Radiohead
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
San Francisco
April 2, 1998

Seeing bands in massive arenas like the 6,000-capacity Bill Graham Civic Auditorium is always a daunting experience. You're never going to be as close to the band as you'd like, which gives the entire performance a detached, impersonal feel. There's nothing like being able to potentially touch an artist to make it personal for you - not that you would actually reach out and untie their shoes, but you get the idea. At Radiohead's sell-out gig at the Civic, the themes of alienation and isolation expressed in the songs were only exacerbated by the sheer size of the auditorium and the distance between band and concert-goer.

Concentrating mostly on material from their latter two albums The Bends and OK Computer, Radiohead dutifully chugged through tracks like "Airbag" and "My Iron Lung," singer Thom Yorke flopping his body spasmodically like an epileptic rag doll. Anyone convinced OK Computer was a studio album need only see the band live to realize that these songs sound just as slick without all the expensive equipment. Or maybe Radiohead can now afford to bring all that equipment on the road with them. Whatever the case, they do a remarkable job of recreating their albums on stage. "Paranoid Android" sounded as if it came right off the disc, complete with tempo changes, guitar solos, and redemptive "rain down" chorus. Even single "Karma Police" was CD-perfect, right down to the beat-synched feedback at the end of the song.

But isn't the whole point of seeing a band to hear how they'll change the songs, not just how well they can recreate the tracks from the albums? Sure, Radiohead threw in a few b-sides ("The Trickster") and debuted a new song ("Big Ideas") but the surprises were few and far between. And when the band's so far away you're not even sure who you're looking at, the effect is one of disconnection. There's no dispute as to Radiohead's ability to play the material. But after a year on the road, the feeling seems to have been drained dry. The songs may as well be played by androids - even if they are paranoid ones.

-Adam Douglas

The Den
10.04.98