concert review

Radiohead returned to Liberty State Park in Jersey City on Saturday August 9th to conclude their two-night headlining act at the All Points West Music Festival. Over 30,000 people joined together to witness performances by acts such as Kings of Leon and The Roots before Radiohead took the main stage right on time at 8:30pm.

Considering the fact that I’ve been a Radiohead fanatic ever since the release of The Bends in the mid-90’s, and have never had the opportunity to see them live, to say I was stoked beyond belief would be a severe understatement.

Needless to say, as soon as the opening chords of “Reckoner” (one of my favorites off their recently released In Rainbows) filled the air, it was all over. Their entire stage presence was not only spellbinding, but so were all the special effects that went along with it. The giant TV’s that hung from each side of the stage were divided into four squares in order to focus on each member of the band individually. The kicker was the backdrop of the stage, which had a different color theme for each song and resembled a giant laser show. At times, the stage looked like dozens of neon icicles were hanging from the ceiling.

They rocked out on a few tracks that they typically play at most shows, such as “15 Step,” “National Anthem,” “All I Need,” “Nude” and “Where I End and You Begin,” then threw in a few surprises such as “No Surprises” and “The Bends.” For me, being a big fan of OK Computer and an even bigger fan of The Bends, the show really kicked into life once they played these tunes.

Next up came one of my favorite tracks off In Rainbows, “Jigsaw Falling Into Place.” At this point, the show had really taken a complete turn from its mellow start. They slowed things back down a bit during every Radiohead fanatic’s favorite, “Everything In Its Right Place,” before launching into “Exit Music (For a Film),” “Bodysnatchers” and their first encore.

Encore #1 consisted of “Pyramid Song,” “Videotape,” “Airbag,” and (drumroll please) the most captivating moment of the entire night (for me), which occurred during “Fake Plastic Trees.” It’s one of those sad songs that somehow rips out your heart and steals your soul, but in a good way of course.

Encore #2 consisted of “House of Cards,” “Planet Telex” (another Bends favorite!) and concluded with the well-known Kid A rocker, “Idioteque.”

The diversity of the evening’s set clearly showed off the brilliance of what Radiohead has to offer. Would I travel another five hours to see them again? In a heartbeat.

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