SLOW MOTION:
Submitted on: AUGUST 01, 2008 22:36:10


this is the third time i have seen radiohead, and i have to say this was the best show i have seen. very good setlist, nice mixture of songs from all the albums. except pablo honey, was hoping to hear blow out but oh well. hope radiohead comes back to chicago soon.

SNAIL:
Submitted on: AUGUST 01, 2008 22:57:36


A great set, I was really happy to hear "Lucky". The fireworks that happened by accident (a bears game next door) at the end of "The Bends" and lasted until "Fake Plastic Trees" added that nice surreal-Radiohead-concert- to the night. Lovely.

COW:
Submitted on: AUGUST 02, 2008 00:42:46


the first encore paranoid android,dollars and cents was pretty mind blowing. it was a beautiful nite in chicago, which made the experience that much better, the fireworks in the background during everything in its right place were sublime! it was 7 years ago, that i was standing on the same field seeing them outdoors in chicago, don't get me wrong this show was great, but there is something about the show 7 years ago, that made it a little better, bonnaroo '06 might be a close second!

IWASTHERE:
Submitted on: AUGUST 02, 2008 14:21:24


Graet show!!! I camped out at the stage at aroumd noon. Holy F*ck played an amazing set to start out the day.The stage show was amazing, as was the set list. I was to close to the stage to see the fireworks over it, but i could see the reflections of them in the skyscrapers. It made for a very surreal experience. I got sunburn pretty bad, and almost passed out from the heat.
thankfully water was only $2. I'm skipping today because I'm exhausted, back I'm sure NIN will put on a good show on sunday.

ORGAN TRAIL:
Submitted on: AUGUST 02, 2008 17:37:56


Every one tells of the fireworks, but the best part about the fireworks were when the grand finally happened. They were in the middle of fake plastic trees and Thom started singing "She looks like the real thing....." that was the best part of the night!

JAMESON RYLEY:
Submitted on: AUGUST 02, 2008 21:09:01


Radiohead certainly played an amazing show but as Thom said the band was suffering a bit from jet leg so I think they will play with even more energy as the North American tour moves forward.

I really was hoping for a song or two that deviated from their setlists from this year but it did not happen. I thought they might throw in one of these for the festival: Like Spinning Plates, Talk Show Host, Street Spirit (Fade Out) (my favorite song ever), Morning Bell, Pyramid Song, etc. but I guess it was not meant to be.

I guess Optimistic was pretty cool but they only played Dollars and Cents from Amnesiac? WTF? I love that song but I sort of felt ripped off.

Thom also mentioned how quiet the 75,000 fans were after House of Cards; it was so quiet after that one that you could hear the traffic on the Lake Shore. I wish they would have played it earlier in the show because it sucked the life out of the crowd near the end.

Finally, at times I was so emotional during the show that I wanted to start kissing the people around me and I even broke down and cried tears of joy during Airbag and No Surprises. OK Computer has really helped me through some tough times in life so I guess I could not help but reminisce on the times I heard those songs while going through melancholic periods. Very powerful stuff!

By the way, I was standing in the front to the right. It was truly amazing having Johnny "God" Greenwood right in front of me. Truly amazing musician and I recommend other try to stand in front of him as well. :)

JORDAN:
Submitted on: AUGUST 03, 2008 00:13:52


I've been a Radiohead fan since The Bends came out and this was the first time I was able to attend one of their shows. And it was everything I had expected and then some. I can't wait to catch their next tour!

ERIC:
Submitted on: AUGUST 03, 2008 19:31:41


mindblowing how minimal the noise was from the crowd, a mixture of the lights, perfect music, and everybody in a silent hypnotic state in the middle of chicago made my first time seeing radiohead perfect

SARAH:
Submitted on: AUGUST 04, 2008 00:44:48


Until I saw the picture a moment ago, I didn't realize that there was a photo montage behind the lights. That did not detract from the show. The only thing that did were the annoying drunken teenagers that could not shut up ("Oh my god! You're from New York! I'm from New York. Wait, where are you from? New York? Wow! I'm from New York!"). I felt old (at thirty) and my fiance urged me to start using the word 'whippersnapper'. I suppose that serves me right. We finally found ourselves at the front, stage right, with other diehard fans like ourselves... and the rest of the show was BEAUTIFUL. I was there seven years before (and in 1993, when my dad was awesome enough to chaperone me at the Metro), and this is a step above even 2001. Steve saw them at Glasto in '94, and was lamenting a bit that they did not cover enough of their earlier range. However, I appreciate that they have evolved as a band - why would you always want to go see (or play) The Greatest Hits of Radiohead Show? I was gobsmacked by what I saw - it was transcendant and mellow, and yet I was rocking out with all my soul. I could not get over the fact that Johnny Greenwood can shake a maraca, play the keyboard, and the guitar AT THE SAME TIME. We were just blown away with the professionalism and skill displayed by the band, time and time again. We were also fascinated by the ASL interpreters, who were randomly more illuminated than the band from where we were standing. Those ladies deserve awards for being really into the music, as well as fairly good with the translations. I absolutely loved the entire show, and it's making me revisit some of the newer material (Hail to the Thief, mostly, I've already fallen in love with everything else). The rest of the festival was very much in the same suit; very, very well put together. The reverberations of Radiohead could be heard throughout, from Mr. Lidell's cover of 'Just' (which my fiance had been dying to hear) to a fantastic cover of 'Reckoner' by Gnarls Barkley. The only thing that I would give the 2001 show over this one was the fact that the 2001 crowd were all die hard Radiohead fans... and as such, knew all of the songs, knew when to shut up, and knew when to rock out. That, and it was about 3 degrees cooler that day. However, the band itself I believe has expanded (as a band should) since then, and how. I can only hope the next time I see them is in Millennium Park!

B-STACK:
Submitted on: AUGUST 04, 2008 12:53:43


Another great show from Radiohead. I had only seen them once before at '06 Bonnaroo and wasn't disappointed either time. I had thought they played better and with more energy at Bonnaroo, but the stage was unbelievable here. The flashes of tye-dyed lights during Paranoid Android were unbelievable. The light columns paired with the fireworks were a spectacular sight to see. Great music, unreal show, gotta love these guys.

KASIA:
Submitted on: AUGUST 04, 2008 20:21:24


Best night of my life. I can't put it into words at all.

It was absolutely incredible. Even my friends who don't like Radiohead were crying during Fake Plastic Trees. So Beautiful.

ALONSO:
Submitted on: AUGUST 04, 2008 21:16:50


i went all the way to chicago from mexico, i saved my money for a long time to pay everything...
but damn it was a great show, my first radiohead show and i couldn't been happier with the play list, hearing the bends live was probably one of the last songs i would expect them to play...

lovely evening, great show and a beautiful city....
couldn't get any better

JGWA:
Submitted on: AUGUST 05, 2008 11:30:06


the concert was great, but the sound sucked and the people running lolla need to get their act together. I also was irritated by the slow set list and the fact that they played the entire in rainbows cd. i mean JESUS.

LNT:
Submitted on: AUGUST 05, 2008 13:10:51


WOW, I can't even describe how incredible the performance was. My favorite song of all times is, "Fake Plastic Trees." I completely lost it and started crying when the song began. Not to mention, the fireworks going off in the background intensified the whole experience even more. I can't wait to see Radiohead perform again! Amazing show! Thanks!

GONZO84:
Submitted on: AUGUST 05, 2008 13:48:43


I have to say besides yes the stupid drunks hollering every damn note in my ear...it was the best Radiohead show one could hope for and for the first night at Lollapalooza...hands down! I was suprised and so happy they went above and beyond with there light show. And hey at least they didn't play one bad song, they were all great and at least Creep wasn't in the mix. The whole weekend is still hard to shake off, it was such a great time!!!

STEFFI:
Submitted on: AUGUST 06, 2008 02:58:03


The decision to camp out all day on the railing at the AT&T stage was one I don't regret. I never could have imagined being that close to the band. Although the crowd was huge, somehow being almost underneath the lights (and being with a handful of others on my section of the railing who were really into it) made it feel more intimate. I was very happily surprised by Dollars & Cents as well as Airbag - the latter being the song I missed most about only going to the 6.19.06 show. Despite some of the reviews I've been hearing, I think that it was a stellar show. Well played guys!

ANDREW:
Submitted on: AUGUST 06, 2008 08:29:50


Awesome setlist. wanted to hear 2+2 the bends and most of all fake plastic so i was extremely happy. Little dissapointed the crowd was not louder. Thom even noticed everyone was a bit quiet. rage the next night made radiohead look a bit lame but i still had an extremely amazing time. lolla was ridiculous

BTW:
Submitted on: AUGUST 06, 2008 11:36:04


That was the best show I've ever seen and I've been to hundreds of shows as a music head and journalist. We moved in after Gogol Bordello and held a spot in the front right for the next 5+ hours. It was pretty rough in that heat and we put up with alot of idiots but in the end it was completely worth it. Everything about that performance just proved that Radiohead is levels above everyone else in terms of quality. Just start to finish perfection from the sound to the song selection to the visual presentation. And I think the band was really responding to and enjoying the situation. I think Thom was joking about the "quiet" after House of Cards and even if he wasn't at that point people were just exhausted with the heat and emotions and probably didn't have much else to give. Everyone that was near us were diehard fans who were in absolute heaven. That's one experience I'll never forget. Can't wait to see them again on Friday at APW.

JEREMY FARMER:
Submitted on: AUGUST 07, 2008 15:09:03


Here are some photos I got of the show.



flickr.com/photos/farmdog/sets/72157606503309705/

MATT B:
Submitted on: AUGUST 08, 2008 17:49:53


After camping at the AT&T stage from 3pm in one hundred plus degree weather, radiohead was more refreshing than anything the bars of lolla had to offer. Making it that far without heatstroke was a mad feat of rationing water, though the company of other die-hard radiohead fans discussing their favorite songs, albums, and hopeful set lists kept spirits high. Holy Fuck and Gogol Bordello both put on great live shows while we waited. Bloc Party was met with mild enthusasm that was mostly due to the fact that radiohead would take the stage in mere hours. But in the final moments, when the stagehands began moving the Tibetan flag clad vox and fender amps into their respective places, and those ominous white tubes we'd all seen in pictures and videos were draped over the transforming stage, the jubilant crowd became downright giddy. Certainly not willing to lose my spot, I even peed in a water bottle. Fifteen minutes before radiohead was to take the stage, joints and pipes passed freely from fan to fan, like a tribal ritual preparing for a spiritual awakening. The crowd stretched out behind us for at least a quarter mile behind us, and i felt miles away from the bustle of downtown Chicago, though we were a mere stone's throw away. This would surely be an amicable and serene crowd, I assumed.

The last minutes before radiohead appeared, everyone put away their weed and scanned the stage for any sign of the band. Fans frantically pointed at a casual Thom Yorke who was briefly visible while he walked around backstage. Surely he must have felt the crowd of 75,000 people all eager to see him even though his back was turned. We chanted and clapped, to no avail. Finally, with no warning, an electo-glitch beat started playing with not a man on stage. The fluttering, unmistakably radiohead break-beat tantalized us, until at last Thom trotted out, sporting a Madvillain t-shirt, follow by Ed, Jonny, Colin, and Phil, and immediatly the once harmonious throng turned into a running of the bulls. It started behind us, and there was simply nothing we could do but run with full force for fear of being trampled. The once peaceful crowd had gone completely mad. We were like ravenous dogs, biting for the meat they dangled, as hands reached and grabbed for five men who just smiled modestly. Thom picked the microphone and asked "how come I end up where I started?" and the crowd tried to respond, but all that we could muster was thrashing and bucking. The whole horizon shook, and all that I could see were lollapalooza-wristband clad arms, the band, and their cluster of shimmering white tubes. Everything else completely disapeared; the sky melted into the structure holding the lights. Thom danced like a mad man, ed looked dignified as always, colin was so excited that he was jumping at random, phil's head sunk and rose behind his drums, and jonny hunched over his guitar like an old, decrepit Tibetan monk. Fifteen step staggered on, complete with those weird noises at the end. How could this all possibly happening twenty feet in front of me?

As soon as Colin picked up his sleigh bells after 15 step, the crowd shouted "AIRBAG!!!" and right they were. This kind of hipster-song-calling-dickery happened for the rest of the night. Before "All I Need," when someone brought out Thom's piano, people shouted "Pyramid Song!" and Thom stepped up to the mic to say something, lost his composure and walked away laughing instead. The song started, and Thom smirked at the audience as if to say "no, this one."

The boldly colored collage of shots of the band looked like a documentary about radiohead, professionally shot and edited, instead of the typical enlargement of the stage seen on the megatron at most concerts. Seeing the band on the screen, resembling the one we've all drooled over on our glowing computer screens in a dark room, and seeing the actual members standing there, alive and breathing, was incredibly surreal. Whenever they stopped playing after each song and the lights turned of and there were just five men standing on stage, we were jolted into the realization that radiohead are actually real people, and not just some collective internet fantasy.

The two songs that I liked the least from In Rainbows, Jigsaw and House of Cards, ended up being unexpected favorites of the night. Jigsaw had raging energy live, and house of cards was five minutes of ethereal beauty. My other favorites of the night were There There, Nude, The Gloaming(way better live), Optimistic, Paranoid Android, and Dollars and Cents.

There are way to many amazing radiohead songs for me to have been completely satisfied with the set list. I would have really like to hear pyramid song, or anything else from amnesiac really, but regardless, everything they did play was astounding.

PAUL:
Submitted on: AUGUST 11, 2008 16:48:11


For the record, its a modeselektor shirt not a madvillain shirt.

Oh, and Radiohead was sublime.

:
Submitted on: AUGUST 14, 2008 14:00:34


Radiohead welcome to Chi-town home of the
wet-ass! You bring the funk and Chicago will provide the swamp ass humidity everytime.
Amazing to see RH in downtown Chicago, the energy was great. But it was difficult to hear and Thom's voice was not as crisp as St. Louis.
Still a priviledge to see such talent live.

IWASTHERE:
Submitted on: AUGUST 25, 2008 04:31:56


MATT B:
Submitted on: AUGUST 08, 2008 17:49:53


After camping at the AT&T stage from 3pm in one hundred plus degree weather, radiohead was more refreshing than anything the bars of lolla had to offer. Making it that far without heatstroke was a mad feat of rationing water, though the company of other die-hard radiohead fans discussing their favorite songs, albums, and hopeful set lists kept spirits high. Holy Fuck and Gogol Bordello both put on great live shows while we waited.

-How would u know holy fuck put on a great show, according to your review you got to the stage at 3, holy fuck played at 12:15. And i don't remember ne1 putting the weed away right before radiohead. and i should know cuz iwasthere

MATT B:
Submitted on: SEPTEMBER 16, 2008 22:14:11


Your right, HF did play earlier. I watched them and left AT&T stage to check out some other bands, and then came back and stayed from 3:30 on.

And, you know, that crowd was pretty big. It's very likely that we were in completely different parts of it and saw completely different things.

DUSTIN W.:
Submitted on: NOVEMBER 17, 2008 05:55:57


It was definitely amazing. I was particularly fond of the helicopter that just so happened to fly low to the stage and flash a light on the audience IMMEDIATELY before Paranoid Android started, and the light show blew my mind.

CODY BALDWIN:
Submitted on: DECEMBER 18, 2008 02:09:55


I wrote a short review of the festival and the Radiohead part specifically, here's an excerpt:

I saw Radiohead on August 1st, 2008. The stage was stunning, beautifully lit by LED’s and a huge chandelier of icicle-like fiber optics (which use less energy than normal lights). It was a fantastic set, which I feel was chosen to be quite timely with the state of the country and world at the moment. It was a poignant experience. “We’ve got a bit of a hangover, we could be dreaming all this,” Thom thought out loud. Someone from the crowd shouts, “yeah man!” Thom laughs to himself repeating the exclamation and walks back towards the drums, “No, I guess it’s not.”

more at:
http://codybaldwin.wordpress.com/2008/08/05/bitter-or-you-can-try-the-best-you-can/