Show Review: Radiohead @ Charlotte 5/09/08

Radiohead is a band that I'd been dying to see live. In my first semester at college I re-discovered the Radiohead catalogue. I, like so many others, went through a phase where I obsessively listened to OK Computer. I was delighted when in mid-2007 it was announced that Radiohead would be releasing In Rainbows. Almost instantly it became my favorite Radiohead album, and even today I still think it is their best work. So then in the spring of 2008 their tour dates were announced. I told my friend Matt that he was going with me to see Radiohead, and he said "Yeah, okay." Seeing Radiohead was the first real concert that I'd ever been to, and I know it'll be hard to top.

5/09/08 Verizon Wireless Ampitheatre at Charlotte, NC

First Set: All I Need, There There, Airbag, 15 Step, Nude, Sail to the Moon, Weird Fishes/Arpeggi, Myxomatosis, Idioteque, Morning Bell, Videotape, Optimistic, Where I End and You Begin, You and Whose Army?, Everything in Its Right Place, Bangers & Mash, Bodysnatchers

First Encore: Go Slowly, Talk Show Host, Exit Music, Planet Telex, House of Cards

Second Encore: Paranoid Android, Reckoner

The opener was a band called Liars, and apparently Radiohead - and Thom Yorke in particular - are big fans. They also happen to be critically acclaimed, but I can safely say that Matt and I, along with the rest of the audience, were fairly unimpressed. Their "light show" was also pretty pathetic. If Clinic had opened for them, I would have been cheering like an idiot.

When Radiohead came out, everyone went nuts. Their light show was incredible (look at some pics here). After "All I Need," Thom ran up to the mic while changing his guitar and shouted "Hi!" The crowd of 20,000 roared. Although the entire set was great, their most impressive work was with their newest material. Phil Selway in particular put on a great show, whose drumwork on In Rainbows I feel goes fairly unnoticed. The show is really something that needs to be experienced, as trying to describe it is fruitless. The highlights included "All I Need," "Airbag," "Sail to the Moon (which was dedicated to the good people of North Carolina)," "Weird Fishes," "Videotape..." Why the hell am I doing this? The entire show was awesome.