typically sinister) and
content to stay in one place musically.
"Bangers 'n' Mash" was a
lively rocker, with Yorke having a bash at a drum kit while singing, and
"Arpeggi" revived some of the drum-and-bass sound of Kid A and
Amnesiac before breaking into a brisk, guitar-driven section. "Nude,"
which has been floating and forming for a decade, follows a similar
pattern, breaking from the Radiohead pattern by refusing to release its
built-up tension.
"Open Pick" and "Bodysnatchers" were guitar-led
rockers, while the ballad "4 Minute Warning," played as one of the
encores, found Yorke at the piano while his bandmates hovered nearby,
casual as a group at the corner pub.
"Thank you for listening to
all the new songs tonight," Yorke said, just before concluding the
two-hour show with the OK Computer favorite "Karma Police." They aren't
much for small talk, but at the end they seemed pleased to be there,
returning the audience's ovation with smiles and applause of their
own.
It remains to be seen whether these new songs will fit the
contours of the times in the same way that made Radiohead's earlier work
an essential survival guide in an age of alienation. A lot will depend on
the final versions, and the way they're recorded, and, of course, the way
the times change.
Radiohead has rarely failed to be on top of it
before, but the question the group will have to face this time is whether
it can be comfortable enough to carry on and confrontational enough to
matter. When the time comes to reveal the answer, the band had better get
ready to have all eyes on it once again.
Richard Cromelin
Los Angeles Times
02.06.06