Review by Jonathan:
So the evening starts with bumper to bumper traffic all the way from highway 18 and I-5 to the venue, just to kind of provide some foreshadowing. I mean, who places a venue 20 miles from any rods with more than 2 lanes? Well, this was obviously the last thing on the minds of the designers of this poor excuse for a major venue. I've never dealt with worse parking conditions at any venue I've ever been to. In Washington or anywhere else. So I miss probably the first two three songs and finally make it to my seat just after Lucky. Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE Radiohead, but I'm not some blind rat with undying loyalty either. The light show was, for the most part, a recycled version of their last tour (which was much more amazing I might add). And really, I wasn't impressed with anything they played form HTTT other than punch up at a wedding, which unfortunately isn't saying a whole hell of a lot. The highlights were pretty much everything off of OK Computer, and Fake Plastic Trees. You and Whose army was a definite highlight though. Aside from it being my favorite song off of Amnesiac, it was pretty entertaining as Thom played with the camera and the audience (practically the only audience involvement on their part). The downside? I'm sorry, but HTTT just isn't that impressive. I don't think they've written anything truly remarkable since KID A with the exception of a track or two here and there on Amnesiac and HTTT respectively. The songs sound like they got halfway through them and just gave up. Like, "Hey, we're Radiohead! so what if we can't finish the song, we'll just make a massive wall of feedback, through in blips and beeps and call it good." If this isn't apparent listening to the cd, it will run you over like a train live. In short, I just didn't feel the show was worth my $50. I'm not made of cash, so if I shell out $50 I want at least a memorable experience, and this was not it. For those of you who may think the light show was impressive, it's a shame you missed out on Nine Inch Nails Fragility Tour. It's available on DVD, and if you want to see what an involved light show looks like I suggest you check it out. Radiohead was nice enough to play two encores though, which also kind of seems counterproductive. It just seems that if EVERYONE knows they're coming back out, why don't they just keep playing? I mean the just walk off the stage and come right back? What gives? Just play your freakin songs. So, the show ends around 10:30pm (don't most venues let you play until 11?) and it's off to the wasteland called a parking lot where I spent 3 hours reading the license plate in front of me, which sadly enough was more entertaining than the show itself.

Review by Thomas:
Walking down the handicap-accessible ramp into the pit was glorious. I couldn't believe I had done it. I paced around and turned in circles, coming to grips with my surroundings, and I saw my seat way way way up there.

I quickly snuggled in as far up as I could get to the crowd and literally 2 minutes later Where Bluebirds Fly began to pour out the speakers. The black cloth backdrop fell off and as a genius techno beat put the audience into a trance, they marched on stage a mere 24 feet from me. I could nnot believe how tall Ed was and how short Thom was. Thom was wearing baggy clothes that made him look like a little teenager and he squinted like a rat. He's just so little and goofy. Anyway, Jonny and Ed, the 59th and 60th greates rock guitarists of all time (according to Rolling Stone) each sat in front of their own drum kit, and right after Thom said a brief, "Hello" to the audience, 3 drummers started an overwhelming beat that swelled into the openner, There There. Without even a pause a drum loop began and 2+2=5 cranked out over the crowd. Thom screamed, "Maybe not!" and everything was dark. Quietely Ed did the eary strumming above the bolt of the guitar, which sounds like tinkling raindrops on a post-apocalyptic field, then Lucky began. The lighting was amazing and the guitars were so emotional. This was one of the best songs of the set.

Ack! Then one of my personal favourites. Next was Myxomatosis, which I had never been a huge fan of, but it was jaw-dropping live. During the first 3 songs Thom had a guitar and thus stood at the mic bobbing and singing. But he didn't play for Myxomatosis, and on the first tone of the fuzzy asymmetric sequence Thom just exploded into a dance all over the stage. It was so awesome to see him with so much energy and having fun with his song. He did hand guestures along the lyrics, felt himself up and coyly smiled with the line, "She ate me up for breakfast," and then made faces at the audience for the line about being tongue tied.

I was surprised that they didn't take themselves seriously. 5 foot Thom was dancing and acting like loony and the others were getting as into the music as possible.

The next big milestone was Fake Plastic Trees. Ah. It was so powerful with the explosion of lighting and the rumbling sound through me. Jonny was insane on guitar. Later came an insane duo. You And Whose Army was hilarious. Thom was at the piano singing, so the audience couldn't see his face, thus a camera was mounted next to him so we could see him on the big screens. While he was singing Thom made love to the camera coming up insanely close, making goofy faces, just doing dumb stuff that seemed so funny coz firstly it was Thom Yorke and secondly he was singing You And Whose Army. After that song rocked out, we were given a lighting feast with Dollars & Cents. That song too was unbelievable live. It's definitely the weirdest one they have and coupled with the lights it was intense to listen to. Gah. Idioteque...National Anthem...Sit Down Stand Up....they were all divine live. They were made to be live.

Okay, in the first encore, there were 2 amazing things. One was the solo at then end of Go To Sleep. I had no idea the sounds that Jonny made could even be accomplished. He just went off like none other and the other guys rolled their eyes and lauhged in joy while Jonny stole the show with an amazing solo. It's only problem was that it was so long and incredible that it sounded kinda out of place.

Then came How To Disappear Completely which was beautiful. It ended with a string loop that Jonny sampled while playing and that kept on repeat while the boys quietely walked off. After a wait, they came back on for the last encore. It started with No Surprises that evoked cheers from the crowd when the line, "Bring down the government, they don't...they don't speak for us" was sung. And then an acoustic version with solely Thom of Follow Me Around, a rare live only song, which I had never heard before but was magical. I wish I had heard the that song earlier so I could've appreciated it more. I spent most of the time trying to figure out what it was.

Then Everything In Its Right Place began. I had checked gigographies and knew that the show would end with EIIRP and so I buckled down and savored the last few minutes of the show. The song was sampled and edited live, and one by one they left. First Thom, then Phil, then Colin, then Jonny, and after fiddling with the samples alone, Ed stood up and walked away. We were left with an aura of processed music coming out and faded lights with the word "FOREVER" streaming across the back. The music grew louder, FOREVER scrolled by one last time in brilliant radiance and everything stopped. The lights turned on, background music quietely played, and the concert was over.

I'm still coming to grips with the fact that I saw Radiohead incredibly up close. This show will definitely be with me...forever

Review by john(or ina flood..), usa:
an amazing nite, everyone should really be so lucky to see Radiohead once, not to mention a second time in 24 hours. this show is hard to find words for, as the entire performance by the band was a genuine highlight. a few idiots starting to shout at the beginning of Exit Music was distracting, but they seemed to shut up before long -- that song is so powerful. dollars and cents was spectacular.. lucky was again a standout performance. Fake Plastic Trees was a surprise and so wonderful, really love Jonny's work on that one. sit down, stand up really rocked, nice place for it in the set tonite... hitting our joint amidst roaming security was a highlight during the raindrops rhythm! backdrifts was splendid, seeing phil dance in his fine threads is unforgettable, and thom's piano bit was so good, then him running so urgent back straight to the mic was somehow so coool. the national anthem was insanely good, as always -- thom's beat box scat at the beginning, and his wicked guitar picking at the end.. and somehow jonny' picking up an amazing radio signal at the very end, some lawyerly disclaimer about rights and reproductions. having already been graced with exit music and fake plastic trees, how to disappear completely was surprising, and very moving. and on to the encores.. best memories of the night: jonny' come jumping out literally doing a scissors kick leap towards his gear (before no surprises, or wsyb, or FMA ??) .. never had i seen him that animated, thought it was colin or maybe thom at first. Jonny looking right in my "general vicinity" during no surprises, a beautiful rendition of that. Thom holding a wine glass up and wishing us "cheers", before sitting down to a thoroughly sick we suck young blood -- the audience clapping finally getting it right just as the freak out section kicked in. And then, amidst all the joy of the wonderful set, Thom begins to strum out Follow Me Around.. i had not even begun to wish for this song, its so rarely played, and so beautiful to me. such a great tune, words cannot do it justice. on the first line of the chorus tears welled up in my eyes, i had already noted before the show started a bit of a sad heart knowing my fun Radiohead travels (st. louis, vancouver, seattle) was nearing a completion, and hearing him sing "you follow me aro-ouund" was quite touching.. i was only hoping the whole band would join in, but how much can you ask for, really. from my perspective, the crowd was very into the entire set, and as respectful as it gets these days. A most wonderful night, indeed. THANK YOU radiohead!!!!!!!!!!

Review by Futurshine:
Brilliant show! Played at the new White River Amphitheater near Seattle the sound was crystalline. They played most of their new stuff off of Hail to the Thief but songs that jumped out at me the most were from OK Computer. With them playing Exit, Paranoid Android, Lucky and No Surprises. Thom was quite amusing when he sung mockingly You and Whose Army. One special note Thom was main attraction but Jonny Greenwood is the backbone of the band. The way he tears up a guitar but yet infuses such sonic atmosphere is astonishing.

Review by Scott (AKA: SCOTT!!!):
My friend and I left quite early for the gig, not knowing that the parking lot didn't even open up until 4pm, but it worked out OK because we got lost several times trying to find the place. We didn't get there until shortly before 4pm, so we didn't wait long in our car. We then stood in line at the gate to get into the venue. We waited there for about an hour. After they let us into the venue, we went and got in line to the pit. We waited there for maybe 45 minutes, before being let down to the front. When the gates to the pit opened up, there was a mad dash to the front. I collided with a few people, but it was all in good fun and everyone was happy because were now in the front to see Radiohead!! I was 1 person back from the rail, and between Thom and Jonny. Now that were in the front, we waited an hour and a half before Steve Malkmus and the Jicks take the stage. The Jicks were OK, had some good songs, Steve Malkmus is a pretty good frontman. I want to see them on their own sometime, when I am not wanting them to just finish up so we can get to Radiohead.

Finally, after waiting in several lines for several hours, Radiohead took the stage. As the techies were setting up the equipment, some of the people around me and myself were trying to figure out what song they would start out with. Shortly before Radiohead took the stage, the techies brought out Ed and Jonny's drums, and we all knew the opener. The "Where the bluebirds fly" intro music came on, and the band took the stage. It was so surreal, everyone was screaming, and people started to push a lot. As we predicted, "There There" was the opener. Great song, and a great opener. The crowd started to jump around at the end of "There There," but they really got into it during the second song, "2+2+5." The first older song they played was "Lucky," which was good, but never been one of my favorite Radiohead tunes. "Mxyomatosis" was great live, and it was especially fun to watch Thom dance around the stage. He moves so well with the music. "Where I end and you begin" is one of my favorite songs from Hail To The Thief, and is a great live song. For some reason, I didn't think "Backdrifts" would be that great live, but it really is. Once again, Thom danced around the stage, and even Phil got down with his badself in the back. It was great! They then played the one and only song from The Bends, "Fake Plastic Trees." Always a great live song, and definently a crowd pleaser.

Its kind of funny, when I can tell what song the band will play when certain members pick up certain guitars or other intsruments. One of the most obvious moments, was when Ed and Colin picked up their little handheld intrsuments. "Paranoid Android," probably the only song that will for sure be played at every Radiohead for the rest of time. Jonny's intense riff in the middle is always a highlight for me. After Paranoid Android, we all needed to calm down a bit. "Sail to the moon" did the job quite well. "You and whose army" then followed, and excellent Amnesiac choice. Thom fade faces at the little camera on the piano, edging the audience on during the "...you can take us on" part. Thom is an excellent showman. "Dollars and cents" then followed, which is fun live. "Talk Show Host" is great live, so much better than the already great studio version. Especially the intense ending. "Idioteque" saw the shows one and only crowd surfer, which is much better than the constant flow of them at the Gorge show 2 years ago. "Scatterbrain" once again cooled the audience down beautifully, and let us charge our energy for the end of the show. One of my personal favorite live songs followed. The radio kicked it, and Thoms started singing "Oh say can you see..." and Colins bass takes over. The ending was great, when Jonny tuned in the Car Toys commercial, I thought it was hilarious. Another one of my live favorites "Exit music" came next. Colin's bass dominated two songs in a row, which I thought was cool, he deserves more attention then he gets. The abdn then ended the first set with "Sit down stand up," which I think is better on the album but still great fun live.

Thom wasn't as talkative as he usually is, at least I didn't think so. He went on a little rant about Seattle and the WTO, which everyone does. I like what he had to say, but living in Seattle and especially being a student at the University of Washington, I'm kind of sick of hearing about it.

In the first encore, they played 3 straight songs from Hail To The Thief. "We suck young blood" started it off, which is great live, and fun to clap to. The people in the back never got the clapping right. "A punch up at a wedding" was the second encore, which was good live but nothing too special. It was also dedicated to REM. I was hoping Michael Stipe would take the stage, but no luck. "Go to sleep" was the final HTTT song of the night. The studio version of the song does nothing for me, but when Jonny's guitart solo at the end, its out of this world live. I still don't believe a human can do that on a guitar. The final song of the first encore was "How to disapear," my favorite tune from Kid A. I was really hoping they would play this song at the show, and they did. I was happy. Great closer to any set...up the show was not over.

Of course there would be a second encore, no Radiohead gig is complete without one. AS they took the stage, Jonny did this karate-kick jump onto the stage. Colin busted out laughing, and so did I. I've never seen Jonny so animated in my entire life, it looked like he was having such a good time. With the setup, we knew the first song was going to be "No surprises," and to no surprise, they played "No surprises." After "No surprises," the techies started to wheel out the piano for "Everything in its right place," and as they did Thom was jamming on an acoustic guitar. I knew he did that from time to time, so I didn't think much of it at first, until he started playing "Follow Me Around." A few people here and there started yelling, but a lot of times I knew Thom would just play the begining, then stop. But then he started singing, and I flipped out! "FOLLOW ME AROUND!" It turned out to be just Thom on an acoustic guitar, and it was beautiful. I yelled to Jonny to step in with his guitar at the end, but he didn't hear me...The song wasn't planned. Thom kinda stepped in the way of the piano, and Ed and Jonny looked at each other and smiled. The song was incredible, and got the ovation it deserved, though I'm not sure how many people actually knew what it was. The set ended with the now common "Everything in its right place." Excellent ending to and excellent show.

Though the fun is not over yet. Not for me at least. After the gig, people were hanging around for setlists. Some people were bickering over Jonny's setlist, and I was hoping for a rebound, when out of nowhere, the techie balls up Thom's setlist and throws it up. Being tall, I jumped up and grabbed it. I SCORED THOM'S SETLIST!!!! "Follow Me Around" was not on it, and there was an option for "A wolf at the door" instead of "We suck young blood." There were also a few typos on the setlist, like "Punch at a wedding," and "Sail to moon," but I don't care, I now have a priceless piece of Radiohead!

Review by Matt:
Being, like many people who submit reviews for shows, a fan of ridiculous rock and roll journalism, I would really like to assemble a well thought out, articulate review for what was no doubt one of the greatest shows I've had the privilege seen. However, my fervor might get the best of me, and perhaps I'll sound a bit more like a gushing school girl than anything else.

I arrived a bit early at the brand new White River amphitheater a couple hours early, after being scolded for a good 15 minutes by a bitter parking lot attendant for not parking "parallel enough." The venue itself is fine, all be it owned by clear channel, which I'm sure dismayed the group. It is a covered amphitheater, with an angled reserved seating area, which thanks to an extremely large "VIP" area stands some distance from the stage. Most people were in the festival seating area, which is perched comfortably above the reserved seating area.

After waiting a bit, and being asked if I had mushrooms repeatedly, Steven Malkmus and the Jicks took the stage. They gave a great performance. A good-natured but unenthusiastic half-crowd was clearly thinking, "Hey, this isn't Radiohead! They're taking up more time that could be taken up by Radiohead!"

The sun set, and the rest of the attendants filtered in. The beginning of some familiar sounding sample looping over the PA caused a rush for seating. Radiohead took the stage with the percussive intro to There There, which inspired a mixture of cheering enthusiasm and silent awe in the crowd.

As the crowd settled in, Thom's voice warmed up. As seems has come to be characteristic of Thom, he seemed quite enthusiastic, not the reserved and mildly hostile Yorke we've grown to love. Though he shied away from banter, he did mention in passing the WTO riots and the fact that they were all going home after this date. Yorke seems to have taken up a new dancing style, which at once brings to mind a underdeveloped 6th grader in a playground fight, an intense seizure, and a belligerent mental patient. There was a camera mounted on this piano for "You and whose army?" to which Thom mugged funny faces during the performance.

Here's were I sound like a little girl. The set itself was brilliant. There were times when you might forget that you in a stadium filled with people. I found myself hypnotized by the band. While most my friends made comments to one another, I stood absolutely still and stared straight at the stage. At the show's end, I wasn't tired, I wasn't even satisfied, almost resentful that the set did not last a couple more hours. It felt very personal, even though you understand that this is just another tour stop for the band. The lighting setup turned out beautifully. A purely accidental but brilliant moment occurred at the end of the National Anthem, when the younger Greenwood's transistor radio ended the song with the legal jargon punctuating a Car Toy's ad: "offer only available for a limited time, check with local retailers, offers not available in some states, etc." The set-list was focused mainly on newer material, but still offered old favorites: "Lucky", "Fake Plastic Trees", "Exit Music (for a film)", and they couldn't get away with not playing "Paranoid Android." A couple b-sides/rarities were performed: "Talk Show Host," which was my favorite performance in the set, and "Follow me Around," - a tune that has never been recorded in a studio. A couple strange absences: "Karma Police", perhaps their biggest single, wasn't played, and neither was "I Might be Wrong."

They played two encores. The second of which included, "Follow Me Around." I felt that perhaps a mistake was placing "We Suck Young Blood" and "Punch Up at a Wedding" next to one another in the first encore. I thought they were perhaps too similar to be played back to back, but it was likely a technical matter of bringing in the piano. They opened up their second encore with "No Surprises," which was glorious. They ended, predictably on "Everything is its Right Place." They let the Kaos Pad sample of Thom's voice loop after they left the stage. It looped for a while, while the crowd begged in the dark for another encore. However, a singular groan came over the crowd as the "Go Home" lights went on. I was so pleased with everything, I did not even mind the fact that I didn't make it out of the parking lot for another 2 hours.

Thank you, Radiohead.

Review by Paul:
I'm not usually the type to share my personal opinions with so many people i don't know, but seeing no reviews posted for the Auburn show nudged me into making an exception. I was at the Vancouver show the night before (a magical performace in my home town), but Michael Stipe beat me to posting a review for that one. In Vancouver, i was only a few feet from the stage. We had a perfect view of the whole band and surprisingly a lot of space for a good old fashioned freak out. In Auburn, however, i was way the hell back on the lawn. If I had only one show, i would probably go for the front, but it's cool to see a show from both perspectives. I like being able to see the entire crowd, for one, and the stage becomes a presence in itself from that distance. I don't think I'm alone on this one, but i thought the first two songs (there there & 2+2=5) were a little shakey; especially compared to the previous night. From then on, it possibly became the best concert I've ever seen. Myxomatisis rocked hard, of course, but it's better when you're closer to Thom. The most grandoise performance of Lucky I've seen to date (lights to that one are perfect) Fake Plastic......*wipe a tear* YAWA....beautiful and hilarious. I loved the idea of a first encore chalk full of Thiefy material. We Suck Young Blood was particularly memorable (even if it took a couple of verses for the crowd to get the clapping down. Follow me around...are you kidding me? and of course, Everything in its Right Place is the greatest song of all time.

After Dollars and Cents, Thom made a few remarks concerning police actions at the WTO protests in Seattle and some disparaging remarks about the WTO and IMF in general. For a second I think i heard some booing, but upon the words "When the fuck's it gonna end, eh?", the crowd erupted into cheers. I even heard the call "Thom Yorke for president!" in the opening of Sit Down, Stand Up. Great Crowd, Great Band, Great Show.

As for the venue, i have mixed feelings. Of course there was state of the art sound, and the view of the stage was great. However, the whole place had a very Disnified feel. Everything was expensive, there were lit up advertisements that i could see throughout the show, and they weren't letting people smoke even cigarettes on the lawn under the open sky (we puffed a couple of rockets during the show, but for fear of reprisal) Overall, i feel that despite the long drive, The Gorge is still the best outdoor amphitheatre I could imagine. The sound is just as good, the geography of the place is stunning, it's way more relaxed, and the campgrounds provide the perfect vibe for any concert and afterparty. I hope Thom and the boys feel the same way. Paul

Review by JJ Zabkar:
I thought Radiohead was in excellent form--not a misplaced note or even a tech glitch. However, having seen them 2 years ago at Washington's "other" venue, the infamous Gorge, I must say this concert was dramatically inferior. It was like listening to them through a radio after you've heard their depth through your mate's top-of-the-line speakers. I wanted to feel Colin on 'National Anthem', but it was simply distant. 'FMA' was a treat; you could hear all the hard-core fans getting giddy when Thom came out with that big acoustic and tuned it to dropped-D. A very mellow experience overall. The energetic 'Paranoid Android' seemed like it was prepackaged. 'Idiotheque' was a highlight, even if the ending didn't have the dynamic volume cut that separates it from the album tracks. I was lucky enough to be in the pavilion; I seriously pity the folks in the grass. Even the encores seemed forced or obliged. Nevertheless, I would still sell a kidney to see these guys live. Just don't see them at White River.

Review by Earl:
My son Earl, his friend Hillary, and myself caught the boys' show at the new White River Ampitheatre in Auburn WA, USA. My son and I have seen them three times now and this show, by far, was the best yet.

It was quite clear that the whole group was enjoying the experience, from Ed hanging out before their set started, just watching the performance of Steven Malmus and the Jicks, to the actual show we all came to see.

In terms of their show, Radiohead were the most energetic and fluid of any time I have seen them, either live or taped. I won't bore the readers with any individual song critique, but suffice to say that these fellows are some of the best musical performers around today.

So few bands are so self-assured as to be out 'on the edge' with regard to social consciousness. Thom leads the way for the young ones (and we older folks) to wake the F%&k up and get involved. Listen to his message. It certainly has merit.

In closing, one of the aspects of Radiohead's work is that it provides a bond for persons such as myself and their children. You can scarcely imagine how much their music has meant in the lives of my son and myself.

Thanks so much.

P.S. Jonny, you rocked us again!

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