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Rating: As we approach Milan in the late afternoon, the sky becomes increasingly gray; we look at each other in silence until Andrea exclaims with a futuristic flair: "the best thing would be to see a Radiohead concert under a downpour, shirtless, singing at the top of our lungs"; indeed he is right, a Radiohead concert does not suit a carefree summer setting, but rather a melancholy day wrapped in grayness and rain: after all, this is the climate that gave birth to Radiohead's masterpieces, especially "Kid A". The first timid raindrops fall on our k-ways as we enter the evocative Civic Arena: the stage surrounded by neoclassical architecture and in the background an apocalyptic sky that threatens to kill us: yes, it is the quintessential Radiohead concert. We don't even have time to bite into a disgusting sandwich and gulp down a watered-down beer before a deluge falls violently on us, while a boring woman on stage leaves me completely indifferent. But a grace is granted to us and two minutes before our arrival, the rain stops, and the umbrellas go down.
Thom, Johnny, Ed, Colin, and Phil take the stage, my heart leaps to my throat, it's really them in the flesh, the best band on earth is on stage before my eyes: this is an event that you experience a few times in life (and for me, it's the second). Charismatic, gloomy, and more loaded than ever they start with "15 Step" and continue with "Bodysnatchers", pure energy that ignites the pogo before moving on to the dreamy atmosphere of "All I Need". And here comes the first exciting dive into the past with a surprising "Lucky"; we don't have time to recover when Thom decides to show us how intense his performance of "Nude" is, flawlessly performing one of the most beautiful songs they have ever conceived. We still have goosebumps, and Radiohead decides to finish us off with "Pyramid Song", followed by "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi", one of the most appreciated songs from the latest album. The more electronic moment arrives with two gems from "Hail To The Thief", "The Gloaming" and the beautiful "Myxomatosis". Thom gets angry with an idiot in the front rows who disturbs him while performing "Faust Arp", he stops the song, tells him to f* off, and resumes better than before. "Videotape" is a moment of reflection and introspection followed by one of the high points of the concert, namely a breathtaking "Optimistic" that sends us to another dimension. A pleasant digression into less recent past with the splendid "My Iron Lung" precedes the delicate and intense "Reckoner", before making room for a song "that talks about a lemon" as Thom announces: the wonderful and ingenious "Everything In The Right Place" starts, a Radiohead masterpiece that sends the audience into raptures. The peak of the concert is approaching: the lights dim, a religious and surreal silence is created in the arena, Thom picks up the acoustic and in perfect solitude begins to sing "Exit Music" and the spell is cast over the sixteen thousand in the arena...
The first part concludes with "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" much appreciated by the audience, while the first encore opens with the Radiohead anthem "Karma Police". The tension rises quickly, and the band performs "There There" spectacularly; then comes the moment of Thom on drums to power through "Bangers & Mash". But after the most lively rock, the mood returns to poignant and blood-curdling with the extraordinary "Climb Up The Walls", another highlight of the concert, and with "Street Spirit" a beautiful gem from the past that marks the first encore. The last and final encore is entrusted to two modern classics, wonderful witnesses of what has been Radiohead's golden age: Thom sits at the piano with Johnny behind him, and they perform "You And Whose Army?", while the singer has fun making faces at a camera that films them in close-up, creating a moment of hilarity that lightens for a few moments the intense performance. And here it is, the new flagship of a band that has never stopped and has always evolved: "Idioteque" is perhaps the new emblem of Radiohead, the perfect song where the band's dark and pessimistic flair merges with its most experimental and visionary side: the audience is in ovation, and the concert can conclude.
We stay a few more minutes cheering for a third encore, maybe "Paranoid Android" or "How To Disappear Completely", great absentees that will find their place the following day, but the lights come on, and we understand that the concert is truly over. When it comes to Radiohead, I never have enough, and a hint of bitterness for the absence of the third encore pervades me, but it is only a fleeting sensation, because I soon realize I have witnessed one of the best concerts of my life.
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