Thom Yorke moaned out the lyrics to “Pyramid Song” from
behind a piano, looking like 1984’s
Big Brother as a half dozen video screens dangled over him showing his face
through an orange filter. The take on the tune off 2001’s Amnesiac sounded even better than the studio version and the
performance in Mansfield Mass might have been the best Radiohead has delivered
to the Bay State in almost a decade.
While the addition of Clive Deamer as a second drummer was a
logistical necessity in order to perform the material off their latest album,
2011’s The King Of Limbs, Deamer
added some serious swagger to pre-Limbs
material like “15 Steps”
The lights were perhaps the most impressive Radiohead has
ever played in front of. Using an LED display behind the band, in addition to
hovering video screens projecting footage of the band, they effectively
combined the best parts of the stage schematics they used on their last two
summer tours
The bulk of the set list was the same as it has been on
every other stop of the tour, starting off with “Bloom,” the opening track off Limbs. However, fans got a rare treat
when Yorke played a verse of Neil Young’s “After The Gold Rush,” as a lead-up
into “Everything In It’s Right Place.” Material from their first two albums,
1993’s Pablo Honey and 1995’s The Bends, didn’t make the cut. But
Radiohead performed a handful of newer unreleased tunes that the crowd roared
in approval of. “The Daily Mail” is a mellower piano-based tune that has a
gradual build up and “Supercollider,” arguably the best of the recent batch of
new tunes, sounds like the start of a whole new phase in their musical
evolution.
The sound mix was incredible from every corner of the venue,
although during guitarist Jonny Greenwood’s solo on “Lucky,” his guitar was hard
to hear over the rest of the band.
Radiohead were firing on all cylinders and sound better than
they have in years. If their tour is coming through your town, get tickets.
Now.
