by Tracy

My friend and I arrived fairly early, taking our seats in time for the Beta Band. Let me preface this by saying that the Bowl is a terribly overrated venue: the seats are uncomfortable, parking's a nightmare and worst of all, the acoustics blow. Prior to Radiohead, I'd only ever seen classical concerts there and one loathsome Barry Manilow show (Mom's bday, don't ask). The Beta Band definitely got the short end of the stick as far as sound was concerned and after Dry the Rain we got up to check out the overpriced merch figuring it wasn't going to get much better. By the time we got back, Kid Koala was spinning, the sound was better and his set was pretty cool.

About ten minutes after he finished, Radiohead came on. What can I say? The last time I saw them was in Oxford, circa 1992. National Anthem, their first song, was amazing. My friend later told me that it took him a half-hour to recover from it, tears and all. I didn't get choked up until Exit Music (no pun intended). In spite of the generally sucky acoustics, Radiohead sounded incredible--credit where credit is due. I should add that we were in W.A.S.T.E. seats in section E, so the lucky people who were dead center may have enjoyed better sound.

Thom's voice was extraordinary: ethereal, powerful and haunting. Phil, who I had previously considered unexceptional, blew me away. Jonny was having a blast with his modular synths and other gadgets, while Ed and Colin were as good as I expected. Thom wasn't very chatty and I sensed a bit of disdain for the crowd (natch...it's L.A.) but I was there for the music not the banter. He was fairly amusing during You and Whose Army though, making funny faces into the piano-mounted cam and later he worked in a nice dig about California's lack of power and water...I'm sure he didn't strain himself on that one.

Anyway, back to the music. Knives Out and I Might Be Wrong were wonderful, so much better and more compelling live than recorded; Exit Music, Fake Plastic and Pyramid Song were very emotional...wish I'd brought my blankie. Paranoid Android, National Anthem and Idioteque had me in paroxysms of delight. I totally get Thom's head shaking, convulsing routine now, which is to say that I was doing it too; we were all doing it, it just felt so right. I admit that I was a bit disappointed that they didn't play Talk Show Host, The Bends, Nude, Lift, Packt or Like Spinning Plates but you can't have everything. Pearly was a nice surprise and True Love Waits (Thom solo) was a lovely way to end the show.

All told, a great experience. The crowd was decent although not overly enthusiastic until the encores. Again, it may have just seemed that way to me as I was off to one side. Finally, seen and noted: Salma Hayak, Elijah Wood and some guy who looked eerily like Andy Dick but wasn't.

Tracy