A kinder, happier Radiohead? Not the traditional description of a group that made its name with the self-effacing fare of "Creep." But there was lead singer Thom Yorke at Radio City Music Hall, bringing out album producer Nigel Godrich for a mid-set hug, thanking the road crew for all their hard work, telling jokes about Bill Gates: in short, having a jolly good time. After being on the road non-stop since the release of its seminal Capitol album "OK Computer,"; Radiohead has more than justified cause for jubilation during its closing show of the "Running From Demons" tour. Throughout their bracing two-hour set, Yorke and company demonstrated how the brilliant sonic landscape of the group's albums did not end in the studio.

Radiohead has managed to walk the increasingly tricky line of traditional and alternative rock with its feet firmly planted in both grounds. "OK Computer," the band's triumphant third disc, fuses hard rock, sweeping ballads, and ambient experimentation: and that is in one song alone, its hugely popular, decidedly un-radio-friendly single "Paranoid Android." The group's live show proved an extension of this fact, with moments of chilling quiet interspersed with jagged, yet strangely melodic, riffs. Nowhere was this on better display than during "Exit Music (For A Film)." Opening with the haunting softness of Yorke's pained vocals mixed with Jon Greenwood's double duty of keyboards and guitar, the song eventually exploded into a throbbing, densely textured confection of sound.

Producing music that should come from a 20-piece rock orchestra instead of only five musicians, Radiohead brought this level of intensity to each of its songs, culled from "Computer," "The Bends," and several B-sides. Such hidden gems as "Polyethylene" (off the soon-to-be-released EP "Airbag/How Am I Driving") and "Talk Show Host" were given the same rapt attention from the sold-out house as the sing-along "Karma Police." "Talk Show Host" even included a slightly extended jam, a novelty for a live act more justly praised for its ability to reproduce the complex arrangements of its studio work.

With "Climbing Up The Walls," Radiohead raised the stakes of a creepy song that could have bordered on the monotonous. Bringing the track to vivid life on stage, the band created a sexy, pulsating tune only hinted at on the original album. Radiohead possesses the unique ability of mixing a variety of styles, often within one four-minute song, without any jarring sense of imbalance. From the wild mood swings of "Just" and "My Iron Lung," to the anthem rock of "The Bends," Radiohead's sound never feels like a simple mix of "fast, fast, slow." Instead, tunes like the perfectly executed "Fake Plastic Trees" easily switched from a lulling ballad to a crashing guitar assault without any noticeable transition. At the end of the show, the audience's standing ovation and pleas for another encore proved how thrilled they were to be taken on such a memorable sonic ride with a band extra-charged by the (temporary) end of the road.

Working in a similar vein (but in considerably longer time intervals) was opening-act Spiritualized, whose third album on Arista, "Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space," often feels like a post-alternative trip to the dark side of the moon. The band's impressive opening set, which seemed to recreate every pulsating, languid note from its album, caught the attention of even the under-21 segment of the audience. Over the course of 10-minute plus jams, individual songs floated from Brian Eno-esque wallpaper to the harder edges of Brit Pop. And in a world where "Paranoid Android" became a radio and MTV staple, maybe there is a hope for the battle cry of "Come Together."

-Eric Conner

Billboard Online
23.04.98