Concert Review: Radiohead @ Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto (8/15/08)

I've said it once and I'll say it again, seeing Radiohead live today is the closest you're going to get to an experience like seeing The Beatles play live in the 60s. Over a decade after their genre-defining, post-modern masterpiece OK Computer, the band is just as important now as they ever were, and debatably the most important band of the last 15 years. With the most recent release of the cryptically beautiful In Rainbows, they are still prepared to both melt your mind and your heart with an onslaught of outstanding new and old material.

After situating myself onto the front of the lawn at the Molson Amphitheatre, I prepared myself for what would surely be one of the better musical experiences of my life. After having already seen Radiohead perform at Bonnaroo 2006 (and what a way to set the bar high that was), I had an idea of what I was in store for. The Brooklyn-based Grizzly Bear opened the show with an eerie, The Wall-esque sound that was really no match for the set on deck. Despite getting absolutely drenched with a torrential downpour for over an hour, as if deviously planned all along by Yorke himself, the clouds parted and a pair of rainbows appeared over the Toronto skyline just before Radiohead went on.

And so, at about 8:45pm the lights dimmed and the crowd was mercilessly thrown into the gripping and fragmented opening measures of In Rainbows opener "15 Step". Although I should have expected no less, their magnificent sound was equally matched by a stunning lighting arrangement completely encompassing the quintet. It was probably the most beautiful array of light and color I've seen since seeing the Northern Lights wisped over my head three years ago outside of Montreal after a Beastie Boys concert.

Anyways, the roughly two hour set was filled mostly with material from their latest LP, including all 10 songs from the album in varied order. This just goes to show that the band is one of the few still-touring classic acts that doesn't need to rely almost entirely on past hits to keep their performance afloat (e.g. The Police, The Who, etc.). Of course, there was a solid mix of older treats that were more than welcome. Classics like "Airbag", "Planet Telex", and "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" enabled Yorke and Greenwood to show that they really are still the blood, sweat, and tears of the band.

If you can't tell by now, Radiohead clearly met all of my monumental expectations and more on this beautiful Friday night in Toronto. While they still have the ability to achieve rock-God status (as they are universally acknowledged of having achieved in the late-90s), there does seem to be a noticeable shift in their recent affect on the listener. To me, Radiohead is becoming less a tangible rock band and more of a musical entity, especially emphasized by the material from In Rainbows. Rather than playing my typical role as the foot-stomping, head-banging rock show attendee, I found myself more often simply standing motionless, completely and utterly absorbed in the visual and audio culmination being delivered to me. They seem to have slowly departed from their past rock demeanor into one more delivering sheer music majesty. Seeing Radiohead live does not just give you more of an appreciation for the band, it gives you more of an appreciation for the beauty of life itself.


Radiohead - Planet Telex