Radiohead just this month embarked on what is apparently their first international tour in seven years [1], conducting a couple of shows in Spain before heading elsewhere in Europe, for about a dozen more scheduled dates. And I have to say, the TIME OF YEAR seems right, this time, as I could never abide those summer Radiohead tours, with Radiohead being emphatically, discernedly, gloomy day music, in my opinion, like Sun Kil Moon and Bon Iver.
Well, hold up… Barcelona, we have a problem. “Lucky” placed fourth within the set list of their opening show? “No Surprises” and “Videotape” placed at the exact middle of the show? Do they have cots we can sleep on in this venue? I wouldn’t be able to handle all this doldrums if I was stoned on some dispensary sh**.
To be honest, I’ve ever really made it a priority to see Radiohead live. They’re studio masters, in my opinion. Imagine being around a bunch of other people when you’re listening to Radiohead, the bloodlusting you’d feel if they weren’t enjoying “Where I End or You Begin”; or if they requested “House of Cards” [2].
A successful Radiohead show has to be tense and eerie, sure, but you’ve gotta have energy! And they could groove! Right? I feel like I’m coaching my little league son, here. Anyway, here’s what I consider an improvement on the early set lists I’ve seen, in my amateur opinion, especially in the departments of energetic consistency and structure.
The encore for the dream setlist would begin at “Decks Dark.”
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[1] It’s been widely reported on several journals that the band just “returned after seven years,” despite that a look at setlist.fm will reveal that they’ve been playing gigs in England pretty much this whole year.
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[2] In light of this most unfortunate Thom Yorke sex-ploit, I’ve just noticed that The King of Limbs, the following album, seems completely saturated with the non-anthropological, with rampant references to animals, “bloom”-ing, and, of course, “giv(ing) up the ghost.”
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