Radiohead
Pyramid
Stage
Glastonbury
June
28, 2003
Emerging unceremoniously and getting their collective heads down to the beating tattoo of 'There There', Radiohead set the tone for tonight's set. New material - read 'difficult' material - will be played. Few compromises will be made.
As it turns out, 'There There', swiftly followed by the thunderous '2+2=5', will prove set highlights amongst the likes of 'The Gloaming' - an electro meditation hardly made for the collective sing-along of Pyramid tradition. "This is what we do - deal with it," Radiohead seem to be saying. It's not an arrogant stance, more a resigned one.
In fact, Thom Yorke looks uncomfortable as he greets his disciples with a traditional British conversational fudge. "Its been a lovely day," he offers hesitantly, aware that this massive crowd has assembled to await the inevitable 'awe' of Radiohead. Very aware that his band has little intention of delivering it.
Instead, Radiohead proceed to do all they can do - push out the music in whatever form it takes. And this music takes some radical shapes. It's a faith-restoring experience to see a Glastonbury headline act craned over Apple Macs, unleashing rhythms cut from the last ten years of fantastic sonic upheaval.
When the crowd-pleasers come - in the form of a delicate and beautifull 'Fake Plastic Trees' and yearning 'No Surprises' - Radiohead's dilemma shifts into even clearer focus. When they last took to this stage they changed their career forever and cemented an image of Radiohead that would prove impossible to escape. Onstage tonight they're still struggling to make sense of that moment in which they came to mean so much to so many people.
Everyone at Glastonbury will have a different version of what this set was like. And that's why Radiohead remain one of the most vital bands around - they still have the power to completely divide opinion. Unlike so many Glastonbury headliners through the years, they're still going forward with their heads down.
James Poletti