Radiohead offers old and new at first concert in four years

AMSTERDAM—British alternative rockers Radiohead on Friday night served up songs from their new album mixed with old classics in their much anticipated first live performance since 2012.

The Oxford-based group opened the tour to promote their ninth album, “A Moon Shaped Pool” at Amsterdam’s Heineken Music Hall.

Thom Yorke and the band kicked off the two-hour concert with a hard-rock rendition of the first track, “Burn the Witch” from the new record.

The song set the tone for the evening, which also saw the band perform rock tunes including the powerful and growling “There, There,” from the 2003 album “Hail to the Thief” and “Bodysnatchers” from the 2007 album “In Rainbows”.

Throughout the evening attended by some 5,500 people, Radiohead was backed by a visual display featuring six giant screens showing close-up camera shots of each member.

Usually introspective and abstract, Yorke was in a playful mood and even cracked a joke or two with the audience, thanking them at one stage with a Dutch “Dank u wel,” (Thank you very much).

Surprises

For diehard fans some of the most pleasant surprises of the evening were Radiohead’s live performance of “My Iron Lung” for the first time in seven years and anthem “Paranoid Android” from their seminal 1997 album “OK Computer”.

And the fans had high praise afterwards.

“I go to a lot of concerts and this is my fourth Radiohead concert,” Jeffrey Leeuwenhaag, 40, told Agence France-Presse.

“For me it’s certainly one of the best ever. The band has achieved greatness,” he said.

Radiohead have one more performance at the Heineken Music Hall on Saturday night, before travelling to Paris for their next gig on Monday night at the Zenith.

In total 28 concerts are scheduled including at other European venues, Japan, Mexico and the United States.

Radiohead was formed three decades ago and has become known for its maudlin rock tunes which featuring Yorke’s trademark falsetto and various music styles including rock, electronic music, jazz and 20th century classical music.

The group has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide.

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Stage Collapses Before Radiohead Show in Toronto

The stage at Downsview Park in Toronto collapsed this afternoon just hours before Radiohead were scheduled to play to a sold-out crowd, CBC News reports.

The band was not onstage at the time, but one person was killed and three others were injured in the collapse. The concert, whose gates were scheduled to open at 5 p.m., has been cancelled.

Toronto fire captain Mike Strapko told CNN that a "scaffolding-type structure collapsed" some 40 to 60 feet above the main stage area as the victims were setting up for the concert around 4 p.m. There were no strong winds or other dangerous weather conditions at the time.

A statement on Radiohead's website says that tickets will be refunded, and advises fans not to make their way to the venue.

The accident comes after a number of recent stage collapses at high profile shows raised concerns about safety at concerts. Seven people were killed at the Indiana State Fair last August when high winds knocked down scaffolding and speakers, and just last Saturday, the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas was shut down by windstorms, forcing the cancellation of some headlining sets.

source: rollingstone.com

Bonnaroo 2012 Lineup: Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Phish Headline

Bonnaroo has officially confirmed that, as rumored, Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Phish will anchor the 11th incarnation of the iconic music festival, which will take place from June 7th to 10th in Manchester, Tennessee. The above headliners will be joined by recent Grammy winners Bon Iver and Skrillex, a reunited Beach Boys and comedian Aziz Ansari. All told, more than 150 bands and nearly two dozen comedians will offer fans continuous entertainment on 13 stages over the course of four sleepless days and nights.

True to its formula, Bonnaroo's lineup breaks away from other major U.S. festivals who have often been accused of homogenous programming. This year, shock rocker Alice Cooper will join the party. So will rapper Ludacris. The festival will honor its jam band roots with performances from Umphrey's McGee, ALO and Dispatch, while also making room for electronic acts with sets by Flying Lotus, Major Lazer and Big Gigantic. Hardcore group Bad Brains will make their inaugural Bonnaroo appearance as will Spectrum Road, an all-star band featuring Cream's Jack Bruce, Living Colour's Vernon Reid, Carlos Santana's wife Cindy Blackman, and revered organist John Medeski.

Indie rock royalty will appear alongside current up-and-comers with sets by the Shins, the Avett Brothers, Foster the People, Feist, tUnE-yArDs, Little Dragon, Mogwai, Dawes and Alabama Shakes among many others.

When Bonnaroo launched in 2002, it imagined itself as a cross between Phish's homegrown parties in the Northeast and the New Orlean's Jazz and Heritage Festival in Louisiana. In fact, Bonnaroo organizers brought in some of the creative team behind Phish's events, while creating a format that was directly inspired by what they saw at the fairgrounds in New Orleans. In keeping with the spirit that the festival was built upon, when Phish finally performed at Bonnaroo, in 2009, they brought out Bruce Springsteen to jam.

But it's not only jam bands who jam at Bonnaroo – collaborations are frequent and bands often feel free to take more risks than they might otherwise. A large part of that has to do with the vibe. Fans who make the annual pilgrimage to Tennessee tend to listen to bands, not hype. Multiple musicians seem to comment on this from stage every year and the band-fan respect is so high that it is not uncommon to see artists roaming the grounds and watching other sets from out in the field, when their own duties have been fulfilled.

Tickets will go on sale this Saturday, February 18th at noon ET, at bonnaroo.com.

Here is the complete 2012 Bonnaroo lineup as announced at this time:

Radiohead
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Phish
Bon Iver
The Beach Boys (featuring Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David Marks)
The Avett Brothers
The Shins
Foster the People
Skrillex
Aziz Ansari
Dispatch
Feist
The Roots
Alice Cooper
SuperJam
Black Star
The Word (featuring John Medeski, Robert Randolph and North Mississippi Allstars)
Ludacris
Ben Folds Five
Flogging Molly
Spectrum Road (featuring Cindy Blackman Santana, Jack Bruce, John Medeski, and Vernon Reid)
Mac Miller
Childish Gambino
Major Lazer
tUnE-yArDs
Afrocubism
Flying Lotus
Umphrey's McGee
Little Dragon
St. Vincent
City and Colour
The Civil Wars
Young the Giant
Two Door Cinema Club
Punch Brothers
NEEDTOBREATHE
Fitz & the Tantrums
Bad Brains
Yelawolf
Dawes
Battles
Danny Brown
The Black Lips
SBTRKT
Phantogram
Kendrick Lamar
Charles Bradley and his Extraordinaires
The Kooks
The Joy Formidable
The Antlers
Kathleen Edwards
Mimosa
Kurt Vile & the Violators
Alabama Shakes
Das Racist
Delta Spirit
Gary Clark Jr.
Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk
Laura Marling
Trampled by Turtles
Mogwai
The War on Drugs
Ben Howard
Grouplove
Blind Pilot
ALO
The Devil Makes Three
White Denim
EMA
Here We Go Magic
K-Flay
The Lonely Forest
Mariachi El Bronx
Big Freedia
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
The Soul Rebels
Kvelertak
SOJA
Steven Bernstein's MTO All-Stars Play Sly
Big Gigantic
Sarah Jarosz
Orgone
Darondo
Fruit Bats
Moon Taxi
More to be announced

source: rollingstone.com