Eve BarlowRadiohead
Coachella Music Festival, Empire Polo Club
April 21, 2017
“If I could be who you wanted … all the time,” Thom Yorke coos on “Fake Plastic Trees” midway through Radiohead's encore during weekend two of Coachella. It's nearing the end of a largely victorious set on the mainstage and it appears that Yorke and co. have more than made up for last weekend's sound problems, which saw them stop playing twice, much to the chagrin of many expectant Radiohead fans.
Last weekend, Yorke wasn't able to be who he wanted. Sometimes shit happens. This weekend, when he sings “Ful Stop” (“You really messed up everything/You really messed up everything!”), you wonder if he's still directing his frustration at the sky (and the sound guys).
“This time maybe you can hear us!” he jokes, before launching into “Pyramid Song.” His mood this evening seems variously jovial and oddly irate. He jibes that maybe he should have a residency in Vegas, such is the success of the festival's surrounding EDM acts. Toward the end of “Myxomatosis” he stops making sense and starts bleating “blah blah fucking blah.” A masterfully elongated version of “Everything in Its Right Place” chops and screws Yorke's vocal, rendering the climactic track even more discombobulating and manic. Even that is followed by a nonchalant comment. “If you don't know Radiohead, you're probably thinking, what the fuck is going on here?” Yorke says. “That's good. That's the idea.”
Indeed, some of the Coachella punters really don't understand what Radiohead are about. “What about 'Karma Police'?” asks a bro with an American flag draped over his back. “Yeah! What about 'High and Dry'?” responds his friend, getting another round of beers in. The people watching Radiohead at Coachella are the types who sang “Creep” once around a campfire. This isn't Radiohead's typical demographic and the band seem aware of it. Perhaps brilliantly, though, they don't seem to care. Anyone who doesn't stick around long enough to see their most arresting offerings, such as the majestic “All I Need” or “The Gloaming,” is missing the point.
As Yorke sings about being an animal “trapped in your hot car,” it fits the scene a little too perfectly. Radiohead seem to be a rare caged beast put on display in the scorching confines of these grounds. Despite the fact that their stage spectacle shone brighter than the night sky, despite the possibility that Radiohead are the most sonically adept band anyone will see all weekend, they're presented here to a crowd ready to stare, judge and wonder when they'll play “No Surprises” or “Paranoid Android.”
Thom Yorke; Credit: Andrew Jorgensen/Goldenvoice
They play both during an encore that surpasses the previous 90 minutes, but most have left by that point. Those who stay for “No Surprises” are moved by a timeless tearjerker that's hard to ignore, particularly given still-resonant lines such as, “You look so tired, unhappy/Bring down the government/They don't, they don't speak for us.” With OK Computer celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, both songs' vastly opposing performances showcase why it remains one of the greatest albums of all time.
As many are aware, no Radiohead set list is ever the same, and this weekend varies from the last. Tonight's is less about playing the obvious crowd pleasers and more about diehard fan favorites. The former would have been a safer move given Radiohead's re-entry to the festival this weekend as a band perhaps looking to redeem themselves. But Radiohead don't play it safe. The display possesses the type of confidence that comes from being a band 32 years into your career, having just released one of your most critically acclaimed records in last year's A Moon Shaped Pool. Frenetic takes on that album's tracks, such as “Ful Stop” and “Desert Island Disk,” showcase just how vital, forward-looking and expert they are when it comes to arranging and executing their own brand of rock, one that doesn't sacrifice melody for complexity. They play like a band who still know what's ahead of us, one who will never allow themselves to date.
“Still here!” jokes Yorke again, while filling the awkward long silences between songs. Each and every track could be a set in itself, such is the level of self-contained performance dedicated to it. Highlights come with “Pyramid Song,” which comes over all eerie and apocalyptic; “Exit Music (for a Film),” featuring Yorke isolated onstage with his acoustic guitar; and “My Iron Lung,” its guitars squealing and screeching as urgently as they did in 1995.
After getting the crowd warmed up for one last dance during “Lotus Flower” and before a final treat of “Idioteque,” Yorke quizzically asks: “Can the next contestant come forward?” Maybe he's goading tomorrow night's headliner, or perhaps headliners of the future. More likely, he's searching for the next band to take Radiohead's baton. There's nobody else who comes close.
Set list below.
Radiohead at Coachella 2017, weekend two; Credit: Erik Voake/Goldenvoice
Daydreaming
Desert Island Disk
Ful Stop
15 Step
Myxomatosis
Lucky
All I Need
Pyramid Song
Everything in Its Right Place
Bloom
Identikit
My Iron Lung
The Gloaming
I Might Be Wrong
Bodysnatches
Exit Music (For a Film)
Reckoner
Encore:
No Surprises
Paranoid Android
Fake Plastic Trees
Lotus Flower
Idioteque
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