I can't say that I am too fond of these big venues. Unfortunately, the only way of getting to see Radiohead is to go to these - and even then you can consider yourself lucky to get a ticket. I saw them about eight years ago at Southampton Guildhall on 'The Bends Tour' and was so blown away I was well up for seeing them again asap. It took me eight years of trying!!! The support was provided by Asian Dub Foundation. They were a surprising choice in many ways. A blend of hip-hop and banghra which you kind of expect to be a little bit too upbeat to get you in the mood for ' The Head'. I thought that despite a considerable line up change they hadn't changed too much from the first time I saw them. As usual they did the 'little bit of politics' routine straight from the Ben Elton School of Predictability. Still, I must say that I enjoyed them. Particuarly when they played the tracks I recognised such as ' Buzzing'. And before anyone asks, it did work quite well as a getting you in the mood for Radiohead in a strange sort of way! Radiohead immediately burst onto the stage with ' There, There' and then into a storming version of ' 2+2=5'. The first four tracks were from ' Hail To The Thief'. Then something from ' OK Computer'. Oh my God, it's ' Lucky'. And so we are indeed! Nine songs in, following one of my favourite tracks from HTTT ( although to be fair, everyone's a winner!) ' Myxomatosis' the truly unexpected occurs. The immediately recogniseable opening chords of ' Creep'. Johnny Greenwood's guitar crunch leading into the chorus is one of Rock's greatest moments and my word, did he give it some! Next up ' Paranoid Android' . During the song, Thom Yorke picked up the wrong guitar ( which was set in a different tuning), which was quite amusing but it didn't detract from what was an awesome performance. Radiohead themselves, were in a bouyant mood and there was much smiling and laughing all round from the band that popular public opinion would have you believe are the most miserable band in existance. During some of the more instrumental tunes, such as ' The National Anthem' and Thom was dancing away like a madman. I think in many ways Radiohead are quite a difficult band to review. It does them a bit of a dis-service to try and remember the highlights when every second of the two hours that they were on stage was pretty much a highlight. ' Just' had me grinning,' Exit Music (For A Film)' had me crying ( even though it always reminds me of ' Father Ted'), ' No Surprise' ripped at the hairs on the back of my neck, ' A Punch-up at A Wedding' really came to life as a funk driven masterpiece. I could go on. This gig managed to put all pretenders to the throne of Thom, Johnny, Ed, Colin and Phil ( and we all know who those pretenders are!) in their rightful place, for me. When a band this good are on this type of form you wonder why anyone else bothers! Radiohead finished with ' Everything in its Right Place' from Kid A and I realised that everything was. If ever Doctor Who turns up with a Tardis, I would love to hijack it and try and relive these two hours again and I certainly hope I don't have to wait another eight years to see them!


Ric Mansell


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