Review by Michael Stipe: "Like thatís not enough we then got to see rhead the next night at the same venue and I tell you they were astonishing and powerful and mindblowing, peter mike and I and my family and peters family and all our friends and the rhead crew friends on the side of stage and then I snuck around to front of house with the house of venus guys and todd the crusher so I could see it like a fan and it was just beautiful. They invited me up to sing 'karma police' and I was really honored because NOBODY gets up with tha radiohead. I did a good job on the chorus and danced around a little. The best part of the show for me, favorites aside, was 'a wolf at the door' which was like watching a caterpillar chrysalis in varispeed and human form right before your eyes. Better than 'mimic' and I really like that movie, especially norman being ripped apart by a giant bug." [Thom Yorke joined Radiohead the night before at R.E.M.'s gig]

Review by Phil:
Brilliant show. I literally lost my voice from singing and screaming so loud trying to match the bands energy on stage. The night was a beautiful one while Sail To The Moon was playing I was staring directly at the moon, half moon but it fit perfectly with the song. They played every song I wanted to hear with the exception of The Pyramid Song..but Karma Police with Michael Stipe definitely made up for that! THEY EVEN PLAYED MYXAMATOSIS! During The Gloaming I believe Thom broke out in his scissor dance, which I coined it as such and the crowd went crazy for thom's moves! Thom even joked with us by making faces in his camera while playing You and Whose Army. I heard a guy scream out 'hey thom can I have your number?!' then I followed by 'can I have your baby?!!' haha then 'Kid A' I hope Thom knew what I meant by that, he damn sure heard it though! Everyone there had on a radiohead t-shirt it seemed, either Hail To The Thief or Amnesiac. I bought an amnesiac t-shirt in spite of all the Hail To The Thief ones haha. radiohead is one of the greatest f***ing band on earth! this show definitely proved it beyond anything else imaginable. Great experience for me and everyone else who went. To steal a fraise from Where I end and You Begin 'I am up in the clouds and I cant come down'

Review by John (the-rat): Well, this was my first Radiohead concert (ever, i only got OKC in march 2003), but it was an amazing show; i had zone tickets and was about one person away from the fence throughout the entire show. Radiohead grabbed the stage, and my attention, and held it for the two hours and some odd minutes. They ripped through their set to finish before the 11:00 curfew (and probably because they had to be in Seattle the next day) so there wasn't much time to chat.

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks were OK, but nothing that you wouldn't normally hear from other rock bands. He did talk a lot though. Hell, if he talked about half as much as he did between songs he could have fit a whole other one in their short 40 minute set. They didn't stir up the crowd too much, but it did help me get used to the level of noise i was about to be exposed to, since i was about 5-8 meters away from these massive speakers.

After 45 minutes of an onslaught of never ending reggae music (with the crowd cheering between songs) Radiohead finally took the stage. I whipped my camera out, and remembering the no camera flash rule, which i thought was actually enforced at the time, took my first picture of the band. Throughout the concert there were flashes going off left right and centre but the 'keepers of the peace' per se didn't give a rats ass and neither did the band. Thom grinned as 2+2=5 started, the crowd went insane, and i got smashed around as the crowd rushed in his general direction. Thankfully i wasn't moved from my superlative spot during the concert.

2+2=5 was a great opener, and it was followed by two more excellent Hail to the Thief cuts, Sit Down Stand Up (surprisingly energetic live) and Where I end and You Begin, one of my favourite tracks off of Hail to the Thief.

Afterwards, Thom introduced Kid A as 'A happy song about heads on sticks'. I wasn't expecting for them to play this song, as it seems to just float by on the album, but this version had a spark that the album version didn't have. Thoms lyrics were discernable and he repeated 'come on kids' like a child begging for a candy bar before the song suddenly stopped. Backdrifts came up next, another one of my favourites off the album. Aside from the seemingly impossible to perform electronic beats, another thing that impressed me was Thom running back and forth across the stage from the mike to the piano and back again. Very amusing. And he kept perfect time with the song too. The outro had a few different beats sounding like radio static, if i remember correctly. A early highlight of an already excellent show.

After Backdrifts, thom said a few words, then Myxomatosis thundered in. The bass loop sounded exactly as in the studio, and thom almost spoke the lyrics, complete with body postures to match like he was just talking to the audience. Great performance, difficult to describe, unfortunately.

Since REM had played the night before, and Radiohead had attended their show, they were as well watching this show. Thom dedicated Lucky to REM and did a little 'im not worthy' bow towards them. I think i'll like Lucky more after hearing this version, i never hated it, but it never really stuck with me. Powerful song. Paranoid Android sprung up next, and it was a definite highlight of the show, as if i needed to say it. Perfectly orchestrated.

Out comes the piano, and up comes sail to the moon. During this song you could hear a pin drop. I'm not kidding. Out of a sold out crowd of 18,000+ people, you could not hear a goddamn thing but the music. Incredible.

The next song, You and Whose Army, was also a real gem that night. During the choruses thom would make faces at the camera while he was playing, drawing large cheers, and would jump up to the mike between them. Excellent performance of an already powerful song. Needless to say, Go To Sleep was Jonny's moment to shine, and he did. I've never seen someone go as insane as he did on the outro to that, too bad it didn't make the studio cut.

An insanely up-tempo I Might Be Wrong exploded next, and a formerly serious, creepy tune is almost instantly transformed into an uplifting rock song almost. I loved this version, and hope to download it again soon.

The Biggest surprise of the night followed, as Thom hauled out the piano again and played - like spinning plates. Everybody in the stadium was utterly transfixed by this song, as was I. I had heard that the live version of Like Spinning Plates was achingly beautiful, but never counted that i would actually hear it. Absolutely Superlative work by the band here, and I'm buying IMBW Live Recordings ASAP. I can't wait to hear the magic again.

The thundering bass of the gloaming literally shook every cell in my body, and as such it's one of my favourites of the night. They sampled Thoms voice saying 'alistar Chochrane' and played it back during the outro as thom just went nuts. The bass was the loudest it was all night, and it resonated. Love this track.

Idioteque followed next, and they all just cut loose. I LOVE this song and the live version did not dissapoint. Excellent work. Afterwards, out comes the xylophone, in comes no surprises. Another unexpected surprise, it was great to hear live.

There There was outstanding, and the drum playing of Ed and Jonny kept me transfixed throughout the entire set. Perfectly in time, never faltering. The live version enhanced the album version, if possible, and made it a true classic for the band.

The band leaves, comes back, Jonny plays with the radio a bit, and on comes National Anthem. I love every part of this song, and it was a real treat to hear it live. I love the bass on this song. Wolf at the door was equally well done, but the real treats were coming next, as Thom introduced Airbag as 'hello boys and girls, its santy claus, christmas has come early, this is Airbag', or something alone those lines, it was classic. Airbag is one of my favourite cuts off of OKC and the live version did not dissapoint. Street Spirit followed and kept the same magical quality that the album version did.

And then they left again.

and we waited to the sound of people chanting their name.

roadies unplugged and took away all of thoms guitars - save one, the acoustic.

tthen they came back on.

Micheal Stipe of REM walked onstage as Thom started Karma Police, the song that got me into them, and my all time favourite Radiohead song.

I will never forget this as long as i live. Micheal Stipe sang the 'this is what you get' and 'for a minute there' parts with Thom. Absolutely magical to hear this live. Words cannot describe how much i wish someone got a bootleg of this once-in-a-lifetime performance. Afterwards, thom and mike hugged and thom rubbed his bald head. Aww..

Mike left, and they finished with Just and EIIRP. Just was ass-kicking, and EIIRP was surprisingly upbeat and fun from the album version. It ended with samples taken all throughout the concert and the band leaving one by one. Thom-Phil-Colin-Jonny-Ed.

And like that it was over. All done.

Radiohead are true musicians and artists. The concert was superlative, and i could only wish i could experience it again. Nice crowd, though a few bad eggs, but they were incredibly fun to talk to during the long arduous wait for radiohead to appear. I loved every microsecond of this performance and left feeling like i had witnessed something very special. It gave me memories i'm going to keep for the rest of my life, and I can't wait for them to come back so we all can experience it again.

John (the-rat), 17, Victoria B.C.

Review by john(or ina flood..), usa:
Excellent show.. lots of hard rocking moments. Like Spinning Plates was a special surprise and very touching, except for a few silly fools who loved to hear their own voice screamin the name of the song. Kid A and Backdrifts were new to me too, and both were very entertaining, esp. Thom with the keyboard/drum machine dancing during Kid A. No exit music, how to disappear, pyramid song, or fake plastic trees.. but the band seemed to be in a mood to fucking rock out. 2+2 was spectacular, I really like Where I end and You Begin -- Thom shreds the fuck out of his guitar on it. Airbag was a welcom surprise for the encore, as of course was Michael Stipe out for Karma Police.. they all seemed to be in high spirits, Wolf At the Door was impressive. I was actually physically, not sexually, just physically, turned on by jonny during Paranoid Android. The National Anthem was so loud.. actually the whole frickin show (bass!!) was so loud. The Gloaming followed by Idioteque was like the greatest postapocolypic rave jamout ive ever seen/heard. Lucky and Street Spirit were moments of calm and beauty - sheer bliss. Another cool moment was during Kid A when a huge flock of geese flew right over the stage -- the band im sure was wondering just what made the crowd cheer loud right there. Just(you do it to yourself) was friggin insane. Great great show, great fun -- very cool crowd, lots of pretty ladies at the UBC!! (best non concert related experience: stalled in traffic at the border for three hours, listening to "music to make love to your old lady by" by dan the automator.. oh yes.)

Review by Ian:
Everything in its right place, indeed......

Radiohead's first live show in Vancouver in just over two years, Saturday's concert once again confirmed the band's standing as the most important band in the world. As expected, Thom Yorke and company delivered a stellar performance that drew heavily on the band's latest album, Hail To The Thief, while at the same time pleasing long-time fans by delving into a few of the older classics. The overall effect was awesome. Playing for over two hours, the band sounded better than ever, with a surprisingly good humored Thom Yorke entertaining the faithful with his trademark spastic movements and - of course - his amazing singing voice. Guitarist Jonny Greenwood was also a sight to behold, as the talented musician effortlessly played everything from a glockenspiel to a laptop computer. Overall, the band sounded very tight. There were only a few bum notes and off-kilter tempos to be heard, and although Jonny's trademark aggressive guitar lines occasionally sacrificed perfection for energy, the guitarist wowed the crowd by producing some truly amazing otherworldly sounds.

The overall atmosphere was amazing, as Thunderbird Stadium once again proved to be the perfect venue for the group. An unbeatable combination of unusually warm weather, a beautiful purple sunset, great stage lighting, and a large crowd (approximately 20,000) combined to create a magical evening. Apart from a bit of pushing and shoving on the stadium floor and a brutally lackluster set from opening act Stephen Malkmus, the vibes were mostly good, and the crowd was very energetic (at least by notoriously laid-back Vancouver standards). At times flocks of Canadian Geese flew directly over the stage, which elicited spontaneous cheers from the audience and bemused looks from the band, who obviously had no idea why the crowd was going crazy.

The band's song selection was solid, and the set was almost perfectly sequenced. The quintet played what could be described as "mini sets," alternating three or four songs from the new album with an equal number of older, more familiar fan favorites. Overall, the audience responded quite well to the new material, especially some of the more energetic sample-laden tunes like the George W. Bush baiting '2+2=5,' and the electronic track 'The Gloaming,' which featured samples of Yorke chanting "Alistair Campbell' while the singer goose-stepped across the stage. Another new track that really stood out was 'There There,' a dark song that greatly improved upon the relatively flat-sounding studio version with its sheer percussive power and mind-blowing dynamics. In one of the concert's highlights, Jonny Greenwood and guitarist Ed Harcourt accompanied drummer Ed Selway on the tom-toms, creating a thunderous, deliciously sinister pagan beat that summoned up disturbing images of the Lord of the Flies, while Yorke mesmerized the audience with his ethereal, wailing voice.

As was previously mentioned, the band set aside time to perform a few of its older classic tunes, including the schizophrenic epic 'Paranoid Android,' the melancholy hit single 'Fade Out,' a menacing interpretation of 'Just,' and an absolutely killer version of the OK Computer era ballad 'Lucky' (Yorke dedicated the song to REM). The group also played some of the stronger cuts from their more recent albums, Amnesiac and Kid A. Among them was the jazz-tinged 'You and Whose Army,' during which an animated Yorke, with his back to the audience, playfully grimaced and glared at the video camera - much to the delight of the crowd. An energetic reading of the icy-sounding trip-hop number 'Idioteque' and a revamped, melodic version of 'Kid A' were also highlights, the latter of which was wryly introduced as a "happy song about heads on sticks."

As for missteps, there were only a few. A piano-based reworking of Amnesiac's experimental soundscape 'Like Spinning Plates' was intriguing but slightly dull; the band appeared to lose a bit of momentum until they got into a few of the faster numbers. In addition, the concert's finale, 'Everything in its Right Place,' proved to be somewhat of an anticlimactic ending, with the band leaving the stage as the samplers played on, the sounds gradually dissipating until the house lights went back on. Although this finale was interesting, the band would have been better off closing the show with a bang rather than a whimper.

But despite these few problems, the concert was a huge success. The band generously played two encores, the first of which included a surprise guest appearance from REM frontman Michael Stipe, who tried and failed to harmonize with Yorke on 'Karma Police.' And even though the shockingly undernourished alternative rock icon sounded awful (and looked even worse), his mere appearance onstage elicited the largest crowd response of the evening. Later on when the audience sang along with Yorke and Stipe during the spine-tingling "for a little while I lost myself" bit, it was just one of those special moments you can't even begin to describe on paper. At the end of the night, one could not help but marvel at Radiohead's greatness. They not only recreated their complex, effects-laden album tracks onstage, but they took things one step further by making them sound even more powerful and emotive than on their studio albums. By changing things up just a little bit, they somehow managed to avoid the common pitfall of merely recreating studio recordings onstage, instead of keeping the music fresh and vibrant by reinterpreting their own songs in order to improve them. As such, the band always keeps the fans - and, by extension, themselves - interested in their music. Unlike so may other contemporary bands, Radiohead is never predictable. You never know exactly what you're going to get at one of their gigs, but one thing's for certain - you will never forget the experience.

Review by Mat of Vancouver Island: "An amazing show, i wouldnt know how to describe how good it was if someone asked me", were the words from my punker/emo girlfriend who accompanied me to this show. Im gonna focus on one moment here from this wonderful show. After the first encore finished, and the crowd screamed for them to once again come out and wow us, we got a little something special, as five radiohead members and Michael Stipe came out for singalong special; Karma Police. As Stipe did his best Ed O'Brien impersonation (and then watching as Ed showed him how it was done), and sang "this is what youll get" with us all, he saw something. Stipe saw a band that had once idolized him, that had taken all the shit they could handle while touring as the supporting act back in '97, a band everyone called miserable and "difficult", and he watched Thom and co. for what they really were, the greatest band on the planet. For they had done the musically impossible. They succeded after the one hit wonder namtag, the OK Computer media craze to play exactly what they wanted, no matter how "difficult" and have their adoring crowd be in love with every minute of it. And as the song ended after "losing themselves", Stipe walked over to Thom, and gave a hug that symbolized everything theyd become. Stipe saw that the band he brought along on tour with him way back when, had become bigger and better than REM ever was, or ever could be. Radiohead is the greatest band of our generation......but we all knew that anyways;)

Review by Jennifer: I was fortunate enough to catch 3 rh shows this time around. I enjoyed the energy of the east troy concert the most. People around me were crying ( joyfully ), and having a beautiful time. I figured Vancouver would be a surprise, which of course it was. ( Vancouver, for me, can always go either way ) By the time I saw them outside of Seattle, I was bored. Sorry guys...guess I'm just spoilt. Stylistically speaking, the shows sounded quite similar, with Thom appearing nervous (?) in B.C. Overall, my friends and I had a great time --with one exception. Something weird went down in B.C. It was my friend's 1st rh show so I was hoping I would be sharing a beautiful experience with him. It ended well enough, but he was assaulted by somebody that really looked like he needed a hug. I was zoning out in my own dimension and failed to see this guy smacking my friend's arm before he began chasing my friend through the crowd. We escaped unscathed, but when I'm having to play my peace/love version of "honky commando" I know things are shaky. Other than that M. Stipe was a real treat, and seeing rem later at the Seattle Arts Festival was a teenage dream come true. When Stipe chimed in on Karma Police , I thought he sounded like Neil Diamond, my friend thought it was more reminiscent of the guy from Crash Test Dummies. I was happy the band was light and playful, although part of my initial attraction to their music was their precision and seamless perfectionism.
Thank you rh for the wild ride. I will not forget the strange and beautiful experiences we have shared.

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