Radiohead Back In Command

Radiohead/ Willy Mason
Hummingbird Centre
Toronto
June 7, 2006

There are no bands more competitive and calculating than Radiohead. They release a stellar record, tour it for a year, then disappear for another two. Then, just when you almost forget about them, they throw together a tour like this one, playing elegant theatre spaces and selling out every city in a matter of minutes. It's as if they simply want to remind everybody that they're the most talented and creative group in the world. If their first of two sold-out shows at the Hummingbird Centre was any indication, their fans didn't need any reminding.

From the second Thom Yorke, shrouded in darkness, launched into "You And Whose Army," the room was in hysterics. The audience cheered every tempo change, long note and moment of silence - it was a display of utter insanity. People truly lose their minds over Radiohead. Excluding the new material, the set focused predominently on Kid A and Amnesiac. "National Anthem," "Morning Bell" and a slightly lacklustre "Dollars And Cents" were all featured early in the main set.

Band is a tenuous noun to associate with Radiohead, because even though they all stand on a stage and perform music, they don't do it like anyone else. Their positively insane stage backdrop was the first sign of that. Tiny cameras were located all over the stage and images of all five members were projected on screens that looked like shards of broken glass. The lighting was an epileptic's nightmare, often strobing to instill urgency in Radiohead's already claustrophobic catalogue.

As for the new material, I hadn't been thinking much about March 2007 (the tentative release period for the band's new album), but I am now. The main question I heard from fans after the show was, "What does the new stuff sound like?" Surprisingly, the new songs, which included "15 Step," "Open Pick" and "Bangers 'N Mash," were heavy on guitars, quick in tempo and, unsurprisingly, great. Presumably, most of them are still works in progress and there's tweaking to be done here and there (encore track "Apreggi" was solid, but could use a bit of a kick at some point). That didn't prevent any of them from being received with the same rapturous applause as the hits.

The only surprise was how few "hits" there were. The Bends was represented by only "Street Spirit." Hail To The Thief''s downbeat "The Gloaming" provided the show with one of its few lulls. Thankfully the record's best track, "Myxomatosis," was represented, with Colin Greenwood's thundering bassline vibrating the floor. Even OK Computer's three most famous tracks, "No Surprises," "Paranoid Android" and "Karma Police," were neglected in favour of "Airbag," "Exit Music" and "Lucky." This is a minor complaint.

The fact is that the band played a set that was near perfect technically in a building that couldn't possibly have more pristine sound. Johnny Greenwood and Ed O'Brien played with passion, and Yorke, whose voice is as powerful now as it has ever been, was in great spirits for the entire set, as he laughed at hecklers and made fun of rowdy fans in the front. It seems he's finally gotten over the whole tortured rock star thing for good. And if that was perhaps the only thing standing in Radiohead's way before, there's no stopping them now.

Noah Love

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.06.06