07-07-00: Cinerama, Tel Aviv, Israel

setlist: optimistic * morning bell * karma police * street spirit * everyone (the national anthem) * in limbo * fake plastic trees * no surprises * my iron lung *  dollars and cents * talk show host  * you and whose army * airbag * lucky * bones * just  * everything in it's right place * egyptian song * nice dream * exit music * paranoid android * the tourist 

review by dror: I arrived at the Cinerama with my sister at 19:00, three hours before the show was scheduled to begin. Our hopes of getting there among the first and thus scoring ourselves front row places shattered as soon as we got out of the car, looking at the line of people already waiting outside. Nevertheless, it was still possible.

One and a half hours passed, and the gates finally opened. Hordes of people came rushing in, trampling everything in their wayÉ This was probably the worst part of the evening, it was terrible. Luckily, I got out of there and inside pretty quickly, and aside from my ticket getting slightly torn, nothing was wrong. I waited in line for the entrance to the building itself, but after a minute realized I'm not getting anywhere and so moved aside to the left, to another line, where I managed to get in and run towards the stageÉ Settled for second row, since I wanted to be in the middle.

This was at 20:30, and one and a half more hours passed until the opening band, Clinic, came on. I suppose they were okay, but the crowd didn't like them much. Fortunately, they only played for about 35 minutes, and then left, at 22:30.

Half an hour later, to the screams and cheers of the audience, and after a warning from someone to stop pushing or the band won't play, Radiohead took the stage, and began the most incredible performance I've ever been to.

They opened with Optimistic, a great song, and a great opener as well. Morning Bell followed, with Thom way back on the piano and Jonny taking center stage. The crowd wasn't sure how to take in two new songs right at the beginning, but all was better once the familiar chords of Karma Police were played. Street Spirit followed, with a great version, and afterwards they launched into two more new songs - National Anthem, with its fuzz bass and wailing guitar by Ed, and Jonny playing around with a synth, and In Limbo, which Thom also introduced.

At this point my memory fails me, so the order of the songs is uncertain until the encores. My Iron Lung was terrific, as were Just and Bones, the latter being a favorite of the band to play, or so it seemed (Ed and Jonny were grinning all the time). Colin played the contra bass on You and Whose Army? While Thom sat beside the piano. During the intro he played a chord, got up and threw his arms into the air in front of the audience, as if to tease them, and then sat back down. Then he did it again, and the audience cheered even louderÉ I'm guessing he was just having fun with us. Jonny played the solo of No Surprises on a xylophone.

Now Airbag was simply stunning. Easily one of the high points of the night. Thom went up to the mic, said "Thank You", backed off immediately and launched straight into the main riffÉ The floor was moving up and down during that song, and it was incredibly well performed. But what I was really waiting for, and I knew was coming, was Everything In Its Right Place. My god what a song. Pure and utter geniusÉ They closed the main set with this one and it was stunningÉ After Thom ended his singing, he stepped off the piano and went backstage, waving goodbye (while Jonny was still messing with his samples of Thom's voice). The rest followed him eventually, and Ed remained last, sitting on the floor, programming the synth to repeat the main riff, and only then he left the stage, leaving the synth on until a roadie came and turned it off.

After five minutes, they came back for the first encore. Started with Egyptian Song, which was introduced, with Thom on the piano and Colin on the contra bass, again. The lighting during this one was mesmerizing. They finished and Thom picked up an acoustic guitar (which he did often during the show) and started Nice Dream. Afterwards the lights were turned off, and Thom and Jonny were the only ones that could be seen. Thom started playing Exit MusicÉ Very, very beautiful. They then launched into Paranoid Android, another crowd favorite, which was stunning. Simply stunning. Words cannot describe the performance of this oneÉ Another highlight, definetly. The "rain down" part was incredibleÉ

Again, they left the stage and returned after five more minutes, for the second and last encore, which consisted of only one song - The Tourist. I did not expect this one, even though I've seen setlists of recent showsÉ Wow. A wonderful ending for a perfect night.

Strangely, there was no Knives Out, Kid A or How To Disappear, which seem to be regulars lately, as well as no Planet Telex. But the show didn't lack anything - it was pure perfection.

Thom was awesome - he was really into the music, and at several songs his body was totally shaking, in a really strange way. It was like he just got some kind of seizure which caused him to move uncontrollably from side to side, shaking his head and wailing into the microphone. Jonny was all over the place - from guitars to pianos to synths to a xylophone and back to a guitarÉ Ed played great and had lots of fun teasing the audience. Colin and Phil mostly stayed in the back, playing together and providing the rhythm section.

The band seemed like they were very happy and in a great mood. Everyone was smiling and having fun. A couple of times Thom walked towards Jonny and they talked a little between themÉ After a few times he managed to convince Jonny to go to the mic, while the crowd was gleefully yelling "Jonny!!! Jonny!!! Jonny!!!", and say a few words in Hebrew. He actually spoke really well, considering. He thanked us and said they were glad to be there (and even made a mistake which induced waves of laughter among the audience).

The crowd was also pretty good and knew all the songs - too well, as they were singing along and sometimes Thom could hardly be heard. Nevertheless, a fine audience, which I'm hoping made the band glad to be there. They certainly seemed to be.

review by yaron: I went to the show with a good friend of mine which isn't a Radiohead fan. We arrived there at around 21:30 about half an hour before Clinic started the show. We took our place on the stairs in the left side of the stage. The Cinerama is actually a very nice venue. pretty small with about 3000 people. The clinic show started around 21:05. The were OK. Most of the songs are at least OK except for 1 song (the 3rd one I think) which really gave me a headache. But I wasn't really impressed by their show. They didn't sound original. And the Keyboard sometimes was a bit annoying. They reminded me of The Wonderstuff or The Levelers but without Violin. OK , Clinic did about 35min show and now it was time for Radiohead. It took about half an hour to prepare the stage and then someone came to the stage and actually begged us not to push , not to do crowd surfing , drink a lot of water. It actually was about 5 min of begging. He said Radiohead would not start the show until people in the pit would go upstairs. it's too crowded there and of course no one really went upstairs. He also told up about a tragedy in a big concert in europe where 8 people have been killed. And then the show started.

Radiohead started with 2 new songs , Optimistic and Morning Bell. The crowd was a bit in a shock when he heard the new songs. But when Karma Police was played the crowd just went crazy. Since the crowd recognized the song, almost all the crown sang along with Radiohead. I think they played street spirit afterward which the crowd also liked and then National Anthem. After National Anthem the thom started talking for the first time in the show and introduced the song ("that was the national anthem") and also introduced the next song which I think was In Limbo. He also tried a word in Arabic ("Yalla") which means something like "Let's Go" in order to wake up the crowd who wasn't really into the new songs. Now I'm not sure about the other songs because I forgot to write the setlist but I think they played No Suprises and My Iron Lung (thom Indrocuded it as "Rock") and the crowd went crazy again. The crowd also liked Just and Bones , but most of the crowd didn't know Talk Show Host. They also played Dollars And Cents (which I think thom also intrduced). around this time Thom and Jonny tried to say a few sentences in Hebrew which was quite funny , but I didn't really understand all of them , and I don't remember what they said. Also Thom tried the "Yalla" a few more times during the show. They also played "Kid A" around time time. Then they played Airbag which the crowd and the band really enjoyed. The show has ended which "everything in its right place". I think it's now my favorite new song. The lyrics are so simple , yet powerful. And this was one of the new songs the crowd really liked. The crowd clapped their hand during the beginning of the song. And then the first part of the show was over when the band went down during the long outro of the song. it's really a great song to finish a show with.
Ok , so now everyone is chearing and wants an encore. After a couple of minutes the band comes back. There's a powerful noise everyone is shouting. I've heard some people ask for high & dry which of course wasn't played. Then Thom goes to the mic and says "This is a new song" and the crowd become quiet. that was a bit funny moment. They started the encore with Egyptian song which was a really great song. The lights were absolutly great. Like falling starts. really a great ballad. Colin has played this big violin like (i think it's called contrabass or something like that). nice. and then they gave me the only surprise during the show. They played a great version of Nice Dream. After that they played a great version of Exit Music. One of the climaxes of the show. It was great and crowd liked it. then they played "Paranoid Andorid" which was also a pretty good
version , and it seems to be the crowd favorite for the evening (maybe along with my iron lung). then it was time for the 2nd encore.
The band played the tourist in the 2nd encore. it was really a nice version but nothing too special. I still hoped for How To Disapper or Motion Picture Soundtrack. and then it was all over. now , this was the 6th time I saw Radiohead. It was a great show , but I don't know for some reasons I didn't enjoy it as much as I expected. Maybe it's because I expected too much , maybe because I need more than "Nice Dream" to make me a happy (maybe MPS or at least Lugee). Maybe because  Thom almost didn't say a word during the show (he did say a few words but definitely not as much as I expected). Maybe it was because my friend didn't seem to enjoy to show. it's was a bit patetic and sad. Maybe it's because I still need to get used to the new songs. Maybe it's just that i'm getting too old for this shows. I really don't know but in the end I was a bit disappointed. The crowd was really excelent , one of the top crowd i've even seem. they didn't come because radiohead are supposed to be cool or in like (most of the us crowd) and they didn't push (almost) and did crowd surfing like the German or the European crowd.