Review by Cmadcow:
I almost didn't go to this show. I'm glad I didn't miss. Stephen Malkmus's set was pretty good, but I think Spiral Stairs (Scott's) band PSOI has a better live sound. Still, a couple of Jicks joined Radiohead for the second encore.
Despite the fact that the best view of the band I got was from the screens, the sound was incredible and I could see the light show. They took the stage show they had in 2001 and built upon it. It was visually stunning without overwhelming the music. The "Forever" message with the lights was a nice touch.
The last time I saw the boys from Oxford was in Houston two years ago. At that show, they remarked upon the last appearance they had made there, which was when they opened for REM in '95 and I was at that show as well. That night they had dedicated "Talk Show Host" to REM. Well, no "Talk Show Host" for this performance, but plenty of other goodies to satisfy our sick desires. Was I hungry? Was I sick? Indeed. They started off with "The Gloaming". Not completely inspirational but interesting. The live version of "2+2=5" kick's the studio version's ass. Thom looked straight into the camera during one song and made funny faces that the audience clearly enjoyed. Airbag was powerful as always. It was finally about this time that the venue folks got the technical difficulties sorted out with one of the main projectors. "Pyramid Song" was haunting and beautiful. I often think of this song as a first cousin to "Street Spirit". Its always incredible to hear live and its one of the best songs in their repertoire. "Paranoid Android" had everyone moving Thom-style. When I first heard "Wolf At The Door" on the album, I thought it was impressive. The studio version doesn't do the live version justice. The live version just begs you to understand his plight of keeping corruption at bay. I never cared all that much for You and Whose Army but this time it worked for me. I was excited to hear There There. They brought out the two snares as they did on "2 Dollar Bill" at Beacon. They followed it up with their second single "Go To Sleep" a song that gets stronger with each listen. Thom introduced "We Suck Young Blood" by saying "This song is good for a laugh." As he sung, the audience attempted to clap in the appropriate spots. They/We missed at one point and you could literally hear Thom stop and start cracking up laughing but he got through the rest of the song. "Idioteque" is a powerful song and carries a strong heavy vibe that just won't let go of you. Thom subcumbed to the powers that be and flailed about just as people hoped he would. "Creep"! Holy shite Batman! I've heard this song live on bootlegs but never had the privilege of hearing it live personally now. Its good to see that they finally feel comfortable enough playing it again and they still present it in all its ironic glory. Lets just hope there are more Pablo Honey treasures during this tour, such as "Anyone Can Play Guitar", "Stop Whispering" "Lurgee" or "Blow Out". They ended with my favorite song off of Kid A "The National Anthem." It could have only been bested by the presence of horns as they used at Roseland in 2000. Thom came back for the first encore and did a quiet subdued version of "I Will" that worked very well. "Exit Music" was almost not missed at this point...almost. Mxamytosis was next. This song is loud and noisy and punkish as it should be. "Just", hell yes! Being the only song from the Bends for the evening, it was a nice surprise. The boys ended their first encore with "How To Disappear". They came back and did a fabulous, moving version of "No Surprises." This song always gets me. Its themes are very subtle but you can feel the sadness and bitter acceptance that make up this song. "Everything In Its Right Place" ended the show. It was cool as ever. Thom even got down in disco fashion and the peddle machines were worked with fluid and razor-sharp precision. A fine way to end the evening. I could complain about the songs that were not played, but then the band does vary its set from night to night. No one night so far on the North American tour has been the same. I was so glad I was there. Thanks guys for a fun evening.

PS: The faces Thom made to the camera came during "You and Whose Army". I could have sworn they were earlier in the show.

Review by Chris:
everthing was on point obviously. the stuff that they where doing for how to dissapear was mindbending as well as the outro from everything in it's right place was very unique. very different beats/technique than both other versions i have heard since HTTT.

WOLF AT THE DOOR was DEFINATELY my hightlight. real sick. thom was just laying those vocals down. the myxamatosis was well played this time around. at field day i wasn't too impressed but they got it down!!!

it was also SO great to hear CREEP!!!

goodnight. RADIOHEAD TOUR!! well not again till MSG.

oh yeah and i got a lawn ticket for $15!!! and LocoOno (you don't know who that is, just a friend) stubbed me down and we where 12th Row in the right Loge!!! all night no hassles

wahoo!

Review by Jon:
It is impossible to write a fitting review for this show right now. The Washington, D.C. area has waited so long, this concert was built up years before Hail to the Thief was even released. Die-hard Radiohead fans like myself in this area know this well. I was able to see them in '95 and '97, but since then it has hurt to try and see them. In '99 the Tibetan Freedom Festival was cut short due to lightning strikes. Radiohead would play a small venue that night for 1500 people that was impossible for those an hour away to make it into. On Day 2 they would play with REM some, but it wasn't a true set due to time constraints. In 2001 after the release of Kid A, we had tickets to both days of the shows at Bull Run, Va. TORENTIAL rains cancelled Day 1 and left an empty stage sinking into the mud. Day 2 would be cancelled also. Since then we have waited and waited. This show left me in awe, even more so than the OK Computer tour. They had so many more songs to work with and I love a good concert at an amphitheater on an awesome summer night.

Review by Mark:
being my first radiohead show, i was very anxious and excited to finally be able to see them play live. i also had tickets to the show at bull run 2 years ago....sadly that one got cancelled. last night however, i arrived at the venue a little late around 7:30ish finally getting into the door. i was actually very surprised that within 20 minutes of being there, i heard the first notes of the gloaming being played.

everyone started cheering and stood up. i couldn't see very well, so my friends and i moved as close as we could, as it seems everyone else in the lawn tried to do. just as one reviewer said, the giant screen in the middle of the pavilion wasn't working properly until a third of the way into the show.

regardless of that, the show was phenomenal!! i had heard that at several other venues, the band usually starts over a bit on some songs. that didn't happen tonight. every song was played to perfection. much better than the studio albums. i could understand what everyone had been saying about their live shows.

the highlight for me was when they played how to disappear completely at the end of their first encore, i definitely think that is one of the best radiohead songs. it was so chilling, the whole venue just got quiet and was really listening, it was amazing. sadly though, i would have liked to hear like spinning plates, the version off of i.m.b.w. and karma police would have been nice too, but i can't complain...for a first show, the songs that were played blew me away!! thanks so much radiohead for an amazing night!!!

Review by Jason:
Well, what I saw of the concert was great. However, since the horrible traffic jam made it take 2 and half hours to arrive instead of 45 minutes and the band started at 7:45 (who starts that early?!?!?!)I missed the first 10 songs. The venue seemed completely unprepared to cope with such a large crowd and I will never go to Merryweather again. Everything in it's right place was incredible.

Review by z:
it's impossible to describe how disappointed i am. i, my friends, and 1000s of other people missed most or all of this concert stuck in gridlock. the line from the highway to the parking area was at least an hour long, even at 8:00, after radiohead had already gone on. the bottom line is that with radiohead going on stage at 7:45 (apparently), and rush-hour traffic being what it is in washington and on I-95, there was just no way that anyone who worked a full day on wednesday could have made it in time to see radiohead (much less stephen malkmus). why would they schedule a weeknight concert so early? why was the venue apparently so ill-prepared to deal with traffic? i don't know, but the bottom line is that many washington area radiohead fans were screwed, *yet again*. considering the long line of similar disappointments (tibetan freedom concert, bull run, field day), it's heart-breaking.

i'm glad people that were there had a good show. my friends and i made it in time for creep. funny.

during 'no surprises', when thom sang the line 'bring down the government / they don't speak for us', the crowd roared with cheers and thom smiled. that was the highlight for me.

-z

Review by Chad:
I can't think of a band that I wanted to see more. In my 10 years in Colorado, Radiohead never made it, choosing to visit the incredible Red Rocks after I left (and they'll be there again next tuesday) . When I was in Europe for a summer, they weren't playing any gigs. It looked like I would finally get my chance in 2001 at the revered civil war site of Bull Run, but a torrential downpour crushed my hopes and many others. This followed a much shortened set at RFK a couple of years earlier due to lightening. Their DC and VA luck was bad. Maybe that's why they chose to play in Maryland this time...and this time it couldn't have been a better summer night. Anyway, after battling never ending traffic to park, we arrived in the gates at 7.30pm. Plenty of time right? Wrong. At 7.45 we hear the roar. Rushing to our seats with our $7.50 beers and $6 Nachos to the inauspicious, but solid opener "The Gloaming", we creep (foreshadowing?) closer to the stage..closer...and closer. I couldn't believe we were this close! It really seemed surreal to me. Was it really Radiohead? "2+2=5" was next and I knew my answer. Holy Shite! Unbelievable. That basically summed up the whole night in my head. I was in awe. Don't get me wrong; I have embraced the later Radiohead albums full of electronic sounds, but I think I had forgotten that they can also play real instruments. Jonny is a guitar god. Though I try not to have expectations, I had ridiculous high ones for this. I feared it couldn't be met. I expected Thom's voice to be stunning..it was. Everything just was...It was an incredible musical night. The rest of the set blended together like a perfect Radiohead album. Moving from guitars, machines, pianos, percussive thingys...just perfect. 'Airbag' brought back so many memories from the relentless play that OK Computer received...I think it was a permanent fixture in the baby blue Tempo. If there were a mic in that car, it would surely have been sick of how many times I tried to sing 'Paranoid Android', imagining if that song could be reproduced live with just a glimpse of the emotion that it was recorded with. It was. They just blew my expectations away. My favorite Radiohead track was even better live...unreal. The "single" from Hail to the Thief, "There There", I had previously felt was a good and decent song...nothing special. So it was a surprise to me that it was arguably (yes, I even argue with myself) the best song of the night. Both Jonny and Ed had their own Toms/Snares for this one. 3 percussionists and just Thom on a jangley sounding guitar, building the energy in this one, until Jonny drops his drum for a spell bounding guitar finale. (I was arguing between that one, Paranoid Android and Idioteque) On last thing that must reported. There wasn't much chit chat in this one so when Thom told us that "we really like this one," I knew something good was about to happen. "Creep!" I had heard they never played it anymore... I never listen to it anymore either...killed, overplayed, from that "one hit wonder band, Radiohead"..yeah. The place went nuts..hell I did too. To hear the machine gun sounding blast of "chhhhh chhhh" is worth the price of admission. It pierced your chest and rattled your heart. Ok, maybe two more things...hearing the only Bends track of the night, "Just", during the first encore made me long to see them back in '93 (even tho I didn't listen to them then!). I wished to see a whole night of the Bends. Oh well. At least I got this. I shouldn't say at least. I got this. That's it! Thanks for reading. Hope all are well. Thanks to Steven for the ticket hook-up! Not dead center, but much improved over mine!

Review by Joe:
I managed to get a pit seat so I was literally right up against the barricade. Let me tell you, I hadn't been this excited for a concert in a LONG time, especially after the fiasco at Bull Run a couple of years ago. Steve Malkmus wasn't bad, I'd have to say that I was pretty impressed with some of his guitar work. By the time that Radiohead went on, I was jumping out of my skin. I got goose bumps as I saw them come out on stage...the opening of "The Gloaming" was good, but it would have been better if they picked something like "There There" like they did over in Europe. ANYWAY, the sound up near the stage was pristine, and the band looked as though they were in awe of just how many people were there. The highlights for me were definitely having Thom look right at me while he was singing "A Wolf at the Door" as well as at one point he smiled over when he saw my Joy Division shirt. "There There" was insanely good, as was "Paranoid Android". After a while they really seemed like they were having fun. Every single song was perfectly done...my only complaint is that there was no "Karma Police", "Street Spirit", or "Climbing up the Walls". They could have nailed the encore with any of those..."No Surprises" was nice, but it was kind of anti-climactic. However, how could one possibly complain after such an amazing set? Of the 375 or so concerts I've seen, this was hands down in the top 10. We are SO lucky to have this band around. I hope the Chicago gig will be as good as last night.

Joe


Review by Etienne:
Why don't you quiet down? Why won't you quiet down? Why won't you quiet down? Why won't you quiet down? Why won't you quiet down?

The show was fantastic. Thom said some funny things, indcluding "we like this song now" before 'Creep.' On a completely different note, and I want to apologize in advance for the rant, I just want to offer advice to anyone who might be able to trade up to a seat, if you have lawn seats, DO IT. It was packed, and I am sure there were different circles of folks, but where I was, on the far side, it was basically a frat party. I kept looking for the keg. Dude's talked nonstop. Seriously, I am not sure of the logic, but if you pay $40, what is the point of talking through the show? The guy next to me told me that he was sorry "but we are reminiscing HARD over here." I can only assume some people go so the next day you can say, "yeah bro checked out Radiohead last night. hells yeah, played 'Creep'." Coincidentally, after which I heard someone say, "play another song that doesn't suck." Other things heard, by a young lady during 'Pyramid Song' "are all there song this depresssssiiiiinggggg?" During 'You and Whose Army' "Dude, bet you this song is about Dubya." If only they would have sung along to "...the yuppies networking..."

I'm not sure if people who pay the extra for the seats chat it up, but somehow I doubt it. Thankfully as the night got darker (they started before sundown) the got louder, culminating with 'Myxomatosis,' which totally destroyed. Additionally, the only thing I can think to add was in 'No Suprises' during the "bring down the government" line, there was a small applause.

Review by Michael:
Absolutely blown away...

I woke up this morning still glowing from last night's amazing performance; utter disbelief at what I've seen this past week between last night's show and Monday night's show in Camden, NJ. I've already started to get the "so, which show was better" calls. Here's my take on this show versus the Camden show. First off, last night my seats were sheer bliss...about 15 rows up off the floor, slightly to the left (Ed's side) but still close enough to see Thom's facial contortions. In Jersey, my seats were much further back (about 5 O'Clock). To me, seats at a concert make such a difference; good rule of thumb...the closer you are, the better you are. So, in that sense, Columbia, MD was more "hands on." That being said, let's talk music. As much as I love "The Gloaming," I don't think that it's the best opening song. It was cool to hear the band open with it in Camden because it was a first but I was hoping to hear either "There There" or "2+2=5" first. I think, both nights, the crowd was a little stunned to hear something this, well, gloamy, open up the show. Either way, "2+2=5" was next and really kicked the crowd into gear. "Sit Down, Stand Up" and "Where I End And You Begin" followed and were also very strong and well received. My body felt like it was going to explode during the middle section of "Sit Down..." when Thom pounded on his piano before his "Raindrops" verse...wow. "Airbag" and "Pyramid Song" were pleasant surprises. The "Paranoid Android" that followed was the best I've ever heard; totally tight and full of energy. "A Wolf At The Door" and "Sail To The Moon" were fantastic; Thom was really haming it up during "Wolf." Personally, I think it's one of the best new tracks; reminds me very much of Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues." "You And Whose Army" was one of the highlights of the show for me partially because it was unexpected and partly because Thom was totally into it. He sang the entire first verse starring, smiling, and making odd (odd, no?!?!?!) faces into the camera positioned at his piano. Ed's background vocals were right on, as they were all night. "There There" and "Go To Sleep" were awesome. "There There" will go down as one of Radiohead's crowning achievements; played live it is absolutely entrancing with Jonny and Ed hacking away at their drums. Having three drum players creates this immense wall of sound that it quite difficult to describe. "Dollars And Cents" was also a highlight of the show for me again, since I didn't expect to hear it and Thom and Ed sounded so amazing together. Wow...had to pause for a minute...so good. "We Suck Young Blood" I could have done without; my least favorite song on Hail To The Thief although they really haven't been playing it. "Idioteque" was just amazing; I thought it was noticeably tighter last night than it was in Camden, NJ. What can I say about "Creep?" Again, wow. A lot of Radiohead fans discount "Creep" because it's their big radio song but I still love it. In the grand scheme of things, it's probably their most important song; Radiohead's introduction to the world. It didn't dissappoint. I was fortunate enough to hear it in 1999 during the Tibetan Freedom concert and was very happy to hear it again...and so was EVERYONE else. People were singing, dancing, and really living up the moment together; a thing of beauty. Like the Camden show, the set closed with "The National Anthem" which further drove the crowd into a frenzy. Colin was bouncing around like a kid with a serious sugar high. The encore was heavenly: "I Will" "Myxomatosis" "Just" and "How To Disappear Completely." "How To Disappear..." was one of the highlights of my life. I heard them play it in 2001 at Liberty State Park but it hit a lot harder last night; placed perfectly in the set. "No Surprises" and "Everything In Its Right Place" were great contrasts to end the show. I love how the band left the stage last night-one by one. A few last points. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED last night's show but it had a very strange feel. The band seemed happy to be there, they were incredibly tight, and my seats were better allowing me to take in more of the show but I didn't feel as fullfilled as I did after Camden. Why? Maybe because they mixed it up a bit more in Camden and played more of my favorites. In terms of set differences, they played these songs in Camden but not in MD: "Exit Music," "Backdrifts," "Lucky," "Kid A," "Like Spinning Plates," "I Might Be Wrong," "Talk Show Host," "Fake Plastic Trees," "Nice Dream (totally crazy!)," "My Iron Lung," and a killer "Karma Police (highlight of the night)." Last night's exclusives were: "Airbag," "Pyramid Song," "A Wolf At The Door," "You And Whose Army," "Dollars And Cents," "We Suck Young Blood," "I Will," "Myxomatosis," "Just," and "How To Disappear Completely." Again, both shows were magic; totally unforgettable. I think Camden's encore set it apart slightly but Radiohead is "a man amongst boys" compared to the rest of today's music. They continue to break barriers, rules, and are like nothing you've ever heard...or seen.

Review by Curt:
i got the feeling in general that the band was performing with a subtle awareness of their proximity to the power center of D.C.--perhaps the epicenter of the dark forces thom is so keenly aware of. thus i found the gloaming a highly appropriate opener (shadows blue and red), followed by 2+2=5 (in my mind second only to "the gloaming" on the new album in its relevance to our present political climate). any type of song order analysis probably just conjecture on my part but i don't think there can be any doubt as to WHO EXACTLY thom was singing to, looking directly into that camera by his piano, on "you and whose army." i found this absolutely shocking, even revolutionary. i took it to be an open challenge to the murderers and thieves in our direct vicinity last night-- to the dark eye always watching, big brother behind the hidden security camera, the cronies watching our every move. at first my friend and i were afraid that thom was ridiculing his audience too ignorant to understand their complicity in the affairs of the "holy roman empire" (when a woman beside me states matter-of-factly "that means america," god bless her) but Thom's intentions became clear as he sang the line "you and whose army" and pointed behind him to his audience with an expression on his face and in his eyes (he was right in the camera) that implied he had a larger and more powerful army at his disposal, indicating everyone in the ampitheatre as the lights shone out to the lawn. loud cheers erupted then as they did later, surprisingly to me, at the lines "bring down the government/they don't speak for us." perhaps this is a trick they've been doing all tour (after all it would apply anywhere thanks to the time-spanning power of metaphor), i don't know, but last night was rife with symbolic potential and i think the guys in radiohead are just too brilliant to pass up on an opportunity to be so cleverly subversive right under the nose of the beast, so to speak. can anybody tell me---was that rumsfeld's voice that johnny picked up on the radio in "national anthem"?

Review by Ed:
Wow. What an amazing concert. We got to the venue somewhat early and got to see the opening act. It wasn't bad, but all you could think about was Radiohead coming on stage. The lights went off at 7:45 and they graced the stage. The Gloaming was the first song of the night, and I thought it was absolutely fantastic. It is so much better live than on the album. Thom was dancing and hopping around. It was a perfect way to start. Then "2+2=5", "Sit Down Stand Up", and "Where I End and You Begin" all followed. All of these songs brought an enormous amount of energy. I was really excited when they played "Airbag", and then a very beautiful performance of "Pyramid Song" came next.

Everyone can see the setlist so I won't keep going song by song.

I must say that Paranoid Android, There There, National Anthem, and Idioteque were all great.

When Thom came out by himself for the start of the encores I was hoping to hear True Love Waits, but then idea was gone when he picked up an electric guitar. "I Will" was beautiful though. The same can be said for "How To Disappear Completely" and "No Surprises". And "Just" just rocked the place.

The lighting at the concert was incredible. It was very cool in "The Gloaming", "Paranoid Android", and the rest of the songs. It really adds to the atmosphere and the energy of the show.

Finally, I couldn't believe how fast the concert went. Before you knew it...it was time for the encores. It was a night that I did not want to end, but I will always remember this concert. A great peformance, and I cannot wait to see them again.

Review by Swiper:
My watch said 7:44 when the band came out. It was great from the beginning. We ended up with fairly good seats, but the video screens on either side of the stage were still fun to glance at once in awhile.

This was my first Radiohead show, as the Bull Run Concerts were canceled two years ago. I wasn't disappointed. The biggest surprise was "Creep", of course. From my perspective, the initial crowd reaction was disbelief, followed by exhuberance. Someone mentioned the Jicks played during an encore, but I didn't notice that for some reason.

Whatever sound or technical problems they have had in the past, were cleared up for this show in Columbia. One item of note was Thom salivating during one song. I forget which one, but I saw it, and confirmed my suspicion by looking at the video screen. Might of been "Where I End", but not sure.

Regards,

Swiper

Review by Jarrod:
As the night came about , it had been the 6th time I had anticipated seeing Radiohead , and perhaps only the 2nd actual time seeing them...Tibetian Freedom Concert (though they DID play 9 songs), 2 days in VA in 2001, 1 day in Boston in 2001 and last weeks Toronto cancellation left me only seeing them at Field Day Festival after i was soaked and tired...so this HAD to be good right?
Well, right at 7:45pm the crowd started screaming, we were in the common are having some beers and immediately put out our smokes and headed to our 11th row seats (thank you WASTE!) they started with the Gloaming, i dont know why, but it was anticlimatic....however, the 2+2=5 ripped the concert into high gear (we ARE paying attention now) I totally love Sit Down, Stand Up and at this time i was so excited to hear what they had in store for the next 2 hours. Airbag was great, that song begins OK Computer and just makes me think of summer....dont ask why...but i was super glad it was played. I love Paranoid Android and they do it SO well live
You and Whose Army is maybe my favourite song from Amnesiac, unexpected and brilliant. There There is such an excellent song, more of an early set song i think, but hey....who cares right?
I could have done w/o We Suck Young Blood and i am not sure why they played that. But that was all forgotten when the opening beats of Idioteque came on....it seemed like a shortened version, but I will tell you there is NO better live song that i have ever heard than this one...... when they kick in with "Ice age coming, Ice age coming, throw me in the fire" Thom just looks like he's going to explode. It was then i thought it could get no better......is that Creep i hear!?!?!?! Ok, so its played out and radio and whatever, but THIS song, made me go to the record store and buy Pablo Honey....and it was nothing short of magical.

I love Myxamatosis and Just and No Surprises and Everything in its Right Place did just that, but once the encores came, i was so worried about it being the last song!!!

The FOREVER lights at the end were cool and whoever was doing the screens on the side of the stage was brilliant...all show long.....


I hope they reschedule Toronto, cause i am already hungry for more of the best band of our time...


Jarrod

Review by Sarah:
"Delicious, delicious, delicious."

The first words out of Thom's mouth were an indication of the humorous-sinister-sexy performance that was about to take place.

"Genie let out the bottle. It is now the witching hour."

Perhaps his next words were an even greater portent for exactly what the band had planned for us. They were prepared to bewitch us with eleven tracks from Hail to the Thief, just in case there were any remaining folks who weren't yet sure about the merits of their latest album. It worked. With some very notable exceptions, every song from Hail essentially blew anything else out of the water. Here are a few moments that deserve recognition:

The Gloaming - great opener, played at the gloaming (twilight), great opening line (as mentioned above). The mix really brought out the melody, which is surprisingly beautiful when it's allowed to soar over the bass.

Airbag - the only song that Thom introduced. He said, "This song is called Airbag," and the crowd went wild. At one point after a break in vocals, Thom came back to the microphone and drooled all over the stage when he started singing the next verse. It was blasted on the big screen for all to see. Pretty funny.

Wolf at the Door - Thom was literally rapping the vocals in a hilarious hip-hop style, getting the crowd really amped up.

You and Whose Army - a crowd highlight. Thom sang the song to the audience while making faces at the piano camera. The crowd was laughing hysterically, and he was obviously having a great time.

There There - a personal highlight. This performance was all I needed to convince me that this may in fact be one of Radiohead's greatest songs.

Dollars and Cents - another personal highlight. I was lucky enough to hear it during the soundcheck and was blown away at the time. But when they played it with full lights and Thom's tambourine, it was elevated to a whole new level. Perhaps the best song of the night.

We Suck Young Blood - Thom said, "This one's good for a laugh." People got the clapping right after a couple measures. Ed and Colin were goofing around trying to get people to clap at the right times - very funny. With its painfully slow tempo and dark lyrics, you'd expect this to be a real downer in the set. Surprisingly, the crowd loved it. Thom really hammed up the vocals.

Creep - surprisingly, one of the best moments during the show. "We like this song now." The crowd started singing along, but I don't think anyone was expecting the pure adrenaline shock of Jonny's first "crunch." It was like a bolt of lightning as the lights went to a blinding white at exactly the same time. There was a collective gasp from the crowd - intense. It's worth noting that Thom gave a very focused and emotional performance. If it was a joke, he did a fine job of making it seem sincere.

Encore 1 - PERFECTION. Four completely different and completely perfect songs. I Will was Thom solo - absolutely haunting. The crowd went silent. His voice was in rare form tonight. Myxomatosis was shockingly tight, and Thom really got the crowd going with the vocals and dancing. Just stuck out like a sore thumb. The only song from the Bends, it became so apparent how far the band has come. That said, this song rocked (of course) and the crowd sang along to every word. Thom then grabbed his acoustic and everyone expected Karma Police or maybe Fake Plastic Trees, but he played How to Disappear instead. What a pleasant surprise! Perfect ending to the perfect encore.

Encore 2 - Thom said, "I'm a rock star, so I had to change my shirt. I have loads of shirts back there (paraphrased)." Then he said, "This one is for the folks in the cheap seats," and began No Surprises. As expected the D.C. crowd cheered for "bring down the government" and even more for "they don't speak for us." Beautiful. Everything in its Right Place was electric.

Overall, the band seemed very happy to be here. Thom thanked the crowd several times, "We thank you kindly." I couldn't have asked for a better show. As an "equal-opportunity" Radiohead fan who has been on board since Pablo, I am one of the few who likes Amnesiac and Hail to the Thief as much and sometimes more (gasp) than The Bends. With the Hail material guaranteed, this was an Amnesiac-lover's setlist. I would have loved to hear more from The Bends, but I wouldn't trade Dollars & Cents and You and Whose Army for anything last night. Lastly, for any remaining Hail to the Thief doubters out there. PREPARE YOURSELF.

Review by John:
What a great show. The venue is so nice, first time there at the Blossom music center.. Well anyways.

Radiohead started off with Sit Down Stand up, Great Starter. Crowed Was going nuts. The whole concert the crowed was great.. The Lighting effects were awsome, the way they mixed in with the music, good stuff. Wolf at the door, National Anthem, Go To sleep, and Where i end and you begin, were played so tight, they sounded perfect.. There there was great as well.. Myxamotosis thom was doing some funny stuff while singing.. Johnny was on too, He was almost flawless, just slight mess up on Paranoid Android... The Show was amazing, I drove with 4 friends and my bro all the way from Rochester NY.. Traveling for Radiohead is a must! and worth all the hassel you get from long trips.. LONG LIVE RADIOHEAD!

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