Here’s what the Internet really looks like (photos taken at the Ubiquity data center in Chicago with Branden’s sweet camera.. paired with Branden’s equally sweet knowledge of how to make the camera take pictures like these).
A couple weekends ago I spent 3 days at Lollapalooza. My only initial ambition to see Radiohead, who I’ve seen once before in 2002 at a big outdoor show in St. Louis right after Hail to the Thief came out. Before that show I wasn’t really even a huge Radiohead fan.. after seeing Thom’s sweet dance moves in person I thought they were about the coolest thing I’d ever seen. In fact the author of the book that their most popular album (OK Computer) is largely based around (Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy / Douglas Adams) has since been my favorite author.
Prior to this show I wasn’t totally sold on In Rainbows, but again I wasn’t sold of any of their other albums before the last time I saw them. The show in Grant Park was totally surrounded by the Chicago skyline, with fireworks going behind the stage for most of the show and 100,000 people singing along.. Coldplay Radiohead was the only headliner the whole weekend that didn’t have any competition scheduled against them. Though Kanye West and Rage Against the Machine were great in their own ways.. in the weirdest way possible, Radiohead’s mellow / bleak sounding albums translated into just about the happiest and highest energy show of the weekend. Wild enough that I just spent way too much time finding all these videos of the show on YouTube so that I could watch it all again.
Just kidding.. that’s Gnarls Barkley covering Reckoner and Mark Ronson covering Just both later in the festival. I like the guy in the crowd of the first one that keeps saying “that’s radioheeeeaaaad”. These are the real videos.
15 Steps
Paranoid Android
The National Anthem
There There
Reckoner
Optimistic
2+2=5
Fake Plastic Trees
Idioteque
Nude
Airbag
Everything in it’s Right Place
Not nearly as good as being there, but still nifty. A few more of their more piano and electronic songs would have been nice.. those all seem to translate really well live.. but overall an awesome show with songs from most every album and style of music they’ve taken over the years. Good stuff.
