Review by Thomas: The gig was fantastic. Asian Dub Foundation opened up with some incredible energy and movement, and although the crowd wasn't to capacity at this point, their energy was impressive. When Radiohead came on, and opened with The Gloaming the whole night just kicked off, this is a track that needs to be heard live to appreciate. 2+2=5 was crazy, the whole crowed swayed amazingly and I was moved about 4 metres without really touching the ground, everyone was alive with energy, and during tracks such as Paranoid Android and Just there seemed to be no controlling anyone - with people crowd surfing where I was (10 to 15 metres from the barriers) and some serious bouncing going on.

Thom Yorke was dancing like a maniac, and did indeed sing You and Whose Army to the camera set up on his piano, such that if you were watching the Video Screens it looked like he was singing to the whole audience personally to each of us. At one point he began laughing, and then got up and danced for us as we cheered him on. Dedicated to Tony Blair.

Again "phew, for a minute there, I lost myself" featured strongly, as Thom sang it solo with the crowd to lead us into the final Everything in its right place. Jonny and Ed finished off the gig by playing with sound effects, effect pedals and synthesizers and all walked off with grins and smiles on their faces making me happy to have been there in possibly the best gig of a lifetime.

Thomas
Canterbury

Review by Scott: I'm still pretty worn out from the show, but I'll try to give some highlights. I've been a fan since the "My Iron Lung" EP came out in the States, but this is the first time I've gotten to see them live---the last time I could get tickets was for the Budokan in Tokyo just after September 11, 2001, when my wife and I were to take a vacation in Japan that was abruptly cancelled. So I've been waiting nearly a decade for this chance! ...And it lived up to the wait.

We arrived at about 7:30 pm, found our seats just stage right---thank you W.A.S.T.E.!---and saw the last 25 minutes of Asian Dub Foundation. Their set was quite good, but the sound was poor---too bass-heavy even for a band that has a strong dub and hip-hop underpinning. It drowned out the very good guitar work of Chandrasonic, their guitarist. It appeared that Ed was playing guitar just offstage during "Enemy of My Enemy", as he did on their recent album.

A relatively short break followed and we were treated to an excellent opener of "The Gloaming". I was worried that the poor sound of ADF would also affect Radiohead, and given that Earls Court is something of a barn, it seemed likely---but thankfully the sound was perfect throughout, at least where we were sitting. Afterwards, Thom thanked the crowd---in German! "2+2=5" followed, sounding better last night than on any of the live recordings I've heard of it (especially the rather lackluster performance on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross). "My Iron Lung" was amazing---I had been waiting nearly a decade to see them perform this live! "I Might Be Wrong" was exciting, "Lucky" was beautiful, as was "Fake Plastic Trees"---everyone sang along to these two---and "Climbing Up The Walls" was spectacular and creepy. But the real highlights of the first half of the set were "Kid A", which was transformed from the cold, distant, but beautiful version on Kid A into a beautiful but frighteningly bitter and chilling but yet rockin' live song, and "I Will", which started with Thom and Jonny and ended with Thom solo. Magical. The second half of the set saw a typically intense version of "Paranoid Android" followed by an amazing reading of "Just", which . I've lost track of the other songs played...I was pretty overwhelmed. The set ended with "Idioteque" and "There There", which was terrific live---totally tribal and exciting.

The first encore started with Thom saying, "Last week the nation's capitol was hijacked..." and railed against Bush's visit to London. This was met with roars of approval from the crowd and set the stage for "You and Whose Army?", during which Thom mugged for the camera so much that he broke into laughter midway through---silly man! "National Anthem" seemed like a natural next step, and it was, and then a brilliant version of "Wolf at the Door". But the big surprise of the night (no, they didn't play "Lift" or "Big Boots" or "Big Ideas"---we weren't so lucky) was the beautiful and unexpected version of "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" that closed the first encore. Wow.

The second encore began with "We Suck Young Blood", with instructions to clap properly, with Ed and Colin leading the crowd, including telling us when NOT to clap! A rousing sing-along of "Karma Police" followed, with Thom doing the "phew, for a minute there I lost myself" part a capella with the crowd at the end. Then "Everything in Its Right Place", with the word "FOREVER" flashing behind them at the end...and it was all over, the world seemed to be a great place, and I had finally seen Radiohead live for myself after 10 years. And it was fantastic.

Scott (California by way of Groningen!)

Review by Tortoise-Boy: I have seen Radiohead perform only once before, in the Astoria London in 1997. The band I saw last night were a different group of musicians altogether - they were better. Much better.
I wouldn't have believed that were possible had you told me six years ago, but last night Radiohead proved that they are one of the most formidable, accomplished and proffessional live acts in the world today. Earl's Court was stunned by the show they put on.

The opening song, The Gloaming, was a revelation. Following on nicely from Asian Dub Foundation's atmosphere of protest, the song set the magical tone for the evening and had the audience captivated from the outset.

The following set was as varied as usual, with quite a few Bends songs played (Fake Plastic Trees, Just, My Iron Lung and Street Spirit) - much to the crowd's delight. These, plus OK Computer regulars Paranoid Android, Lucky and Karma Police, provided the obligatory singalong quotient for the evening but the real treat were the newer selections.

Kid A, a song I was eager to hear, was utterly fantastic - much meatier and dancier than the album track, with a transcendent and darkly humourous vocal from Thom and brilliant band improv at the end. You and Who's Army, dedicated to last week's 'highjacking of the capitol' by president Bush, was hammed-up for the cameras. Idioteque and I Might Be Wrong got the crowd jumping maniacally and The National Anthem had a topical flavour when Jonny tuned into a radio station talking about the British economy, which seemed somehow apt.

The highlights, for me, were the tracks from Hail To The Thief - of which they played all but three; Backdrifts, Punchup and Scatterbrain. Sit Down Stand Up was intense, We Suck Young Blood fun (handclaps!), Myxomatosis evil, There there gorgeous, Go To Sleep had possibly the best singalong of the evening and Where I End and You Begin was quite other-worldly. Sail To The Moon was astonishingly intimate, with Jonny giving a particularly impassioned and delicately funky performance.

One of the highlights of the evening for everyone, it seemed, was Thom's solo performance of I Will, which was absolutely breathtaking. Words cannot describe what this man can do with his voice in a large space full of people. I wondered whether the arena setting might feel strange for this band, but Radiohead's ability to communicate was not remotely diminished - everyone there felt the magic of the evening.

Overall the band showed how accomplished they are at entertaning people, at writing and performing music, at putting on a show and at creating a sense of occasion with the subtlest of means and a most impressive box of tricks. A man I overheard on the way out said, "I think it's changed my life forever". I should imagine a lot of people would have agreed with him.

So good I could go and watch it all again tonight.
In fact, I think I just might! ;)


Tortoise-Boy

Review by Pasa: Radiohead continue to astonish me. Just a few years ago they refused to play anywhere but there own tents so not to cramp fans with advertising, they spoke out about, in particular, about places like Earls Court being full of logo’s but the irony of Radiohead that has always attracted me is that they are more than happy to bombard you with the Mystique of the Googly empire and sell T-shirts too.

First thing I noticed about this gig is that Black curtains covered the Advertising around the venue – so its not all talk. This is the fourth time seeing Radiohead and being in Earls Court with the Appalling acoustics didn’t at first enthuse me – however like many the swarms of moving crowds at the front enabled me to be positioned not far from Thom by the end of Iron Lung which seemed to eradicate the lasting Echo you receive near the back Earls Court.

I must admit the energy in the front was great and Thom played to the crowd like he probably never used and I think this is why he is happier playing this sort of venue (which was by the way packed to the brim – not half full as it was when I saw the disappointing Coldplay).

The newer songs punched a pack or two as with most of their material did the recordings justice in that it’s the never the same song twice when performed live. Being the fourth time seeing Radiohead I have shared some varied crowds and this was by far the most energetic and touched so far, everyone seemed to be into the feeling of it and have never heard such loud applause or cheers for them.

Thom’s slightly scrawny but meaningful presence certainly enthrals the crowd and I fully appreciate his ability to let the music move him which ultimately send the signal “these sounds are moving me and I am enjoying being here”

Looking at the set list I am surprised that they played 24 songs but still could not get all of the classics in there with so many albums under the belt featuring such varied material. If they never made another songs again they could still be touring for a very long time as I and probably many others would love to see such songs as Spinning Plates performed live.

So refreshing to be apart of a crowd who hasn’t come to see the “Lead singer” or the “cute drummer” but to see the whole band and be a part of their music – it really is a different experience than any other gig and that is a good thing.

Little Delights…
His Dancing
Jonny’s shy involvement
Ed for helping the crowd
Thom’s eye puppetry during You and Whoose..
Thom singing the American National Anthem quietly into the mic at the start of National Anthem
Colin Grinning away
Special award
Phil Selway for inconspicuous show stealing.

Review by Thomas Jones: I have been a radiohead fan for years and years, but i had never seen them in an "arena" before, infact, id never been to a venue like earls court in my life. I was really looking forward to last night, thinking i had standing tickets, but when i finally got to earls court, having driven all the way from the midlands, my mate told me he had got seating. I wasnt too dissapointed, but when we got to our seats, we were so far from the stage i couldnt see a single facial expression. Having seen Radiohead from the barrier at glastonbury and manchester's appollo, i realised this was going to be a different experience.

It was surreal, i felt like i should be watching Five or something. Just as Fake Plastic Trees started, the blokes infront of me decided to go to the bar for a beer. WHAT IS THAT ALL ABOUT. I couldnt believe it. and as for the people in the seats with the lighters.........

Its NOT a bon Jovi Concert. I fealt like i was in the middle of a group of people who had seen them on jonathan ross and thought they might come and see them. Thank go i got to see Radiohead in a small venue. im sure it was great down in standing though.

Take nothing awayfrom the lads, last night they were superb, too a little time to get into it, but they were great. Obvious highlight was "i Will". Sorry for my rant.

Just glad i have standing tickets for saturday.........

Review by Darren: All the other reviews for tonight’s gig seem pretty one sided, glowing with praise for the band and the venue and the audience. So I thought I’d offer up my own opinion on the night just to even the balance. First off, and I’ll get straight to the point: Radiohead were amazing. Musically they sounded dynamic, electric, and alive. The music sounded layered, textured whilst Thom, who’s not the biggest guy in the world made his presence felt in a soulless venue with his dancing, sneering and of course, that gift of a voice. Also due a mention was the lighting, corners certainly weren’t cut here (although this is a band who don’t need any fancy stage set or dancers to set the stage alight) with quite astonish attacks of reds and blues shooting forth from the stage and lighting up Earls Court.

So what wasn’t good? Well this is the fourth time I’ve seen Radiohead live and as far as personal atmosphere goes, this gig rates at the bottom. Considering I got my two tickets from WASTE on the hour they went on sale, you’d have thought I would have been allocated decent seats (standing was already sold out APPARENTLY) but no, I was stuck up in the gods, meaning that Thom and co were just a pin prick on the stage. So thanks a lot WASTE.

The block I was in was half empty (strange for a gig that sold out on the same day) and had the atmosphere of a morgue. I wanted to jump up and down when Idioteque came on. I wanted to sing my heart out during Street Spirit and Fake Plastic Trees. Boogie along to I Might Be Wrong. Rock out during that stonking guitar solo that takes us into the last part of There There. You get my point. Instead I’m surrounded by an audience who are sat down very politely, clapping between songs, not singing, not getting caught up in the great music, just not doing very much at all, although half of them spent most of the night going out and getting more beer from the bar. Why were they there? I would have thought that you either love Radiohead or you can’t stand them, no one really falls in the middle, so why waste £30 going to see them in concert and spend the night not doing very much. All I wanted to do is jump from where I was 200 meters down to the standing area and join the crowds who were jumping, dancing, singing, shouting and doing exactly I had come there to do.

Review by Siobhan: Brilliant gig and being up the front made it 10 times better. Asian dub foundation opened and I thought they were quite good, I spent most of the time nodding appreciatively and was mildly impressed with their enthusiasm and excess energy. After a brief (or not so brief) intermission Radiohead came on and opened with 'The Gloaming' the whole night was brilliant from their on in. Highlights for me were: 'I will' with Thom's beautiful singing, 'Fake Plastic Trees' because I love that song, ' You and whose army' with Thom pulling faces at the camera on his piano, 'We suck young blood' the clapping and 'Karma Police' with everyone singing along with Thom at the end and the simple fact that when Jonny wasn't sitting down at the piano before the beginning of the song Thom said 'Are you playing? Sit down then.' He was joking, Jonny laughed. Overall it was fantastic. I spent the majority of the night dancing like an idiot, as did Thom, (though he can pull it off) and I thoroughly enjoyed myself, I have also decided that my ECO wristband will stay firmly on my wrist for at least a year, just to show my appreciation. I'm dirty like that.

Siobhan

Review by MoggieMoogle: After finally getting off our delayed train to London and finding Earl's Court, we thought we would be in time so see all of Asian Dub Foundation's set, but as me and my friend walked into the venue to the thunderous vibrations of a bass drum we realised we'd missed some. I sat down and watched in awe - I'd never heard anything from this band before, and they blew me away. What they played was excellent, but as a couple of people have said, their sound set up wasn't great, and as a result the guitarist's excellent work was sometimes drowned out by everything else. But on the whole, they were brilliant.

As Asian Dub Foundation went offstage and the roadies started getting everything ready, I wondered what Radiohead would start the set off with, secretly hoping for The Gloaming. The stadium began filling up, and soon enough it was completely full apart from the back of the pit), and Radiohead walked on stage to huge cheers. Jonny walked over to his laptop and started off the familiar clicking to The Gloaming, sampling Thom saying something about London, and then the bass came in - so heavy that it shook the whole place like a small earthquake. Thom's and Ed's vocals were crystal clear, and it sounded excellent. When the song finished Jonny and Thom got their guitars and 2+2=5 started. It was an amazing version, one of the best I've heard, and really got the audience going. But then the show got even better for me as Ed and Jonny started to sustain G on their guitars and I almost had a heart attack when I realised they were going to play My Iron Lung... I think I nearly fainted (its one of my all time faves!). They played it fabulously, which was incredibly loud. I couldn't believe they were playing a Bends song so early.

Where I End And You Begin was brilliant, Jonny on his Ondes and Ed on his guitar gave a really warm feeling to the song, they worked together perfectly. And then to my amazement Kid A started playing. I love the live rendition of this track, and it was a really nice surprise. Then the lights went out, and when they came back on Thom was standing alone with his guitar. He proceeded to perform a breathtaking performance of I Will, which was even more beautiful than any studio version.... his emotion came through on his guitar playing which gave it a nice crunch. Next they played what was probably the loudest song of the night. First I heard a thunderous distorted bass note, then saw Colin run off - I thought something was wrong with his bass, but then all of a sudden Myxomatosis blasted through the arena, and I realised he had just been taking a run up! The whole place was shaking with Colin's fuzz, and Jonny's keyboards even overtook the volume at times. Thom was singing in his growliest voice, and it sounded fantastic, and perhaps even as scary as Climbing Up The Walls.

After that I was treated again to hear another of my favourites - I Might Be Wrong. Jonny experimented with his guitar part a bit more than usual, and Colin completely rocked. The crowd started to get settled in now, and Thom spoke for the first time since saying "dankeshien" after The Gloaming, saying something like "you are here then!". Sail To The Moon was crystal clear and as sexy as ever, and an amazing version of Lucky followed.

The next song was Paranoid Android, which was even better than usual, with great solos from Jonny and played at the pace of the album... and got a gigantic ovation from the audience.

Go To Sleep, to my pleasant surprise, was sung along to by many. Everyone watched in awe at the end as Jonny went mad with his guitar, sending more shivers down my spine. I think the big screens must have been linked to his laptop program, as the images of Jonny jerked in time with the guitar interuptions, which I thought was really cool.

Sit Down Stand Up was next. A few fans saw this as a chance to take toilet/bar breaks... but despite my bursting guts I hung around to listen - I love the build up in this song. And I was not disappointed - it kept building and building until the climax at the end when it suddenly stopped. Brilliant. Thom was then handed his guitar, and the chords to Just burst out to delightful screams from the audience. It was an excellent version, and I was especially impressed with Thom's guitar playing. He didn't seem to play anything wrong the whole night. Masterful versions of Idioteque, Fake Plastic trees and There There followed, FPT accompanied by some rather funny audience participation. After There There, the band walked off stage, so I took my chance and legged it to the toilets. Several other blokes had the same idea, and there was a flood of people running in and out as quick as possible. Running back to my seat, I was just in time to see the band return back to the stage. Thom had a rant about Bush invading the country and about Tony Blair... and I thought maybe Follow Me Around was to come, but the piano was wheeled out and a great version of You And Whose Army was played, along with Thom's hilarious camera faces which could make the grumpiest person laugh.

Superb versions of the National Anthem, Wolf At The Door and Street Spirit completed the first encore. The band didn't make us wait long before coming on again. Thom told the audience that we'd need to clap along to make the song sound good, signalling that they were going to play We Suck Young Blood. A lot of the audience were clapping all over the place, but after realising that Ed was guiding them it soon fell into place. I thought that Everything In It's Right Place would be next and that would be the end, but they surprised me again with a brilliant Karma Police (which got the usual sing along treatment).

Before EIIRP Thom began singing for Jonny to sample, but realised he was in the wrong key, saying something like "it would help if i was in the right key" which got a lot of laughs from the audience. He played a bit of Neil Young (i think), before going into those opening notes. The song sounded as good as usual, although my impatient friend made us leave halfway through so we could catch the tube before the rush :( But despite this, it was an amazing show, and I wouldn't have missed it for the life of me.

Especially impressed with Phil tonight i think i should mention - he was completely solid the whole way through.

Thanks Radiohead for the best night I've had this year.... fantastic stuff.

Review by Jason: This is the 3rd time I've seen Radiohead live, and they get better everytime... they are much more polished and professional. Having said that, it's nice to hear Johnny improvising and getting carried away! At the end of Go To Sleep I though he was going to snap his guitar! It was also funny when the solo in "Just" came in, 'cos he couldn't get back to his effects peddles in time - Thom was standing on his guitar lead!

I won't recall the entire set list, as this has been done previously, but I do have 2 points to make:
- I'm not entirely sure "The Gloaming" should be the opener. I know other people think otherwise, but I think "The National Anthem" (which they used to start with regularly) sets a much better, and upbeat, atmosphere.

- "I will" sounds absolutely incredible live! Thom's voice in astounding.

Also, I have a theory that Thom is really Peter Pan in disguise, as he seems to get younger every time I see him! I can't believe the amount of jumping around he did last night!

I too watched an otherwise excellent show from the seating area. TAKE MY ADVICE: If you have a choice between seating and standing, ALWAYS choose standing! In Earls Court at least, even the closest seats are too far away, and you end up surrounded by people who are continually standing up in front of you and running errands for endless amounts of beer - a very unsettling experience!

If you can still get tickets for tonight (Thursday) DO IT NOW!!! Can't recommend Radiohead enough.

Jason

Review by James: This was the first gig I had ever been to, having ordered the tickets back in the summer; I had enough time to think about the show before hand. A live experience, though, is absolutely different to anything else and my expectations didn't matter once inside the venue. It was going to be fucking excellent, because Radiohead are fucking excellent - Radiohead can't be bad.

The support act - Introducing themselves as 'Westlife', fortunately they weren't said band, but they were 'Asian Dub Foundation'. They were an interesting blend of 'drum and bass' and rock, with a political edge. I'm not a big fan of rap artists, (although having said that, 'Rage Against The Machine' are excellent) artists such as Dizee Rascal and Mike Skinner of 'The Streets' should be shot for being so overwhelmingly shit. But the rapping of ADF was a little less discordant to the ear than the likes of Mike Skinner. ADF were very energetic and bass heavy - an intriguing and intense act overall. Nothing could prepare us for Radiohead though, (not even the half-hour wait.).

Opening with a very captivating rendition of 'The Gloaming', Radiohead were on top-form. During '2+2=5' one bloke from behind me said to his mate "See, he is God!" (Referring to Thom), a bit over the top perhaps, but the whole gig did have an atmosphere of a Second Coming (or, arguably, a first). The song itself, though, was gloriously energetic - the front rows al jumped around pointlessly as I was pushed backwards and forwards. 'My Iron Lung' was next and it provoked a similar reaction from the crowd. 'Where I End and You Begin' was an epic tune. 'Myxomatosis' was bone crunching - I felt it more than I heard it. Lucky was mind-blowing, as I (along with the whole arena) sang along to a beautiful masterpiece. Straight after Lucky came Paranoid Android and it was expectedly intense.

I won't bother listing the set-list out, it'll be somewhere anyway. There were 2 encores as Radiohead played for about 2 hours (8:35-10:35), it was an amazing set, Thom's singing was excellent, everyone knew that this was the best thing to ever happen to them. Whilst writing this I am listening to Xfm's broadcast of Thursday's gig and am very miffed that Creep, No Surprises and Exit Music were played. Nevermind. Thom's singing is worse on the Thursday gig. Still, no moment could replace singing along to Lucky, as everything in your life comes into focus and you know that you'll also perform in massive locations like this, hoping to change someone's life in the same way.

By James Angove.

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