Live Review: Erik Husman Reviews Radiohead at the 1st Bank Center, March 13, 2012

Live Review: Erik Husman Reviews Radiohead at the 1st Bank Center, March 13, 2012

March 15, 2012 Off By Billy Thieme

Local troubadour Erik Husman – of Erik Husman and the Golden Rule – was lucky enough this week to be able to stop in and take in Radiohead’s sold out Tuesday night show at 1st Bank Center, and was also gracious enough to write DenverThread a review of what will, no doubt, stand as one of the year’s standout shows. Enjoy!

– DenverThread

 

Radiohead, in an image from March 3, 2012

Radiohead (seen here in an image from March 3, 2012, in Florida) played a memorable, long set at 1st Bank Center Tuesday night (Photo: Creative Commons License)

 

Red Rocks Amphitheater, August 26, 2003, was the last time I saw Radiohead live, blissfully unaware that it would be nearly eight and a half years before I would see the visionary band return to Colorado (I realize a biased voice in music journalism is certainly frowned upon, but this band really has got it all together).

Fast forward to Tuesday night at  the 1st Bank Center.  Waiting in line, the typical banter helped me to realize that I wasn’t the only one who hadn’t seen the band live for a while, and was ready to see what they had to offer.  And that was a lot of “The King of Limbs.”  The band played every song on TKOL, and added a couple new tunes as well.

“Bloom” kicked off a 23-song marathon evening which featured two other TKOL contemporaries, “Staircase” and “The Amazing Sounds of Orgy,” as well as a load of other crowd favorites.   There was no doubt the band was galvanized, and perfectly aware of what was happening on stage.  The TKOL songs had a Charles Mingus feel – ripping apart each song with all you’ve got – even if it consists of two or three chords.

So Simple but so much going on.

As the band rifled through their catalog, the fans only became hungrier. The music was seamless, and ended with two encores that Thom said would “rip shit up!”

Ed O’Brien still looks like a giant on stage, Thom wiggles and seizes  like he’s sampled a variety of pills, Colin Greenwood still hides backstage, Johnny Greenwood is always doing some sort of mad scientist shit, and now they have two bald guys keeping the beat.  Radiohead hasn’t lost it, not at all. They’re still one of the great live shows, and they set a high benchmark for performance and musicianship in any genre.

It would have been nice to hear “Airbag,”  “Paranoid Android,” “My Iron Lung” or “The Bends.”   “Give Up the Ghost” still puts me to sleep, even when it’s right in front of me.

Great job boys!  Looking forward to your return!

–  Guest Writer Erik Husman

 

SET LIST

1)  Bloom

2)  Little by Little

3) The National Anthem…Hunting Bears?

4)  The Gloaming

5)  Morning Mister Magpie

6)  Staircase

7)  Separator

8)  Codex

9)  Nude

10)  Karma Police

11) The Amazing Sounds of Orgy

12) Bodysnatchers

13) Feral

14)Lotus Flower

15) Reckoner

16)  Street Spirit (Fade Out)

 

ENCORE

17) Weird Fishes/Arpeggi

18) There There

19) Lucky

20) Everything In Its Right Place (True Love Waits teaser/intro

 

ENCORE 2

21) Give Up the Ghost

22) Myxamatosis

23) Idioteque

Threader

  • Billy Thieme

    Aging punk rocker with a deep of all things musical and artistic, enough to remain constantly young and perpetually mystified. Billy has journalistic dreams, but of a decidedly pastoral, Scottish nature.