•
Rating: One of the strengths of this fantastic group is, indeed, the live performance. The live at Glastonbury demonstrates, once again, the ability of these musicians (a term that is very fitting in this case) to present all their hits in a live setting, and to move through various instruments. Moving on to the concert, a huge crowd greets the arrival of the 5 from Oxford, who, as always, show that they are on top form right from the start.
It begins with There There and we notice that behind the drums, along with Phil Selway, we find the two guitarists Jonny Greenwood and Ed O'Brian. On guitar, there's only Thom Yorke who sings like a deity, moving between a sometimes "frenzied," sometimes dreamy, and other times somber singing. The large crowd seems to enjoy it, and swiftly transitions to an explosive 2+2=5, one of the most beautiful and fantastic tracks from their repertoire... the ending is even more sparkling and overwhelming than the studio version, and the general mosh pit ensues. Then a dive into the past, the 5 present us with Lucky... it's one of the most intense and poignant moments of the concert... the audience, overwhelmed by the wave of beauty and poetry, lets go, and everyone has their hands in the air and lighters lit... a great moment. Then it’s time for The National Anthem, and here Jonny Greenwood leaves the guitar to focus on other instruments to make this track as "electronic" as possible. Thom jumps, sings, and for some reason, he reminds me of Bono Vox from the ZooTv tour. It's a pity that there are no trumpets and trombones like in the studio version, the track loses a bit, and almost to make up for this lack, Radiohead offers us a gem: Talk Show Host, a B-side that the audience demonstrates knowing nevertheless.
We go back to the various mixes and computers for Where I End And You Begin, here in a slightly different version compared to the studio, yet acceptable and surprising! We then take a few steps back for Climbing Up The Walls, played divinely as always. The Gloaming is also presented in a different version compared to the Hail To The Thief CD, but even this new "experiment" proves to be very fitting, here even the bassist splits between the bass and a keyboard, while the two guitarists work for the electronics.
Another very intense moment of the concert is, without a doubt, No Surprises, followed by Fake Plastic Trees (it's a shame that live songs from The Bends are always too few!). Thom then leaves the guitar to go to the piano to intone Sit Down. Stand Up, another piece that explodes at the end, just as the singing and the body of Thom Yorke do, who, as always, lets himself be carried away by the music and the madness it drags with it. Then it’s time for Go To Sleep, played masterfully. Sail To The Moon is another very intense moment of the concert with a Thom who doesn't miss a note and hits the high notes with great ease... truly an extraordinary voice!
"This is Paranoid Android!" says Thom with an alien voice, and the crowd bursts into a cheer of joy! The version presented here is something as always grandiose, powerful, epic, with the public chanting every single word. The band then leaves the guitars to gift their fans something from Kid A, Jonny and Ed then dedicate themselves to molding, mixing, and distorting Thom's voice in Idioteque and in the finale Everything In Its Right Place, through PCs, mixers, and more! The group then exits, to give us a first encore with Just and Karma Police, they leave the audience once more to return and say good night to the numerous fans with Street Spirit, even here, despite almost 20 songs, Thom's voice seems unaffected by fatigue and stress... the concert thus concludes in this manner... so sweet and bitter at the same time.
I read somewhere that Radiohead is today what Pink Floyd was in the '70s and I can only agree... They make music that is only theirs, play many instruments and always do it greatly, they experiment and experiment and experiment even more and the audience loves them for this.
Amazing.
Loading comments slowly
