You know those moments when your favourite band plays your favourite song and it’s everything you ever imagined it would be… and more? Tonight was one of those nights where this happened again and again and again. This was the night that Radiohead came and pleased their Sydney fans after an eight year absence. Let it be known that they did not disappoint. But first, we have a support band to talk about…
Though New Zealand based support act Connan Mockasin was a touted as a personal choice by Thom Yorke for their Australian/New Zealand tour, the crowd was sparce for their anticipated performance. The band brought us the sort of stoner-driven droney rock and roll that bands like Tame Impala have re-popularised in Australia in recent years. The difference between an act like Tame and Connan, it seems, is that for Connan it’s more about the overall performance than the individual songs. Having missed the very start of the set, the band, with a particularly great drummer in Seamus Ebbs, brought forth an impressive 20 minutes of music that left plenty tails wagging. I’m curious to see how this translates in record given my earlier comment on the nature of the music, but my early consensus is that this is the sort of band too talented to miss live, and to work this well in an indoor arena, one can only imagine that in the sweaty throngs of a place like the Annandale, it would be something of legend.
Speaking of legends, there are few as respected and revered as the man who next took to the stage, Mr. Thom Yorke and a little band called Radiohead. Kicking things off with The King of Limbs‘ “Lotus Flower”, Thom wasted no time in dancing up a storm – it was clear this was going to be a high energy show. And it was, from start to finish. “Airbag” came next, also making it clear that they wouldn’t skip over the crowd favourites; though it was only one of two OK Computer to make the cut. The other, “Paranoid Android”, closed the main set in spectacular fashion, ahead of three well deserved encores.
Though OK… got little love, it’s follow up, Kid A, was one of the night’s biggest features, with five songs from it, and five songs too off their two latest records – In Rainbows and …Limbs. “Street Spirit (Fade Out)” was the oldest song to appear. The only song off of The Bends to pop out, it was one of several songs to be exclusive to Sydney’s second show, as was my personal favourite “Nude”*, “How To Disappear Completely” and no doubt some more. One new track “Identikit”, also made an appearance, though wasn’t particularly memorable to be fair. Like any fan, I could go on and on about the incredible setlist, I could go on and on about how perfect it sounded, how adept the band is at recreating their undoubtedly difficult to reproduce tracks live and how Thom’s voice is something out of this world. But if you’re still reading this review then I daresay you’re enough of a fan to already know this. For the rest of you, the setlist is below.
Of course there is more than just the songs to talk about; though he’s never the most talkative guy, highlights of Thom’s liberally applied banter included a dedication of “The Daily Mail” to Rupert Murdoch (“even though it’s the wrong paper”), plenty of sweet dance moves, an incredible acoustic moment found in “Give Up The Ghost”, and his closing line of the set which was “we fucked up… shit happens!” after “Idioteque” didn’t quite go to script. Also, I can’t leave this review without talking about the fact that “There There” featured four drummers. Fucking epic! I could barely keep my jaw off the floor for the
In the words of “Separator”, “…if you think this is over then you’re wrong”, it would be impossible to count a band like Radiohead out until they stop breathing. Though it wasn’t the critical success of their predecessors, The King of Limbs has grown on fans and live, has proven to translate remarkably well. And with an overall performance that was nothing short of breathtaking, there is plenty left in this band yet. Here’s hoping they get back here before eight years passes again. I know I’ll be there.
Tonight was the band’s fourth show of their Australia/New Zealand tour, which wraps up with two shows in Melbourne this weekend. They are of course super sold out. But as many were doing tonight, it doesn’t hurt to go to the gig and ask around for a spare ticket… You never know! And as their tours continually prove, you never know what you’ll hear, either. You might just get lucky and hear your favourite track… and then that other favourite track of yours… and that other favourite track…
SETLIST
Lotus Flower
Airbag
Bloom
The Daily Mail
Myxomatosis
Bodysnatchers
The Gloaming
Separator
How to Disappear Completely
Nude
Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
Reckoner
There There
The National Anthem
Feral
Paranoid Android
Encore:
Give Up the Ghost
Kid A
Identikit
I Might Be Wrong
Street Spirit (Fade Out)
Encore 2:
15 Step
Everything in Its Right Place
(True Love Waits intro)
Encore 3:
Idioteque
Full Photo Gallery by Pete Dovgan can be found HERE
*Editors Note: It has come to our attention that Nude WAS played on the first night in Sydney. We misread a setlist from the night before in writing this review. But you get the point! It was amazing!
