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Reading Festival: Radiohead's modern jazz wrong-foots the crowd

(Rated 3/ 5 )

By Nick Hasted

Thom Yorke of Radiohead, left, and Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, both performing at Reading

PA

Thom Yorke of Radiohead, left, and Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, both performing at Reading

In a festival heavy on over-familiar or unimpressive bands, it was left to last night's closing act Radiohead to wrong-foot everyone. The odds on their angst-ridden singer Thom Yorke's first words being "Whassup?" followed by the initial hit song they've all but disowned, "Creep", would have been prohibitively long.

The next hour, in which, on songs such as "All I Need", Radiohead casually become a modern jazz quintet, xylophones, brushed cymbals and a crooning Yorke to the fore, leads to such a thinning of the crowd around me, I could almost walk up to the singer. They gradually relent, with hits including "Street Spirit (Fade Out)", "Lucky" and "Karma Police", averting a challenging and muted end.

Before Radiohead, Sunday offers a crash course in competing schools of American rock, from Vampire Weekend's lilting, African-influenced pop to fellow New Yorkers Yeah Yeah Yeahs, whose scratchy art-punk guitars are a back-drop to singer Karen O, who limbo-leans back, suggestively swallowing her mic. I leave an epic song by psychedelic Texans White Denim, which may still be going on now, for Britain's reigning hardcore punks, Gallows. The band are fuller and more complex than they first appear, as is fearsomely tattooed singer Frank Carter. He growls his dystopian lyrics, but doesn't pretend he has a bite to match, inviting his mum on stage.

Another, older punk, Frank Turner, adds a blunt obituary of every group's efforts this weekend: "None of this is going anywhere and pretty soon we'll all be old/ And no one on Earth will even care". His raw-throated songs make the effort seem worth it anyway.

Contrariness and an interest in the ordinary emotions of English life fight against crowd-pleasing festival convention through Saturday, not least in Arctic Monkeys' headline set, from which Alex Turner seems wryly detached. The riff-heavy street-tales of their first album send the pint cups flying. But Turner is more interested in new song "Cornerstone", a perfectly wrought shaggy dog story.

Glasvegas's singer James Allan looks the spit of Joe Strummer in a black biker's jacket. They're sometimes over-slick, but within their booming cavern of sound, you can still hear the pain which inspired it. Newcastle's Maximo Park let the Trojan Horse of their big pop tunes sometimes overwhelm the intellectual interest in hedonism which first made them special. As if aware of this, singer Paul Smith wheels on a brass band, bringing North-east culture to Berkshire.

Ian Brown also enters to a brass fanfare. The morning after Oasis split, the man Liam Gallagher copped his moves from jogs and mumbles absently, his arrogance absurd in a way Liam never dared. The addition of the Stone Roses' great Northern tribal funk single "Fools Gold" lifts a cinematic set.

When darkness falls here, it's so deep you can hardly see the person in front of you, much less those strewn on the ground. The Prodigy, another tired name, nevertheless add an air of menace as the sun sets.

The field is dustier, the crowd more shattered and the weather worse for Radiohead. But they send the last stragglers home happy.

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Comments

Where you actually there.
[info]minorityfool wrote:
Monday, 31 August 2009 at 01:44 am (UTC)
Radiohead were fantastic the crowd loved em!!!! Very Lazy Review
Fantastic
[info]juliasammy wrote:
Monday, 31 August 2009 at 10:19 am (UTC)
Radiohead were great. Same question for the reviewer - were you actually there?
Bah, what is this. Who wrote this?
[info]dashdash90 wrote:
Monday, 31 August 2009 at 04:17 pm (UTC)
Radiohead were on brilliant form. Understanding them musically is a crucial factor. Radiohead have this subtle passion that can easily be misjudged. You call it angst? Have you ever felt Radiohead's music? It digs deep into you, Thom Yorke is a genius for having the vocals that can do that. I call it passion.

That "thinning crowed" you call it. It's merely people who show little interest in the band in the first place or are there for a hit song.

I know reviews are subjective, but this review is harsh to the extent that it's not a true reflection of them that day. All in all this journalist needs a brain check!
What are you talking about?
[info]laurac188 wrote:
Monday, 31 August 2009 at 06:29 pm (UTC)
A thinning of the crowd? Where exactly was this reviewer? Clearly not actually at Reading Festival. Radiohead were on top form, played a perfect range of music from their huge back-catalogue and the crowd loved it! I think the Independent need to re-think who they send to review festivals, maybe ones who actually pay attention, and maybe know what they're talking about.
Reading festival fires
[info]johngalt09 wrote:
Monday, 31 August 2009 at 08:06 pm (UTC)
Sorry but is anyone actually going to report on the total anarchy of the campsite on Sunday night? There was a 300+ self proclaimed angry mob that was on a ramage, I saw many tents being set on fire, sometimes with people still in their tents. I saw the so caled security team stand by as people were being pulled out with burns while behind me there were explosions as gas canisters were thrown on piles of tents, chairs, anything that could be burnt. The organisers should be ashamed of themselves and so should the press for not picking up on this on force.
Re: Reading festival fires
[info]mkmand wrote:
Tuesday, 1 September 2009 at 02:56 pm (UTC)
My 15 year old son on his first festival without the parents returned home Monday saying how brilliant Radiohead were but also reported on the mindless violence , fires and fighting . He in his own words " is not easily scared " but was obviously shook up from the experience . He did not return with his tent which had been moved and vandalised , thankfully his ruck-sack was still ok . He had nowhere to sleep that night . Having myself been to Glastonbury festival in June I was saddened that he had not felt safe and I would not feel happy about him attending again .
What utter tosh...
[info]alanfrisk wrote:
Monday, 31 August 2009 at 08:33 pm (UTC)
Seriously? Did you even see this band play? or is this article written on an opinion of some twerp who was too drunk to know what was going on? They were amazing, and everyone around me clearly thought so too. The crowd went wild when they opened with Creep, and the band were so great at engaging the crowd unlike a couple of the other headliners that were there at the weekend, who probably should get over themselves... Reading Festival 2009 was incredible with a fantastic line up.
radiohead review
[info]dmcr91 wrote:
Monday, 31 August 2009 at 08:43 pm (UTC)
Think you were watching it on TV. Or hadn;t bothered to listen to any of their albums after OK computer. It was the best R_H gig ever, encompassed all the aspects of their highly varied repertoire, with pieces from all their albums plus crowd pleasing hits. Think the Independent could do with a new music critic.
New music journalist needed
[info]dmcr91 wrote:
Monday, 31 August 2009 at 08:48 pm (UTC)
You've been found out mate. You clearly weren't actually at the Radiohead gig. Maybe you watched in TV later. It would help if you had any appreciation of their vast catalogue of styles, moods and songs. They reached deep into their repertoire, challenged us but delighted as well. The so called challenging tunes, drew enormous response from the true fans of the band. I've only recently started to appreciate their music, but I've seen them 3 times now and this was the best. It's up their with Led Zeppelin in 1974. Sack the reviewer and get someone who will actually do a proper job.

Delighted new fan.
I was there and reviewer is spot on
[info]garfunkeld wrote:
Monday, 31 August 2009 at 09:11 pm (UTC)
I have to agree completely. Radiohead were dire. They played over 45 minutes of material that had no tunes, no perceivable lyrics, no purpose, no style. The music could only have communicated anything meaningful to the kind of ultra faithful Radiohead die-hards who have written in above.

I saw thousands of young people who were up for a good time disperse and dissapear as the music got worse and worse. Is it any crime for a reviewer to notice and report this?

Radiohead fans, time to rise up at last and demand some TUNES from your boys or ask for your money back.
Re: I was there and reviewer is spot on
[info]tibleydoc wrote:
Monday, 31 August 2009 at 10:40 pm (UTC)
Yeah, more TUNES!...like those like McFly guys.

Radiohead is well rubbish.

Re: I was there and reviewer is spot on
[info]garfunked wrote:
Tuesday, 1 September 2009 at 06:35 pm (UTC)
Interesting; to equate the concept of tunes with McFly is very revealing. It displays a shockingly condescending approach to approximately 95% of all music,past or present.

Indeed it is hard to think of any worthwhile music over the last 10, 20, 30, 50 years that did not have some kind of memorable tune or melody. It is not everything in music, but everything is founded on it in some form or other.

The wilful refusal of this basic premise by Radiohead renders the last ten years or so of their recorded output frankly ultimately meaningless and self defeating.

It is rather hilarious to see so many intelligent fans (and Radiohead) completely ignorant of this basic fact.

Perhaps if Radiohead fans were just a little more critical of their darlings then the music they produce would be more than a little...better.

Emperor's new clothes anyone?

And yes, I was there! :-)
Re: I was there and reviewer is spot on
[info]dmcr91 wrote:
Thursday, 3 September 2009 at 11:59 am (UTC)
Interesting point Garfunked, but I think it is you who is missing something. The thing about Radiohead is that usually they do have tunes - just that they're not always played in a conventional guitar rock format. If you take the Gloaming for example - a highlight of the gig if only for it's brilliant light show. The "song" is basically a serious of electronic squeaks withThom Yorke singing effectively acapella. So it's not a conventional lsong - but it actually has a brilliant and hypnotic melody. It's taken me a while to get into to this format admittedly - but I think it worked brilliantly live. Of course you can chose to dislike Radiohead - that's fine, but given their repertoire, it is not unreasonable to say that they produced a representative, varied set with and a spectacular light show. And your dismissal of the last 10 years is unfair. In Rainbows is highly melodic - almost shockingly so. Hail to the Thief also has some great tunes including There There and Wolf at the Door, Punchup.., I Will, 2+2=5, Go to sleep. Amnesiac? Yes you would have a better point there - although I would suggets Knives Out, I might Be Wrong, You and whose army?
Re: I was there and reviewer is spot on
[info]thomyorke1 wrote:
Monday, 31 August 2009 at 11:44 pm (UTC)
Sorry garfunkeld, but you just got rawly owned. Would you like some ice for that burn?
An incredible experience.
[info]thomyorke1 wrote:
Monday, 31 August 2009 at 11:18 pm (UTC)
To be honest Nick, what you call "modern jazz" is just a different expression of emotion, and as it reads to me, one that you evidently fail to understand. I was there that night, and i understand that what radiohead were doing was more of an experience than a gig. At many points in the performance a mixture of the incredible light show and the subtle music projected power in a very different way to heavier tracks such as 'Just' and '2+2=5' (For example, though 'The Gloaming' might not seem like much on CD, when played on Sunday it became a much appreciated calm wind-down after the climax of '2+2=5', especially with the entrancing light show.)

In my opinion, Radiohead have developed much over the last few years. You seem to view their prime as the release of 'The Bends' and the subsequent years (you express your enthusiasum for the tracks 'Just' and 'Street Spirt'). However the sound on 'The Bends' is very different to the sound on 'In Rainbows'. True Radiohead appreciators have moved with Radiohead into this new direction and also understood its new beauty. On Sunday, Radiohead were not trying to be 'just-another-rock-band', Radiohead were trying to express power and emotion into the crowd in a new shape that may not be as accesible. For those who could understand, the Reading performance was truly an incredible one. I think that you are unfairly expecting the Radiohead of 'The Bends' and earlier albums, and so this made it harder for you to appreciate what else was going on.

Also, the thinning of the crowd means nothing. Just because Radiohead fans are different in the way that they dont want to crush each other doesnt mean that they arent enjoying the music. In fact, i think it says good things about the sophistication and class of the crowd rather than its sparceness.

I hope you enjoyed my rant.
I wasn't there but saw it on TV.
[info]macd909 wrote:
Monday, 31 August 2009 at 11:25 pm (UTC)
I wasn't there but saw the highlights and as a huge radiohead fan i thought the track list was excellent. Radiohead aren't a band that are just going to play the well known stuff to please people who have no real knowledge of their music (perhaps a somebody like this writer). They played a combination of old and new, known and no so known and each track was performed brilliantly. Either the writer wasn't there or isn't a Radiohead fan but either way the review is very unfair. I also find it extremely difficult to imagine that they didn't draw a huge crowd. The TV showed a pretty huge audience...
This Review is unfair
[info]buchx wrote:
Monday, 31 August 2009 at 11:51 pm (UTC)
All I Need is actually quite easy to get into, if you have troubles with radiohead being hard to get into pick a song like the gloaming! The crowd loved every second of it, i'd meet people who said it was the best gig of their lives, and everybody was singing along. Radiohead played a set full of their hit songs, contrary to the reviewers belief - They even played creep! A song they NEVER play. The crowd only thinned out because loads of people went to see bloc party, because they're more poppy and fun for youngsters, but soon the crowd filled up again.
Re: This Review is unfair
[info]alfandindi wrote:
Tuesday, 1 September 2009 at 04:55 pm (UTC)
Agreed! I've been to festivals for years and this was one of the best gigs I have ever been to! Playing Creep at the start sent the crowd into a frenzy as did Karma Police, Lucky and Just, not to mention Paranoid Android! Newer songs like 15 Step, Bodysnatchers and jigsaw falling intt place went down well too. Thom was mesmerising and virtually everyone around me oscillated between either singing along or shutting their eyes and being carried away with the music! Can't believe you didn't even mention the light show which was incredible on its own! Finally you didnt mention hardly any others bands who most people agreed were excellent... florence and the machine, friendly fires, deadmau5, gaslight anthem etc..? Feel like asking the same question as those above - was the reviewer even there?!
Re: This Review is unfair
[info]garfunked wrote:
Tuesday, 1 September 2009 at 05:58 pm (UTC)
Err Bloc Party were on the same mainstage before Radiohead so it cannot be correct that people left to see them. To use the popular phrase; were you even there?

Why are all the Radiohead fans here unable to accept that not everyone saw their performance in the same way that they did? Are people not supposed to be allowed not to enjoy Radiohead?! If so it sounds like the scary kind of conformist world that the band are, I am informed, so often criticising...

So, try again but this time with a little more thought and just a touch of grace.

Re: This Review is unfair
[info]buchx wrote:
Sunday, 27 September 2009 at 03:17 pm (UTC)
I was there alright, and I have the stubs to prove it. And what are you saying? "it cannot be possible that people left to see them", of course it is! people left bloc party to go and see la roux and the lostprophets. Where you even there?

And stop being a drama queen! "conformist world" the band lives in!? grow up. There's no BIG CONSPIRACY the band is involved in that entails nobody being allowed not to like the music. In fact, all we are saying is that the review is unfair, only looking at one opinion, that they baffled bored fans, whereas, many loved the performance. If you want fairness, look at both sides to a coin. And not ALL Radiohead fans think the same way, that's a ridiculous generalization.

So calm down, and realize everyone's opinion is valid, mine, your "gracefull" self, and everyone elses. There's a "thought".
Reading riots
[info]peterbarker wrote:
Tuesday, 1 September 2009 at 06:47 pm (UTC)
The crowd went home and then then burning of tents and personal property began. For six hours hundreds of idiots rampaged the camp sites around the festival whilst the police (at their own admission - see http://forums.readingfestival.com for one policemans account) and security were left powerless to restore order. This kind of idiotic violence (a small idea of what went on see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBmJCkEvTcY) gets no mention in the statics released today, and no critical analysis of the police figures has been made (the number of arrests is a useless figure if their are insufficient police to take the appropriate action) anywhere in the media. Contrasting this to say the Westham/Millwall "idiots" or even to that attracted annually by the Nottinghill Carnival, and the people who were subjected to the hours of madness are left at at a loss as why this is not being reported and when the organisers and police will work together with appropriate resources to reduce threat posed by these idiots.
I think there really is a good chance he wasn't there
[info]1blackrooster wrote:
Tuesday, 1 September 2009 at 06:58 pm (UTC)
if you look at the report for Friday, it doesn't mention at all the strop thrown by Kings of Leon and the general disappointment in them:

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/first-night-reading-festival-rivermead-centre-reading-1778953.html

As for Radiohead, I thought they were great and turned in a brilliant set. Full of classics and post OK computer favourites like National anthem and Idioteque.

Also I think the jibe about the prodigy is misplaced, they had a great show and wound up the crowd into a frenzy.
missing a certain something
[info]miss_ema182 wrote:
Wednesday, 2 September 2009 at 12:23 am (UTC)
I thought the music at the festival was awesome, with a few problems with sound on the main stage on friday which are understandable when it's the first day of music as there is a limit to how many checks you can do without the bands there.

Here you are moaning about the bands, when a much more important story should be that of what happened after Radiohead. I was seriously scared for my life at one point; having to put my tent down (which was in the middle of yellow 7 campsite about 100 feet from the main fire and riot) whilst a bunch of idiots ruined my weekend running round shouting "one more tent!". I actually thought i was going to die inside a tent which i had borrowed from a friend for the weekend.

These riots go on every year because these people get away with it, and one reason they get away with it is because there is no media coverage. Which is confusing as the violence seemed to be worse than that which is readily reported at football matched. Security we attacked, the riot police were also attacked, a fire engine had things thrown at it, fireworks were being fired at tents and the electric wires were being pulled down, along with the tall wooden posts holding them up.

It was a scaring experience and i am shocked it has not been widely reported, as i feel if something is not done it is not going to be long before someone is unable to get out of their tent as it is dragged onto a fire with gas cannisters being thrown onto it (not as far fetched as it sounds, only difference is that this year people climbed out of their tents).

Why not report on that rather than moaning about how the bands who have been around for ages played songs that have been around for ages (doesnt take a genius to work that one out), especially as i feel you totally ignored the fact that loads of bands were amazing; the lockdown stage was an amazing area, all the bands i saw there were unbelievably good. And for the record i thought that Radiohead were brilliant, having only realy heard their song 'Creep' i was blown away by their show.

In conclusion, as stated earlier, why not use your platform to mention the havoc and fear that was experienced by many after the music had finished, something which I am sure would do wonders to help make Reading festival better, as a number of the crowd did not appear to be there for the music, only to go rioting, theiving and assulting on the sunday night, something which deffinately brought the atmosphere in the arena right down.
Radiohead
[info]steakenhouser wrote:
Wednesday, 2 September 2009 at 03:12 pm (UTC)
We must have both attended different festivals in reading on the sunday (yes - 2009). The only 'wrong-footing' I observed were the complete nonces intent on through half full beer cans in peoples' faces, vandalising the urinals, fighting in the arena, burning other peoples' tents and chucking rocks and plastic bottles at the fire engines, security and police.

But you didn't pick up on any of that did you.

Radiohead were phenominally creative as showed when they introduced some of there new material and re-workings of some of their older tracks. Jazz? you were probably thinking of Jizz at the time!
What thining crowd?
[info]maliilse wrote:
Thursday, 3 September 2009 at 10:50 am (UTC)
I agree with most of the people here, this is a very dishonest review. I was 20 metres from the front of the stage and I guarantee there is no way I could have "walked" to the singer. We were squeezed like sardines, absolutely concentrated on what was going on on the stage.

Their gig was nothing less than magical, Thom Yorke being authentic and passionate as ever. And opening up with Creep was the most generous thing they could do for their fans! And where was the critic when spectators waved their hands during Paranoid Android to the delight of Collin Greenwood?

And what exactly is the critic's definition of jazz?

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