Radiohead performance all adds up

Radiohead
Mountain View
Shoreline Amphitheatre
September 23, 2003

Radiohead is not bulletproof. The band does have one weakness.

Luckily, they got that sole hole in the armor out of the way first on Tuesday evening at the Shoreline Amphitheatre.

Many fawning critics would have you believe the band behind 1997's revered OK Computer is actually flawless. Most passionate fans would contest that there simply isn't anything the band doesn't do well.

But it's simply not true. There is one area where the band doesn't excel: math.

Leading off with "2 + 2 = 5," the track that also kicks off the band's recent Hail to the Thief album, Radiohead delivered a practically flawless evening of richly evocative modern rock in Mountain View.

It was an appropriate choice for an opener. Like the song itself, there is something that doesn't quite add up about Radiohead.

You can't exactly explain why this British band is so good simply by looking at its individual components. Sure, the songwriting is superb and the musicianship is stellar. But those compliments can be handed out to multiple bands.

There's something else going on with Radiohead. There's something else that makes so many people label this band as the most important act in rock 'n' roll. But, again, it's something that is very hard to put your finger on.

Truly, like in "2 + 2 = 5," we have a case where the whole is greater than the sum.

Led by an extremely energetic Thom Yorke, who split his time between vocals, keyboards and guitar, Radiohead devoted the early portion of the set to Hail to the Thief.

Moving from the explosive "new math" of "2 + 2 = 5," Yorke challenged the audience to "step into the jaws of hell" with a stiffly swaggering rendition of "Sit Down. Stand Up."

Changing up the pace at exactly the right moment, Radiohead let go of the sheer intensity and manic paranoia of "Sit Down" and locked into a simple, swift, new-wave-style groove on the bass-driven "Where I End and You Begin."

Although the musical dynamic had changed, the message remained the same. Even masked behind the somewhat friendly dance beats of "Where I End," Yorke still managed to come across as a suspect tour guide in a foreboding world as he snarled the line "I Will Eat You Alive" in cold repetition.

Although the majority of material in the main set centered around Hail to the Thief, and to a lesser degree 2001's Amnesiac, the band did take the time to showcase selections from earlier works.

"We don't often play songs from our first album," Yorke said to the near-capacity crowd. "There are several reasons for this, and I'm not going to tell you any of them."

Whatever those reasons may be, it's a shame that Radiohead doesn't touch upon the 1993 debut Pablo Honey to a greater extent. The rarity "Lurgee," a much more straightforward pop song than what one expects to hear from Radiohead, served to contrast and compliment the adventuresome new material.

Luckily, the band doesn't have any such stated reservations about including numbers from 1995's The Bends." My Iron Lung," which builds from a spacey introduction into a Nirvana-worthy detonation of fuzzy fury, was a definite highlight of the show.

Yorke grew more animated and playful as the night progressed. He hopped up and down like he was riding a pogo stick at the beginning of surf-music-influenced "I Might Be Wrong," from Amnesiac. A few songs later, as he sat at the piano and played "A Punchup at a Wedding," he fidgeted in his seat like a kid who needs to use the bathroom.

Of course, fans were ecstatic to hear the few OK Computer selections, such as "Paranoid Android" and "No Surprises." But those weren't the most interesting selections of the night. The band did a much better job with Amnesiac tracks like "You and Whose Army" and "Morning Bell/Amnesiac" as well as Hail to the Thief songs such as "A Wolf at the Door."

It was a great evening of music. Yet, again, what exactly made it so great is hard to exactly pinpoint. Good song selection. Good energy. Good crowd. Those factors say a lot. But they don't say it all. It doesn't quite add up.

Maybe the math is wrong.

Jim Harrington

Alameda Times-Star
25.09.03