Photo by Amanda DePerro
Thom Yorke
For a band that with no new recent major release to promote aside from the 2016 critically acclaimed album, Moon Shaped Pool, Radiohead traveled to Columbus for the first time to put on a career spanning show.
The amount of time and effort that went into recreating these songs on stage is something to truly marvel at, as the band was able to capture much of the magic created in the studio for a live audience.
The band is in the midst of a 16-date U.S. tour after most members hinted at 2018 being a year to focus on solo projects.
It is no secret by now that Radiohead, which has played together for more than 30 years, is essential music royalty and one of those rare acts to catch on the road. While some may have started losing faith in the band after releasing King of Limbs in 2012, a heavily debated album amongst die hard fans, the group took the Schottenstein Center stage in stride last night.
Photo by Amanda DePerro
Jonny Greenwood
Standing in the Schottenstein Center waiting for the group to take the stage, I reminisced back to my first encounters with Radiohead. I found In Rainbows and Kid A amongst my uncle’s CD collection as a young teen and remember being blown away but, at the same time, completely terrified at the depth and creativity this group brings throughout its sound. Hey, some of their stuff is pretty bleak.
Tonight was the night I was finally going to see this genius unfold in person.
As the lights dimmed, Radiohead takes the stage, quietly, with no grand spectacle of an entrance. Lead singer Thom Yorke, front and center, led the band in the eerie Moon Shaped Pool ballad “Day Dreaming,” in which he questions dreamers and their connection to reality.
“Dreamers, they never learn, beyond the point of no return,” Yorke belts out to a nearly sold-out Schottenstein Center.
As the song picks up, the stage lights kick on and hit mirrored disco balls, sending dancing streams of lights through the crowd, an aesthetic that stuck around for the entire set.
After a few cuts from Radiohead’s latest release, Yorke grabbed a tambourine and danced around stage while the band kicked in with the highly energetic “15 Step.”
Photo by Amanda DePerro
Shye Ben Tzur of Junun
It’s interesting to not only hear but to also see the transformative nature of this band and its fan base throughout the years. There are newcomers, extremely familiar with the band’s current work, and others, who came for the nostalgic factor after growing up with the band when they were more of a true rock outfit during The Bends and OK Computer.
This evening surely satisfied anyone even remotely familiar with the band. Songs like “You and Whose Army,” “Kid A” and “Reckoner” received much applause as the night unfolded.
With Yorke behind the piano, illuminated by blue light, the band went into the piano driven “Pyramid Song,” (with Jonny Greenwood playing guitar with a bow). “Everything in its Right Place,” was welcomed with an eruption of cheers.
Greenwood, who was pulling double duty tonight serving as part of the opening group Junun, stood in front of a giant circuit board, plugging and unplugging cords to create the electronic beats that drive “Idioteque.”
“Exit Music (For A Film)” closed out the band’s first set, with Yorke draped in an acoustic guitar, as the band exited the stage before being cheered on for another two encores.
Photo by Amanda DePerro
Thom Yorke
The band was illuminated on a giant egg-shaped screen as close ups of the band appeared throughout the night, along with number of visuals including a pulsating eyeball, QR code-like graphics and a frenzy of lasers.
Yorke and the band were men of few words the whole night, most of the time letting the music do the talking aside from a few “thank-yous” in between songs. He told the crowd “Despite everything, one has to remain optimistic,” leading into an encore performance of “Optimistic.”
Keeping up with the depth of material Radiohead has, the band opened up a second encore Yorke danced and shook across the stage singing Hail to the Thief’s “A Wolf at the Door,” a song that had not been performed live since 2012.
A beautiful rendition of “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi,” and arguably one of the most well-known Radiohead songs, “Paranoid Android,” closed out an extremely intimate performance.
Radiohead is one of the few live experiences in which even the quieter moments captivate attention and emotion from the crowd. After playing for 2.5 hours and three encores, the band remained grateful of the Columbus crowd and repaid it with a performance surely satisfying any true Radiohead fan.
Photo by Amanda DePerro
Ed O'Brien
Rocco Falleti is an assistant editor. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.