Radiohead
Woodlands Amphitheater
Houston
June 18, 2001

THE WOODLANDS, Texas - Ever since its bleak 1998 tour documentary Meeting People Is Easy, the British quintet Radiohead has cultivated an image of a rock band alienated from the world. The darker, more abstract tones of the recent albums Kid A and Amnesiac have only furthered that reputation.

You wouldn't have guessed this, however, from the band members' smiling faces and fan-friendly vibe Monday night just north of Houston. They kicked off their first North American tour in several years at a humid, packed Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion.

Radiohead's members strode purposefully onto stage and launched right into one of the more driving tunes off Kid A, "The National Anthem." The band kept a quick pace from that point on, managing 18 songs in nearly two hours onstage.

Often moody frontman Thom Yorke was in fine voice and high spirits, chatting with the crowd between tunes and generally appearing to have a good time. Mr. Yorke remained at center stage while guitarists Ed O'Brien and Jonny Greenwood dominated the perimeter. Mr. Greenwood constantly switched from guitar to synthesizers, piano and even a strange switchboard-style drum machine. Toward the back of the stage, bassist Colin Greenwood and drummer Phil Selway formed an impenetrable wall of sound to anchor the group.

Established bands often forego older material, or give it only a perfunctory run-through to appease fans. Radiohead, however, successfully delved into its back catalog to deliver such gems as "My Iron Lung," from 1995's The Bends, as well as several tunes from OK Computer, the band's 1997 breakout album. Mr. Yorke threw himself into the earlier material with passion, giving the tunes an added sense of urgency.

One of the show's few weaknesses was expected: the absence of a live string section, which has added tremendously to the band's studio recordings. Songs such as "Dollars & Cents" and the haunting "How to Disappear Completely " seemed thin without lush strings added to the mix.

Radiohead's music places atmosphere over melody, and the barrage of processed guitar feedback and electronic noises washing over the amphitheater reinforced the darker tone that permeates the band's studio albums.

Though it was the first night of the tour, the group didn't have trouble easing back into live performance. Only on "Idioteque" did they come unglued rhythmically, and they managed to recover without much trouble.

Radiohead's members are rock stars, befitting the arena-size venues they're playing, but their fans Monday watched them with the kind of rapt attention and respect normally reserved for a much more intimate setting.

-Alan Melson

The Dallas Morning News
20.06.01