08-07-00: Cinerama, Tel Aviv, Israel

support: clinic

setlist: karma police * optimistic * morning bell * national anthem * no surprises * my iron lung * talk show host * fake plastic trees * kid a * dollars & cents * just * airbag * lucky * you & whose army * paranoid android * everything in its right place * exit music * knives out * true love waits!!!!! (thom solo) * street spirit * how to disappear

click on the setlist on the left to enlarge it. picture sent in by konstantin

notes: thom introduced true love waits with "this is an old song. and we didn't really know what to do with it except mmm playing it..."

review by yaron: OK , I picked up Vanessa , my Canadian friend from the Convoy and her dad , from her Aunt's house in Tel Aviv at about 20:35. About 25 Min before the clinic show was scheduled to start. We arrived to the Cinerama at around 20:50. Then we got in and we bought tshirts. I bought nice grey one for 80nis. not too bad. but too bad I had to carry it in my pocket for the entire show.
Then we got into the venue and  I showed Vanessa the place when I was standing on (a) the friday show. She agreed it was a good place and we stayed there. the clinic show started at around 21:12. Again the same setlist , about 35 min long. Again they were OK , except for the 3rd song which was introduced as something with "porno". OK , about half an hour later again someone came and warned us not to push or jump and drink water. it was much shorted than the other night. And a few minutes later Radiohead came In...

they started with Karma Police. I think it's because they understood it was a mistake opening with 2 new songs. The crowd was MUCH more quiet than the crowd on Friday. and the singalong wasn't too bad in most of the songs (maybe except FPT and Exit Music). After Karma Police Thom introduced optimistic: "This song is about being Optimisic". The crowd seemed to enjoy it more than the crowd on Friday. Then it was time for Morning Bell And The National Anthem. I don't think Thom introduced any of them. And then thom said something like "I promise you'll have no surprises tonight" - what a lie!. I really thought he ment it after seeing Friday's show. But maybe he just ment that's he's going to play No Surprises which of course was played afterwards. Again , the crowd seemed to like it but was more quiet than the crowd on Friday. Then the first "heavy" song for the night My Iron Lung which the crowd really enjoyed. There were some pushings in front of the stage but not too bad. Then it was time for Talk Show Host which the crowd didn't seem to know too well. and Fake Plastic Trees which the crowd REALLY enjoyed and screamed along. Then they played Kid A. Afterward thom said something like "don't worry this song sounds completely different on the record" which caused the crowd to laugh. then he introduced "Dollars And Cents" and played it. again the crowd liked those songs but of course not as much as the good old ones.
Then they played Just and Airbag. Regular versions but still pretty good. And afterward Thom introduced Lucky. "The next song is called Lucky. I always liked Lucky and I'll probably going to like it forever.  Than they paid You & Whose Army which was one of my favorites for the night. After the song Thom said something Like "this song is decided for Tony Blair and so does the next song" . and then they played Paranoid Android. It seemed to be the climax of the show for most of the crowd. and they finished the 1st part of the show with everything in its right place. Again it was a great song , and a great ending when the band left the stage while the music is on the background.
A few minutes later the encore started. The band came back with Exit Music which was great as always. and then Thom said something about the people who got the next song on mp3. I'm not sure exactly what it was but I think it was something like "this song is dedicated to all the people who got it on mp3". and of course they played Knifes Out. it's a great song. and then came the climax of the show for me and for many other. Thom took an acoustic guitar  , went to the mic and said "This is an OLD song". The crowd went nuts , becuase I think some of them expected maybe creep or some old favorite. And then he continued. "it's called true love waits. and we didn't really know what to do with it exept playing it". I was REALLY REALLY excited. I couldn't believe how lucky I was. I just kept screaming almost full with tears. in those moments I remebered why I liked Radiohead so much. And why I went to Germany , Belgium and USA just to see them live. It was such a great version. The crowd was very quiet. and I really really enjoyed it. I prefer this version over the one that was played in belgium with the Piano , because I think this version is more touching. Anyway , too bad the was an asshole behind me who kept telling his friend how smart
he was and he was the only one who knows this song. And sang it very loud just to impress his friends i guess. but still it was a rare experience. Ok , after that they played Street Spirit which was great as usual. and then went backstage.

The 2nd encore started with Jonny going on stage and saying "oh ehad vezehu" which means in Hebrew "one more and that's all". then all the others came in  and they played "How To Disappear". It's really a great song and I really can't wait to hear the studio version. Vanessa told me
that last time she show them in Toronto they played this song. And I told her that when I saw them in LA they actually played this song for the first time. I really think it sounds much better than the old version. And it's also a great show to finish the show with because it's longer than The tourist. OK , and that was the end of the show.
After the show we went to the light guy and he gave Vanessa the setlist , which was quite nice. I think it's a printed setlist unlike some setlists i've seen which were handwritten.

So , it was a great show. definitely one of the best shows I've been too and the best show i saw in Israel. I'm not sure if it's my best show ever because I also saw them in Cologne , Germany 1997 a few week after OK Computer have been released and it was a great show. the LA and SF show
were also excellent shows.

And still one show to go. Hopefully they will do MPS and then it would be a great ending for a great tour.

review by dror: The second show of the two at the Cinerama at Tel Aviv. I got to the venue at around 19:00, about two hours before the show was scheduled to begin, with two friends. The line, as opposed to the previous night, wasn't that big yet, and so we were able to get a pretty good place, which later enabled us to find good positions in front of the stage - about second row, between Thom and Jonny (last night I was between Thom and Ed).

Inside the venue they were selling t-shirts, which I didn't notice last night. I would've bought one, but honestly, they were pretty ugly. Anyway, the hour until the show started I spent talking with other people who were sitting around me.

Clinic came on at 21:15, fifteen minutes late, did their thing, and left. It took the roadies about 30 minutes to set things up all ready for Radiohead.

22:15 - Radiohead take the stage... Begin with Karma Police, an interesting opener. I guess they realized after the last show that starting immediately with two new songs is a bit too much. After Karma Police came Optimistic and Morning Bell, performed very well. At this point I can't really remember the correct order of the songs anymore.

During the intro to National Anthem, while the band was playing, Thom sat down on one of the speakers, right in front of me, looked down, and grinned at the audience, which returned the favor and cheered as loudly as humanly possible. At My Iron Lung, he sung the line "Éjust like the last one" and extended the "one" a lot, thus giving up on singing the next line - "a total waste of time, my iron lung". Kid A featured Jonny on the piano, and also a harmonica solo from him right at the end. After they finished the song, Thom stepped up to the mic and said, jokingly: "That was a new song, but don't worry, it doesn't sound anything like that on the record." Dollars and Cents was very spacey, as always. After You and Whose Army?, Thom said: "Back in Britain we have a leader, Tony Blair, and that song was dedicated to him. And so is this one." And then they launched straight into Paranoid Android, one of the definite highlights. Everything In Its Right Place was excellent, of course! , and seemed somewhat extended. After his singing part was over, Thom stepped up from the keyboards, and went to the front of the stage, prompting the audience to cheer. He then went to his main microphone, and started singing again "everything... everything... in its right place..." while Jonny was messing with the "yesterday I woke up sucking a lemon" part and doing really cool and freaky stuff with it. The microphone stand fell down when Thom was pulling it away, but he just kept dragging it with him to the front of the stage. Ed and Jonny remained last on stage, each on his side of it, and each sitting playing around with effects and synths.

They left the stage, and after a couple of minutes returned for the encore, which featured four songs. Exit Music was the first, a crowd favorite. Knives Out followed, which was fantastic, and in my opinion, one of the highlights as well. Thom: "This is a new song called Knives Out. (crowd cheers) I see some people already have it on mp3 at home..." The band then left the stage, leaving a single spotlight on Thom and his acoustic guitar, and he said: "This is a song called True Love Waits. We've never really known what to do with it except play it, so this is, uhh... me playing it!" And he played a beautiful version of the song, all alone with an acoustic guitar. Once again - another high point of the show. The rest of the band members returned and did Street Spirit, during which Jonny, while playing, used the edge of his guitar to press the keyboards as well, and so he was actually playing both guitar and keyboards at the same time.

They left again, and after agonizing the crowd for another five minutes, during which screams of "We want more!!!" were heard throughout the venue, Ed and Jonny returned alone. Jonny went up to the mic, smiled, and said in Hebrew: "One more and that's it." They both started playing, and after a minute the rest of the band joined them on stage. Thom picked up an acoustic guitar and started playing How To Disappear... After they finished it, they left the stage, the house lights were turned on, and the concert officially ended.

A word about the audience - they were a lot more restrained and quieter than the previous night's show. Still, a good crowd, and I think the band were happy with it. At least this time they didn't sing as loud and I could hear Thom on most songs.

After the show I met up with my friends and realized one of them nearly passed out during the show, and so they both left in the middle, missed Airbag, and returned in the middle of Just. We had a problem finding a free taxi, so after a while I joined up with a few more other people next to the exit out of the Cinerama, in the hopes of maybe the band coming out. Actually, I would have gladly stayed there, just for the slight chance, but my friends managed to find a taxi and it was either go with them now or go later alone.

Cheers,
Dror