BUFORD:
Submitted on: AUGUST 22, 2008 01:14:37


First Radiohead show I've ever been to but man did it rock my world. Everything sounded supernaturally good except for the 2 retries on "Faust Arp"(I don't blame you Thommy, those lyrics scramble my brain too). And they've been touring with this vertical fiber optic light system that will make your retinas ejaculate. Thom is such a sweetie pie and you can tell he loves his fans. I can't wait till there next tour.

JERRAD:
Submitted on: AUGUST 22, 2008 09:37:37


Where to begin? An amazing night great set list, sound and light show! They played a lot of tunes that I never thought I'd get to see live! All songs where great a few that stuck out- talk show, optimistic, climbing up the walls and reckoner which I think is the greatest song ever written! The band was tight- always amazing to see jonny perform. Thom was great- a bit of trouble on faust arp but everyone loved it. I'm still in the clouds from the show they truly are amazing! I'll remember this show the rest of my life! Can't wait to see them again! Thanks fellas for a night to remember!

WORKMAN:
Submitted on: AUGUST 22, 2008 19:04:20


http://workman.blogspot.com/2008/08/radiohead-white-river-amphitheater.html

It was cold and fairly damp outside when Radiohead took the stage last night at the White River Ampitheater. And perhaps that's what accounts for an opening that felt just a little sluggish. The band opened with "15 Step" and "Reckoner," two songs off their new album "In Rainbows." While the performances were competent, there just wasn't the passion one associates with a Radiohead show.

This problem was remedied by the time they played "All I Need" about five songs into the set. The ice had melted, the band was warmed up, it was going to be a good night.

Radiohead have been playing together for the better part of two decades, and they have developed an acute sense of how their music should be presented live. Over the years, their shows have increasingly used breathtaking state-of-the art lighting to frame their performances. This year the band employed dozens of LED lighting columns suspended from the ceiling. At times they would make the stage look like a cathedral. Sometimes they could make it appear as if the ceiling was melting (that's right, druggies, you wasted your money, it did that for all of us). And other times the lights threatened to induce seizures.

But all the high tech wizardry didn't overwhelm the band or the music. From Wednesday's performance, it is still obvious that Radiohead is the best band performing today.

The band played "In Rainbows" in its entirety, along with a seemingly random smattering from their previous six albums. Radiohead mixes up their set list each night, so you never know what you're going to get ahead of time. While it was a pleasure to finally hear a more obscure tune like "Talk Show Host" live, I would have traded in a song or two from "Hail to the Thief" or "Amnesiac" in order to hear more than one song from "The Bends."

These are minor quibbles when you consider just how stunning "National Anthem," and "Idioteque" were last night. And then there's "No Surprises." It is one of the saddest and most beautiful songs ever recorded and they haven't been performing it much during the last few tours. Last night they did. Gave me chills.

The moment that will most likely make the biggest impact on the Internet was last night's performance of "Faust Arp." The song was intended to be one of the quieter moments of the night, with only Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood on stage playing acoustic guitars. But Yorke messed up the lyrics, and the duo broke out into some song I didn't recognize. Moments later, they tried again, and Yorke still couldn't get the lyrics right. This time he simply said "f--- it" and continued with the song. The crowd, of course, ate it up.

The guy standing next to me said, "wow, Thom's actually human." Good to know.

JARED:
Submitted on: AUGUST 22, 2008 20:11:15


Amazing show. Disappointed that they didn't play house of cards but I feel really lucky that they played No Surprises and Crawling Up The Walls. I don't know if they play them often but they're two of my favorite Radiohead songs.

They should have traded The Gloaming for House of Cards or Karma Police.

It was fun to hear Talk Show Host, totally didn't expect that.

The Liars sucked.

We got stuck on the grass and it rained pretty hard.

Leaving the pavilion was made really difficult with the loading buses. I think we waited 2 hours in line to get out of the place.

It was hilarious when Thom fucked up on Faust Arp and played that Neil Young song. When some bands fuck up like that you let em have it but Thom handled it really well.

Favorite song to see live was very easily You and Whose Army.

I came all the way from Utah to see this concert and I'm so incredibly glad I did.

TOMMY WOO:
Submitted on: AUGUST 22, 2008 20:45:17


Amazing. It almost seems comic to start like that, but I can think of no other single word.
Fine... hypnotic and brain-jamming comes to mind as well.

It was the 5th time I had seen RH perform live, and overall, the best.
Even with Thom forgetting lyrics in Faust Arp, it almost seemed like it should have been that way. It showed that he, too, is human.

The setlist was great... having seen them several times before, I was actually glad to hear some rarities, rather than Android, Karma, and some of the others.
It was visually fantastic, from the long hanging digital blinds, to the scratchy live video showcasing the five of them in letterbox delight on the screen behind them.

Their performance totally raffirmed to me, that they are in fact the most creative, the most prolific and the most inventive band in the world today.

I can't wait to see them again.

BLACKSTARSAILOR:
Submitted on: AUGUST 23, 2008 01:16:33


I just have to say thank you to Radiohead. My girlfriend had 2 different chances to see them and something prevented her both times.

Well...third time and all. Also happened to be the third time I have seen them. And it was by far the best. So thank you, greatest band to exist, for coming through for my girl and me and my friends and all the rest of us in Seattle.

And to those who have not seen this phenomenon of live performance...not seeing Radiohead live is like never trying Pizza. Could you imagine never in your life having even ONE bite of Pizza?

Probably the most horrible thing I've ever thought of...except for never seeing Radiohead.

you rock my life

much love,
andy "the-biggest-radiohead-fan-on-earth-don't-even-try-to-argue-because-i-will-wear-your-stomach-as-a-hat" ruggles

M:
Submitted on: AUGUST 23, 2008 07:15:12


Radiohead has been my favorite band for the last ten years, but the Auburn show was my first time seeing them live. It was absolutely amazing. I know this is going to make me sound like a dorky fan, but I just felt so thankful and happy to be there! Every single song was amazing. When Thom fudged Faust Arp, I started screaming "it's okay!!!" while others screamed their encouragement. In Limbos kicked ass.

I was so happy to hear You and Whose Army, and I WAS at WTO in 1999, so it especially kicked ass. I don't know how we can ever get back to that moment with all the post 9/11 orwellian security bullshit, but if they are ever stupid enough to hold another conference in the Pacific Northwest, I am sure it will be a repeat.

Dollars and Cents is one of my all time favorites and they did such a wonderful job.

One thing that ticked me off was a couple of girls sitting behind me that had bought tickets to 4 different shows. They were bitching about not being close enough, and how it wasn't as good as the night before in Vancouver. Then to top it off, they didn't even know the names of Climbing up the Walls, and Talk Show host. They were like "I don't know what that is, but it sure is cool!" while the rest of us were screaming in pure bliss. People like that don't deserve to see Radiohead 4 times in one month!!

Anyway, the encores kicked ass. Also, before that when they played the Gloaming, the crows start cracking up laughing when Thom went into "it should be raining, it should be raining" and I looked back to see the people on the lawn freaking out. There were so many people on the lawn.

What a wonderful gift to be there. I'm just thankful that I was able to see a live show. Thank you Radiohead! Please come back to Seattle again next time! We love you so much out here, even if we are too hip to dance!! :)

POSTY MCPOSTERTON:
Submitted on: AUGUST 23, 2008 09:41:48


Reposted from:
http://jazzsick.wordpress.com/2008/08/21/radiohead-seattle08/

Well, first off, I wasn’t going to attempt to take my own pictures of the show… I’m an amateur, I was far away, outdoor venue, yadda yadda. For a great review (of the Boston show 8/13) with pictures & video, check out this review.

art by: http://www.shawnyboy.com/

The venue was White River Amphitheatre (outside of Auburn, WA)… bleh. Not far enough away from Seattle to avoid traffic. Two lane road going in and out of the venue. Crappy gravel parking. No food within 6 miles. Crappy sound. I don’t think I’ll ever go back there… unless there is a Pink Floyd reunion, a Faith No More / Mr Bungle reunion tour… or Chroma Key plays there. All of those events are highly unlikely.

The opener (Liars?) got completely missed. I heard them playing their last song as I was walking from my car. Oh well…

Radiohead came on just after 9pm… and played for a long time. They played a good mix of songs, but the sound at this venue (as alluded to above) was pretty much crap for any of the louder songs. The quieter songs sounded really good, but the big rock songs were mush (not the good kind of mush). Now, the lighting… holy crap. Fun / cool / awesome lighting.


(from the Boston show - Courtesy of Cole Kinsler)

Jonny Greenwood has ever so gently been eeking up in my favorites list, and I think he’s officially taken over as my favorite Radiohead (and body). He’s the anti-guitar hero. He plays with artistic conviction and an “I don’t care if you like it or if it looks cool, this is what I’m doing now” demeaner. I can dig it.


Courtesy of Hyphen

I was also lazy in the “write down the setlist” department, as I know Radiohead has their many minions. Here’s what I got over at the atease blog (thanks to Flaaneuse who submitted it & the descriptions in italics):

Radiohead’s Setlist:

* 15 Step
* Reckoner
* Optimistic
* There There
* All I Need (a fav from the night)
* Pyramid Song
* Talk Show Host (holy crap!! 90s era b-side… one of my favs from the night)
* The National Anthem
* The Gloaming
* Videotape
* Lucky (another fav from the night)
* Faust Arp [Thom messes up lyrics several times, starts singing Neil Young's "Tell Me Why"; Jonny tries to follow along but can't quite get the chords. Phil comes out and drops an American dollar bill out in front of Thom and Jonny and runs away laughing. Thom and Jonny crack up completely to loud cheers. Thom tries again, says "Fuck it!", but then continues and finishes the song.]
* Jigsaw Falling Into Place
* Climbing Up The Walls (another fav from the night… I love this melody)
* Dollars and Cents
* Nude
* Bodysnatchers
* Encore 1: How to Disappear Completely
* Arpeggi/Weird Fishes
* Idioteque
* In Limbo [Tambourine accompaniment by Nigel Godrich. Thom, 'This is Nigel', Ed, 'He makes our records.']
* Street Spirit (another fav from the night… I love this melody)
* Encore 2: You And Whose Army? [Thom dedicates to the people who demonstrated against the WTO in Seattle in 1999]
* No Surprises (would have likely been a fav from the night; alas, I was on the road - starting my 4 hour trip home)
* Everything In Its Right Place

The Appropriate Linkage:

* http://www.radiohead.com/deadairspace/
* http://www.myspace.com/radiohead

Good show… it’s a pleasure to see Radiohead just about any time. This time was in the “OK/Good” category, but not their fault. I just think I’m getting too picky to go to the big outdoor venues…

JOEY FICKEN:
Submitted on: AUGUST 23, 2008 11:22:29


This was the third time that I saw Radiohead and easily the best.
Saw them at the White River last time they came through and got stuck with seats...eew...so this time I knew I had to get PIT tickets--first time I saw them was the Gorge and was right up front and had a BLAST!

Last time I saw them they played Back Drifters and the live version blew me away, so I was totally thrilled to hear them play the Gloaming. I love how they change songs from Studio to Stage and both ways kick ass.

I personally loved the flub on Faust/Arp. It is easy to feel disconnected from a band on stage--though Radiohed does an amazing job of keeping a show personal--so when something like this happens it's almost as if they are doing something just for you. You can go home and listen to the song in it's perfect form any time you want, but you can never recreate that kind of LIVE moment again--and--hearing Thom play a little bit of Neal Young's Tell Me Why was awesome too.

GREAT SHOW!!!

DAYLEN:
Submitted on: AUGUST 23, 2008 19:58:35


Am I the only one who thinks the Faust ARP thing was staged? If it was genuine, it's truly ironic... "we thought you had it in you but not..."

BAD TEMPERED ZOMBIE:
Submitted on: AUGUST 24, 2008 07:58:28


reposted from http://badtemperedzombie.blogspot.com/2008/08/great-seattle-odyssey-youll-go-to-hell.html

I know what everybody is wondering - what did Thom wear?

You will no doubt be thrilled to discover that Thom wore the strange red pants that I have previously scoffed at, thereby effectively thumbing his nose at my impeccable fashion sense, but I believe that this earth-shattering event was eclipsed by Jonny's apparent semi-beardedness. My world may never be the same again. I have been within hollering distance of Radiohead, separated only by 20,000 adoring fans.

There were of course other events that took place yesterday, including a really fascinating historical tour of the underground in Seattle's Pioneer Square, but I'm asking for your indulgence to tell you about that another day. Today we gush.

It was with a mixture of giddy anticipation and nervousness that we headed out three hours before concert time. We hadn't driven in a couple of days, hadn't driven through Seattle in rush hour ever and had conflicting directions (from the same site) on getting to the concert venue, located 30 miles south of Seattle. I needn't have worried, the combination of the Spousal Unit's Formula One sensibilities and my compulsive navigating got us through some horrendous I-5 traffic and to the White River Amphitheatre with enough time left to stop at the Pizza Hut in Auburn to wolf down a personal pan. You know you are on a proper road trip when you eat supper in a takeout only restaurant.

It had been raining heavily the entire 1.5 hour trip, but as we waited for our pizza, the rain stopped and a strong rainbow appeared in the sky. We all know by now that Radiohead have the power to control the weather; I took this rainbow as a promise for a sublime night.

We arrived at the massive White River Amphitheatre, parked in prearranged premier parking - a move that would later prove to be an incredibly well-spent $20 - and scooped up a couple of beautifully cryptic and unbelievably soft concert tees (a dirty mind and a blink) which are made from recycled plastic water bottles and organic cotton, and a mitt-full of aluminum water bottles.

The stage looked a long way away from our second last row seats, but we didn't care. I've seen enough photos from the tour to know that there would be some pretty astounding multi-angle footage projected onto the side screens for me to get my fill of closeups of finger work and facial expressions.

Liars opened right on time and did a pleasing job with their experimental and drum-heavy set.

And then, with background music that sounded like maybe Underworld providing a soundtrack to growing tension and anticipation, the sold out venue began to fill. As night came on, ropes of the now famous LED lights were swung into place, imparting upon the stage a decidedly digital atmosphere, befitting a Radiohead concert. The lights proved to be even more impressive and evocative in setting the atmosphere than I could ever have imagined. Throughout the night, these lights would take on a life of their own, punctuating blasts of guitar with brilliant shards of light, mutating colours to transform the mood onstage. They were like a sixth Radiohead member up there, and all the more impressive through the knowledge that this mind-bending light show was wrought with low wattage environmentally sound LEDs.

And then, after an eternity and a couple of false starts of roars from the crowd, the moment happened. Radiohead was standing before us. And without any preliminaries, Thom and Ed and Colin and Phil and Jonny launched into 15 Step. 20,000 people rose as one and cheered madly, and we remained standing the entire two hours, dancing, and clapping and singing and cheering.

For two solid hours, the members of Radiohead played with all their might, thrilling us with songs like:

15 Step (the RO and I did the YAY! part under our breaths and I swear I heard some others join in)
Reckoner
Optimistic
There There (making my life complete)
All I Need
Pyramid Song
Talk Show Host (having listened to this incessantly the last week, this thrilled me greatly)
The National Anthem (which I always think of as Colin's song because of the awesome baseline)
The Gloaming
Videotape
Lucky (which had us all singing "it's going to be a glo-ooo-oorious day")
Faust Arp (which had the audience roaring when Thom kept forgetting the words and then, to add insult to injury, also flubbed the words to the Neil Young song that he and Jonny started playing in between takes, finally culminating with a well-said "fuck it!")
Jigsaw Falling Into Place
Climbing Up The Walls
Dollars and Cents
Nude
Bodysnatchers

Until this point, the banter had been fairly none existent, with the band concentrating on blasting out song after song. There were a few exceptions, a "thanks for having us" and a "hi", which drew an enthusiastic hi! back from the crowd, the self-directed fuck it at the ill-fated attempt at Faust Arp, and a moment that made many a heart melt, Thom responding to a declaration from the audience with an "I love you too, darling".

This all changed with the encores. Thom began to take time between songs to address the audience, introducing Nigel Godrich ("this is Nigel. He makes our records.") who then proceeded to play tambourine (very capably too) on In Limbo. Yes, they played In Limbo.

The first encore was noteworthy for me, in that it finally provided the moment I had been longing for all night. The dancing. After some pretty enticing head bobbing and weaving all evening, with some provocative arm movements on a couple of occasions, Thom finally broke loose and laid down some pretty sweet funky moves on Idioteque, as I had prayed he would. Not even Thom can resist the siren's lure of that song. It was utterly glorious and now I can die happy.

First encore:
How to Disappear Completely
Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
Idioteque (my moment of heaven)
In Limbo (featuring Nigel Godrich on tambourine)
Street Spirit (so incredible to hear Thom's soaring vocals on this)

During the second encore, the rain which had been flirting and threatening for the past half hour, finally began in earnest. enough so that, despite the cover over our heads, we were starting to feel the rain blowing in from the back. At this point, Thom asked for the lights to be put on the people on the lawn - the uncovered area at the very back. As the spotlights lit up the lawn area, we could see that it was packed with people standing in the driving rain with no intention of going anywhere. They deserved the applause they received.

Notably though, the second encore started with a dedication from Thom to what he referred to as his favourite thing about Seattle - the people who had demonstrated against the World Trade Organization in Seattle in 1999. Calling the WTO a criminal organization, Thom elicited a huge response from the crowd, as he stood in front of the Tibetan flag-draped equipment that was prominently displayed at the front of the stage. One of the beautiful things about a band like Radiohead is that not only are they the saviours of modern rock, but they approach life with the same dedication and perfectionism that they approach their music. They expect nothing less than the best and the most honourable from themselves and from the rest of the world.

Radiohead's performance of You and Whose Amy? which kicked off the second encore was made all the more biting and filled with cynical pathos by the single grainy closeup of the camera on Thom's eye for the duration of the song, pulling back at the opportune time to reveal a most splendid waggling of the eyebrows. Instant classic, that.

Second Encore:
You And Whose Army? (dedicated to those who protested against the WTO in Seattle)
No Surprises
Everything In Its Right Place

With the music of Everything In Its Right Place still crackling and vibrating, and the light show dissolving into a cryptic but vaguely familiar pattern, Phil and Ed and Colin and Jonny and Thom left the stage for the final time, leaving us clapping with arms upstretched in the rain. I called out my feeble "I miss you already" to my heroes, the most important band in the world, and we shuffled out into the pelting rain.

epilogue - We arrived back in Seattle around 1:00 am, having splurged on premier parking which allowed our lot to exit the venue ahead of the others. A woman who spotted me in my Radiohead shirt downtown today told me that it took her 2 hours to leave the parking lot and they arrived home after 3:00.

STEVE:
Submitted on: AUGUST 24, 2008 12:13:39


I loved this show, it was fantastic. I was on vacation to see a buddy in Salem, OR, and we cruised around the West Coast for two weeks, with this concert being the crowning achievement. It was great!!! Second time both of us have seen them, having seen them in Red Rocks just after Amnesiac. I have to admit I was a bit of a bad fan recently and wasn't as knowledgeable of "In Rainbows" as I should have been ahead of time, but this concert gave me the song "All I Need," which, as other reviewers have said, was the one of the big turning points of the show and AMAZING. Their renditions of "Optimistic," and "Pyramid Song," "Talk Show Host," and "The National Anthem" (back-to-back-to-back!) were sooo good, their extreme fuck-ups during "Faust Arp" were hilarious and good-natured (come on, we all knew Thom was human...painfully human!!!). Both encores were awesome, with a jaw-dropping "You and Whose Army" dedicated to the WTO protests in Seattle from 1999 (as everyone has already said...but this has to go on my blog too :-), with a heart-rending "No Surprises" following. At that point I thought things were done, and pulled my buddy out of the crowd, only to be turned around for "Everything in It's Right Place," which everyone must agree is a seminal Radiohead tune. They blew me away; they are two-for-two. For whatever reason, it rains everytime I see Radiohead and I love that.

The parking and getting-out situation sucked, but the venue itself was cool. Like I said I was visiting from Alaska, and it was awesome how great everyone there was to us, especially the cool hippie guys in front of us that "hooked us up" :-). My friend got really messed up and danced his ass off, in a fashion hilarious to all around us but endearing to me (okay, also hilarious to me), and the girls were adorable all-about us. Thanks Seattle! Thanks Radiohead! You all rocked!!!

P.S. Thom and Johnny were amazing. Those guys are incredible.
P.P.S. I am always, always impressed by Phil Selway's drumming. That guy is awesome.

DRKNIFE:
Submitted on: AUGUST 24, 2008 14:49:55


This show was amazing. I think Weird Fishes was my favorite. I made a little page to help people find the bootleg of their shows.

http://inrainbowsremix.com/tour08/

:
Submitted on: AUGUST 25, 2008 12:23:50


My husband and I flew in from Minnesota to catch the show. First Radiohead show ever for both of us. Took the "eco friendly" way to the show (shuttle bus). No problems on the way in but a 2 hour wait in the pouring rain to get a bus out. Made me mad since some buses were leaving partially empty or completely empty. Nice.

As for the show itself, I personally didn't like Liars. Seemed to me like the band didn't want to be there, either. My husband thinks that they had a "way out there" kind of sound that matched well with Radiohead. Eh, whatever. :)

Radiohead put on a good show. They didn't play many of their popular songs. Maybe this is why the whole first 2 rows in front of us sat though the entire concert. I've never seen anyone sit at a concert before (except at the Rush show I was at many years ago and I was asked to sit down!). Wasn't expecting 2 encores - and some people left after the first one. Overall, I'm glad I went.

MASON:
Submitted on: SEPTEMBER 05, 2008 20:22:07


THE MOST PERFECT DAY IVE EVER SEEN...

DEADEYE:
Submitted on: NOVEMBER 13, 2008 22:54:50


Late review, but this was the endpoint of a family road trip from Calgary to Seattle and to Auburn. There is one purpose in our lives and that is to introduce and expose our children to all aspects of society. While my views of arts and culture are not varied, this was my chance to introduce my 12 year old to, first, Radiohead and second, the classic boys tour across the northern US.

We spent 4 days in Seattle in eager anticipation of Radiohead (me more than Josh), we fished (Josh caught a 12 lb chinook), we saw Tony Hawk. Then we saw Radiohead, which is and was a mind blowing experience. For me, I heard almost everything I love about them, missing Karma Police, okay, they can only do so much... I'm 48 and trust me, at my age standing and dancing (I came, I saw, I danced) is probably not what my 12 year needed to see, but it proved to him that when you are passionate about something, put it on your sleeve and wear it with pride.

Unbelievable light show. Amazing band, so tight. I asked Josh, who is a man of few words, what did you think of that? He tells me, best rock and roll show I have ever seen Dad. This is in the rain waiting for the bus to take us back to our car. Too bad he qualified it later with a quiet, but intense, I've only seen 2 rock and roll shows Dad. (Steve Earle, Los Lobos, Neil Young don't count). We'll see how Metallica holds up.

From Seattle to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, the classic boys road trip, 120 mph in a Mustang through parts of Washington and Montana, one speeding ticket, burgers, beers for Dad and not a word to Mom... what else do you want?

FAERLUNA:
Submitted on: MARCH 09, 2009 22:42:49


After a car ride over about 6+ hours long... sitting in line to park within twelve cars away from the gates for about an hour+.... sitting outside in the rain for 4 hours.. within the first 30 people to the gates of the ampitheater.. then sitting again in the rain for quite awhile longer... being soaked and cold the whole show..and the whole way home in a four person car with 5 people.. adam i love you big guy xoxo (keep in mind we never stayed anywhere it was there and back) i'd have to say it was the best night of my life
i didnt get to hear everything my little heart desired but let me say i would do it all over again and 3 times longer to see a show half as good as that.. thom.. you blow my mind
as for the lights.. you blew my mind as well
faust arp...my little heart melted....that was good