This time they didn't play "Creep," and the audience didn't seem to care. Photo by Jay Blakesberg.
Radiohead
Warfield Theater
San Francisco
July 26, 1997
Last time Radiohead played San Francisco, they had a hard time selling out the 1,200-capacity Fillmore. This time, there were fans begging for tickets outside the larger Warfield theater.
Radiohead's day has come and their performance last night at the Warfield proved it. As more than 2,000 (mostly newfound) fans screamed, cheered and clapped, the band dove full-force into song after glorious song.
Radiohead opened with the stunner, "Lucky," a dark, melodic tune that had everyone in the crowd silent and at full attention. The band played every song but one from their new album, O.K. Computer, and more than half of their previous release, The Bends.
If the new album doesn't get you, Radiohead's live performance will. It was clear that a good few people in the audience were only familiar with the band's current single, "Paranoid Android," but one look at singer Thom Yorke's spastic, convulsive stage presence probably made them fans for life.
Yorke jerked around almost uncontrollably as he howled out the lyrics to the songs in his honey-glazed operatic vocals as the other band members followed his lead, never missing a beat. Well, OK...the band did re-start the song "Electioneering" a few notes into it on Yorke's order because something didn't sound right. But watching the band stop, regroup in a half-a-second and start right back into this rather complicated song made it clear how tight these guys are and how in tune they are with each other.
Radiohead has suddenly become the "band's band," and this show was no different. ATN newsguy Gil Kaufman swore to me that he spotted Metallica's Kirk Hammett in the crowd, and I bumped into both the drummer and bass player from the Dutch band, Bettie Serveert, who had played a gig in San Francisco the night before. Not surprising, because judging from their stellar musicianship and razor-sharp performances, Radiohead is quickly becoming THE band to emulate. Was that a pad and pen in Kirk's jacket pocket?
In pure Radiohead style, the band topped off their two-hour-plus performance with not one, not two, but three encores, and the ear-piercing squeals from the audience made it clear that they could've handled a few more. Yorke walked on stage solo and did "Thinking About You," an acoustic number that would be the only song performed from their debut album, Pablo Honey . No "Creep," much to the (surprise!) relief of the audience members. With two newer albums loaded with better material, it seems people are finally getting over the band's 1993 MTV hit single.
-Clare Kleinedler Addicted To Noise
28.07.97