RADIOHEAD @ Parc Jean Drapeau

By Ricky D - The Naked Lunch - 08/06/2008

Some are calling it the concert of the summer: Radiohead somehow managed to cram a good 35,000 fans into Park Jean Drapeau Wednesday night (that’s more seats that you can fit in the Bell Center). Even Coldplay, whose latest album brought them to the top of the charts for the very first time, managed to only sell 19,000 tickets the week prior.

Anyone who has ever been to a Radiohead show knows they are in for something great. Perhaps the only complaint one could make was due to the rain that just wouldn’t stop pouring down on the crowd on that very grey and dim day. However,  frontman Thom Yorke took a moment to apologize, saying “We’re sorry about the rain. It follows us around.”

They kicked off the set with “15 Step,” the first song on the new album and followed it up with “There There.” Johnny Greenwood’s guitar sound soared through the crowd with a hypnotic feel while Yorke took center stage throughout.

The first set was slow...maybe too slow with songs like “All I Need” and “Iron Lung.” However, it soon became clear that the band was just teasing its audience as they slowly picked up the pace. Soon after, they ripped into “Nude,” their first top 40 hit since “Creep” back in 1995. However things haven’t changed much for the band's live performance since then. This was my third Radiohead concert and it became obvious to me that the band was still loyal to its fans as I sat and watched what was to become a 25 song setlist.

Coming in at number ten was “Fake Plastic Trees,” off 1995's The Bends. It was at this point that I no longer paid any attention to the rain and cold and reminisced back to my high school days when The Bends became a life changing discovery that opened me up to a whole new world of music.

The shows' visuals  were eye popping. Each member was given his own big screen which made up the backdrop. This, accompanied by the Wednesday night fireworks at Laronde, made for some great eye candy. To top it off, we were treated with not one but two encores. The first set including “Bangers and Mash” and “Karma Police,” while the second set gave us three more songs finally ending with “Everything In It’s Right Place.”

Radiohead's seventh album, In Rainbows, released as a digital download for which customers chose their own price, outsold all of their previous, conventionally released, albums combined. The band continues to push boundaries and take their audience to unexpected places; always changing their sound and experimenting in new ways. Whether you love them or hate them, you have to respect them.

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