Radiohead/ Handsome Boy Modelling School
Sears Theatre
Toronto
October 17, 2000

Rating: 4/5

The central paradox of modern rock is the spectacle of the angst-ridden artist confessing his or her sense of alienation to a concert bowl full of devotees.

To be anguished and alone before a crowd of crazed admirers is to be a rock star circa the year 2000. But no act has wrung more art and drama from that dichotomy than Radiohead. Over the course of a mere four albums, the group has mined the soul-destroying demands of modern life - and the record biz in particular - and turned them into brave, trailblazing modern rock. They have made their case in a manner that never smacks of elitism or woe-is-me self-pity, but serves as a metaphor for the wider sense of alienation and disorientation that effects anyone who steps back and assesses the way we live.

Radiohead's sold-out concert here before just over 5,000 fans at the Air Canada Centre's Sears Theatre comes on the heels of their new record, Kid A, and it is one of only three shows they intend to play in North America before the end of the year. No videos, no big single pushed to radio and no major tour timed to coincide with the record's launch, but that anti-promotion strategy seems to have only enhanced the group's cachet. Kid A rocketed into the Canadian retail charts in top spot, and Tuesday night's show sold out in minutes.

Even more surprising is how the new material has been embraced. Kid A as a record at times seems almost calculated to frustrate expectations and thwart the typical fan's reflex to demand that their favorites replicate their strengths ad nauseum, record-after-record, over the course of a career. Unlike the tightly-structured post-grunge of The Bends or the elaborately-arranged neo-prog rock epics of OK Computer, Kid A is at times indistinct, open-ended and a defiant declaration that business-as-usual will not do.

That mode of thinking was vividly demonstrated from the show's opening salvo, "The National Anthem." Over bassist Colin Greenwood's nasty, relentless bass groove, multi-instrumentalist Jonny Greenwood alternated between keyboards and what appeared to be a transistor radio hooked into the P.A., and singer Thom Yorke, looking scruffy but energized, invoked the song's simple-but-haunting mantra: "Everyone around here/Everyone is so near/Everyone has got the fear."

The performance dearly missed the horn section which gave the song a big, scary exclamation point on record (and in last weekend's "Saturday Night Live" appearance), but the crowd seemed not to mind, and greeted the song with frenzied enthusiasm.

The very vagueness of the new songs on record was turned into a strength onstage. "Morning Bell" was given a cutting edge and the pneumatic dance groove of "Idioteque" (with Yorke charging around the stage and voguing disco poses) was deconstructed by Jonny Greenwood, who worked over his sequencer like some mad scientist.

On record, "Everything In Its Right Place" is all tape-loop and cut-up vocals, but for the live show, Radiohead has remade the song as a full-band performance. Yorke, seated behind an electric piano, intoned the song's title repeatedly. As Jonny Greenwood sampled Yorke's voice and then began to digitally chop up the song's lyrics, Yorke stepped from behind the piano and indulged in the odd but somehow moving spectacle of dancing to the disembodied sound of his own voice.

Perhaps strangest of all, given the dire tone of some of the music, was the group's mood. By Radiohead's standard, they were downright playful, with Yorke plucking Canadian and international corporate names from the ACC's abundant signage (Labatts, Ford, Pizza Pizza) and cheekily dedicating songs to those business titans.

More importantly for Radiohead fans was the group's decision to pepper the set with a number of songs recorded during the Kid A sessions, and still possibly to be included on the album the group intends to release next spring.

"You And Whose Army" and "Pyramid Song" saw Colin Greenwood switching to upright bass and Yorke hammering at an upright piano. "Dollars And Cents" was built on a solid groove between the bassist and drummer Phil Selway as Yorke pounded out rhythmic accents on a tamborine. The pick of the new material, though, was the lovely "Follow Me Around," a solo performance from Yorke, but also his finest vocal performance of the night and a gorgeous song to boot.

All this focus on new material in no way detracted from the group's commitment to more seasoned numbers. The OK Computer favorites "Air Bag," "No Surprises," "Paranoid Android" and "Karma Police" and "The Bends'" "Just" and "My Iron Lung" qualified as highlights in a night crowded with great moments.

Opening the night's festivities was a set by the turntable collective Handsome Boy Modelling School. On this night, the group consisted of mix master Dan The Automator (who has remixed The Beastie Boys, Depeche Mode and Dr. Octogon), hip-hop producer extraordinaire Prince Paul (Stetsasonic, De La Soul) and Montreal turntable maestro Kid Koala.

In a brief set, the three deejays managed to each make an impression with their own distinctive style. Dan The Automator specialized in seamlessly weaving together grooves without engaging in flashy turntable work. Prince Paul, blessed with feline reflexes, elegantly worked De La Soul's "Me, Myself & I" into House Of Pain's "Jump Around," LL Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out" and "The Humpty Dance."

Kid Koala's skills, though, clearly left the other two in the dust. He drew cheers with William Shatner samples from old Star Trek episodes and even worked some of the computerized voice from Radiohead's "Fitter, Happier" into one of his jaw-droppingly creative jams, but the real head-scratcher came when he improvised an entire trumpet solo by manipulating the pitch and direction of his turntable and gracefully toyed with a spinning jazz disc. How'd he do that? Magic.

-Paul Cantin

Jam! Showbiz
18.10.00