12 + 13.05.06 - Blackpool [Gigwise]

There’s really no such thing as a bad Radiohead gig, because even Radiohead on an off night are better than most other bands at the top of their game. Touring again after a two and a half year break, the band are using their dates to road-test songs from their upcoming album - not touted for release until 2007. The songs are still works in progress and are being shaped nightly by practice and audience feedback. It takes a brave and confident band to let the world in on their creative process and this is reason number 28 why Radiohead are miles above their peers. Singer Thom Yorke in his self-deprecating way said at the Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam, “We’re going to be doing some new songs tonight. There’s a bar over here (pointing to one side of the venue) and a bar over here.” But for anyone who’s more than a casual fan, seeing what the band come up with next is better than hearing them play the hits.

The Amsterdam show had its sublime moments, but was a bit patchy by Radiohead's lofty standards. If you had never seen the band live you probably wouldn’t have known anything was amiss, but there were mistakes, missed cues, and frustration expressed. During "Paranoid Android" there was a technical malfunction just before the “rain down” part. Yorke stopped playing and said, “Fuck it. Let’s do the next one.” The crowd screamed, “Nooooo!” and he said, “Oh all right” and went on to finish the song gloriously. During "You and Whose Army" guitarist Jonny Greenwood played the wrong line which caused Yorke to stop playing and practically fall off his piano bench laughing. Proof, perhaps that despite some people's views, the band don't take life too seriously. Drummer Phil Selway stopped playing during "Street Spirit" for a while, whether from a technical problem (someone said one of his drums slipped down too low and he couldn’t reach it) or from emotion is a matter of debate. Sadly, the second scheduled Amsterdam show was cancelled due the sad death of Selway’s mother.

Understandably, there was some question as to how the band would perform three nights later in Blackpool given the unfortunate circumstances, but the first of two shows in the seaside resort town was the best of the tour so far, with the band at the top of their game in every way.

The setlist included almost the entire OK Computer album (save "Fitter Happier," which has never been played live and the rarely performed "Let Down" which was played in Copenhagen the first and second nights of the tour). Also played were "The National Anthem," "2+2=5," "Exit Music," "Paranoid Android," "My Iron Lung," "Where I End and You Begin," "How to Disappear Completely," "Idioteque," "There There," and "Planet Telex." In contrast to the glitches of Amsterdam, the band performed flawlessly and seemed to feed off the huge cheers and loud singing that accompanied each old favorite. Far from being somber, the mood onstage was light. During the emphatic encore of "Black Star"' guitarist Jonny Greenwood shared a vocal mic with Ed O’Brien and sang the final chorus, something he’s never done before.

New songs included "Bangers and Mash," one of the catchiest songs Radiohead has ever written; a full out rave up that features Yorke on drums. Yorke introduced it the second night in Blackpool by saying, “This is a song for when you get caught with your trousers down and it gets in the papers, which seems to happen to politicians”, a reference perhaps to Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. "Bodysnatchers" is riff driven guitar rock with a funky bassline that starts off at a medium tempo and builds to a mini-frenzy. "15 Step" has a pulsing techno beat with syncopated hand clapping. Yorke introduced the reworked "Nude", also known as "Big Ideas," by saying, “this song has been kicking around for a long while, as have we.” Though never properly recorded, the song has been a fan favourite on bootleg since the OK Computer days. Its new incarnation is slowed down, reggae-fied, and stripped to the bone, with an understated groove and a bassline that recalls Elvis Costello’s "Watching the Detectives." Yorke’s vocals are haunting, especially when he sings what was previously the organ’s melody line and brings the song to resolution. "House of Cards" was originally premiered by Yorke on acoustic guitar at the secret 3 a.m. Trade Justice Rally gig in London in April, 2005. The band version is fully reworked, much slower and longer, with vocals that sound world weary as opposed to passionate. The searing set ended with "The Tourist" the closing song on OK Computer, which has rarely been performed since 2001.

As an American seeing Radiohead for the first time on UK soil, the intensity of emotion from the audience stood out. Every familiar song was sung at top voice and there was a definite feeling of pride and possessiveness, with every person in the crowd fully engaged. In America the band are well loved and tickets for the June tour sold out in minutes, but possibly because Radiohead have never received as much press in the U.S. as they have at home, there is the sense that audience members love the band as their own individual discovery, and not so much as a group.

The setlist for the second night of Blackpool included "Morning Bell," "Pyramid Song," "The Bends," "Street Spirit," "Dollars and Cents" and the never before performed piano-based "I Want None of This," recorded for the War Child benefit album Help last year. Yorke apparently decided at the last minute to play the solo song for the final encore because he apologized to his lighting director for continually changing the set. He also asked the audience to help him out, “Which is going to be hard since you probably don’t know it.” Perhaps Yorke was nervous about performing the heart-wrenching ballad in front of such a rowdy crowd because he made a few errors, laughed at end, and said, “Almost.”

Night two also saw "Spooks" a 90-second three-guitar attack of surf music, "Four Minute Warning," and the debut of the song, "Go Slowly" a piano ballad that will likely have Chris Martin gnawing off his hands in frustration.

Radiohead have already cemented their status as one of the most innovative rock bands in history. They’ve been able to balance commercial success and artistic integrity in a way that few bands ever manage. Likely they’ve earned the right to spend the rest of their lives puttering happily about their gardens. Luckily for us they’ve chosen to carry on.