Just back from my first of 2 Radiohead shows in LA. Thom did a version of Follow Me Around on
the Rhodes. More info when I get home to Vancouver…

Setlist
June 29, 2006
Greek Theatre, Los Angeles

01 You And Whose Army?
02 The National Anthem
03 2+2=5
04 15 Step
05 Morning Bell
06 Arpeggi
07 Videotape
08 Kid A
09 Dollars And Cents
10 Street Spirit
11 All I Need
12 Nude
13 Paranoid Android
14 Bangers ‘n Mash
15 The Gloaming
16 Idioteque
17 Follow Me Around
18 Everything In Its Right Place

Encore 1
19 There There
20 Down Is The New Up
21 The Bends
22 How To Disappear Completely

Encore 2
23 House of Cards
24 Lucky

I was planning this post last week but it seems even more pertinent today after reading about Matt’s experience at Bonnaroo a couple weeks ago. Bonnaroo was Matt’s (a big Radiohead fan) first Radiohead show and his reflections on the show reminded me a lot of how I felt after I first saw the band in 1998 in Vancouver. Perhaps it wasn’t the greatest show ever but I still left that gig at the Pacific Coliseum knowing that music was going to be a bit different for me now.

The gig took place on April 6 towards the end of the OK Computer tour. Thom Yorke was not in a very good mood that night. Midway through show opener Airbag, Thom walked off stage…or almost. Ed O’Brien stopped him just before he left the stage, they spoke briefly and Thom went back to his guitar…looking pissed. Ed then spoke to the crowd informing us that they didn’t want any moshing and pushing as people along the rail were getting hurt. Just a couple minutes into my first Radiohead show and it very nearly ended.

The rest of the show went well though in looking at setlists of the shows before and after the Vancouver gig I can say Vancouver’s setlist was definitely lacking, likely due to the incident at the beginning of the show. Banana Co., Polythelene, How to Disappear Completely, The Trickster…all were played on the tour but not in Vancouver. Regardless I left the show enthralled by a live experience I would never forget.

Eight years later (and 16 Radiohead shows later) I find myself packing for a trip back home to Vancouver via Los Angeles where I will see the last two shows of Radiohead’s current North American tour. I certainly have not forgotten that show in 1998 and I’m pretty sure I owe Ed O’Brien a huge thanks. Had Thom left the stage that night who knows how I’d feel about Radiohead today.

Luckily the show was recorded…LINKS REMOVED. I’ve also included a few mp3s from the show below so you can hear what it sounds like. Make sure you check out Ed’s lecture to the crowd if nothing else. It’s not often you hear him speak up at shows!

Radiohead
Live in Vancouver
April 6, 1998

Intro
Airbag (aborted)
Ed’s Lecture
Airbag
Karma Police
The Bends
Exit Music
Climbing Up the Walls
Just
Subterranean Homesick Alien
Lucky
My Iron Lung
Planet Telex
Bulletproof
No Surprises
Lurgee
Bones
Paranoid Android
Street Spirit
Talk Show Host
Fake Plastic Trees
Let Down
The Tourist

Since I’m going on a little vacation for a while posting here may be sporadic though I will write a review (hopefully with some photos if I can sneak my camera in) after the shows at the Greek Theatre in L.A.

And remember Radiohead, PLAY A REMINDER IN LOS ANGELES!

Dear Thom, Jonny, Colin, Phil, and Ed,

Could you kindly play A Reminder at either of the two L.A. shows? Either show is fine, I’ll leave it up to your good judgement. In case you have forgotten how it goes (let’s face it, it’s been almost a decade), here’s a live version you can use as a guide:

A Reminder (live)

Yours,
Sean

PS. I’m not David Cameron.
PPS. If you can’t squeeze it in I’ll settle for Black Star, Let Down, The Trickster, any of the new ones, something you haven’t played before, Pearly*, Big Boots, Bishop’s Robes, and/or The Tourist.
PPPS. This site is actually called A REMINDER.
PPPPS. I’m coming all the way from Australia.

…well sort of. In Japan a couple years ago Jack White threw in a few lines from the Ol’ Dirty Bastard classic ‘Got Your Money’ into the middle of ‘Little Bird.’ It popped up on my iTunes this week and I always get a kick out of hearing Jack White sing the following lines:

So I walk on over with my crystal
Bitches, niggaz put away your pistols

LINKS REMOVED

Surely Ol’ Dirty Bastard is not someone you would expect the White Stripes to cover. Nor is David Bowie but they’ve also covered him as well. This cover of ‘Moonage Daydream’ is VERY old, recorded live some time before they were well known…even in indie circles.

Now while those two artists aren’t usual cover song territory for the band, Bob Dylan obviously is. They’ve covered numerous songs by Dylan including ‘Isis’ off the 1976 album Desire. The White Stripes seem to be big fans of this album as they also released a version of ‘One More Cup of Coffee’ on their debut album which also featured on Desire.

And since it seems to be a requirement for every band to cover ‘House of the Rising Sun’ the White Stripes have fulfilled their rock ‘n’ roll duties.

Alright, here is a rip of the audio from the video I posted below of the new Radiohead song All I Need.

UPDATE:

Thanks to a couple of the commentors for providing links to a better version of the song. I’ve updated the link below.

Download – All I Need (live in Chicago)

Radiohead debuted another new song in Chicago last night. It’s called All I Need and seems to be quite pretty based on this video.

I’ll post an mp3 when one becomes available.

The setlist:

June 20, 2006
Auditorium Theatre, Chicago

01 Airbag
02 2+2=5
03 Where I End And You Begin
04 15 Step
05 Kid A
06 Arpeggi
07 Videotape
08 Climbing Up The Walls
09 Street Spirit
10 Nude
11 I Might Be Wrong
12 No Surprises
13 All I Need
14 I Want None of This
15 The National Anthem
16 Bangers ‘n Mash
17 Everything in its Right Place

Encore 1
18 My Iron Lung
19 The Bends
20 Myxomatosis
21 How To Disappear Completely

Encore 2
22 Down is the New Up
23 The Tourist

I feel like I’ve been pretty slack in covering Australian artists lately. It’s not intentional and it certainly does not mean that this country is lacking in emerging talent, but well…I just haven’t come across a lot that I feel the need to write about. Plus May was Radiohead month (which has continued somewhat this month) and then the World Cup….but I digress. Lately one album really has grabbed me and forced my lazy ass to try and share it with you.

Like Drawing Blood is the latest record from Melbourne-based Gotye (according to the official site, “Aussies should pronounced Gotye as “gore-ti-yeah”, using that inimitably dry and elongated sound they call an “accent”!”). Gotye is the work of Wally De Backer, a Belgian born artist who now resides here in Australia. He sent me his album a while back and I’ve been slowly getting into it more and more.

Each time I listen to the album I think to myself, “I bet this guy has an amazing record collection.” From Motown to hip-hop to DJ Shadow-esque beats and sampling Like Drawing Blood never stays in one spot for very long. The real feat in my eyes is that Gotye manages to incorporate such disparate influences into a very cohesive record that flows smoothly from the short opening piece to the coda at the end of the album. Wally’s vocals certainly act as an anchor on this record as well – a familiar voice to guide the listener through the album.

Radio seems to have jumped on this album lately; I’ve heard Heart’s a Mess a few times on Triple J and I’m pretty sure FBi has been giving the album some airplay as well. Hopefully this brings a larger audience to an artist who is certainly proving himself to be a very promising young Australian talent.

With Wally’s permission I’ve uploaded a couple tracks from Like Drawing Blood. If you like what you hear I highly recommend you go out and buy the record or buy it through Gotye’s website. The two songs I’ve chosen are two of my favourites and I think they highlight some of the very different musical spheres the album touches upon. Heart’s a Mess is a bit of a march punctuated by longing while Learnalilgivinanlovin is a Motown-tinged pop gem with wonderful vocals and even better horns.

Download: Heart’s a Mess
Download: Learnalilgivinanlovin

This seems like a good time to mention that if you are an artist or represent one and you wish to send some music my way to be featured here just send me an email (see the “Liner Notes” header to the right) and I can provide a mailing address. You can send mp3s as well, but I will say if you send an actual CD I guarantee I’ll get to it sooner. I don’t write about everything I am sent, but I will give it all a listen.

One of my very favourite bands, Belle and Sebastian, played the Enmore last night and I was really excited for the show. I’d seen the band twice before but both times at festivals in 2002 and 2004. And while they were great both times, I was itching for a full-on show. And barring the usual complaints of “a bit too much new stuff” they did not disappoint in the slightest.

Stuart and Stevie were there usual affable selves as they entertained the crowd between songs with random stories and during songs with some incredibly bad dance moves (in particular during Electronic Renaissance). The band played some of my favourites including I’m Waking Up to Us, Jonathan David, Sleep the Clock Around, and Dog on Wheels. I was surprised by how great live 2 of the new songs were. On record I really love Sukie in the Graveyard and White Collar Boy, but they had SO much more life live. In fact, Sukie had one of the loudest crowd responses of the night.

The band also invited up some girls to dance at a couple points in the show. Well, actually 2 of them invited themselves on stage and did some nice interpreting of the lyrics to Judy and the Dream of Horses. Rebecca played the girl during Jonathan David which I caught a bit of on video below:

All in all I loved the show and will make an effort to see more than 1 show on the next Belle and Sebastian tour…it’s the only way to hear more of the songs I want. And a quick note to the promoters: Even. I’m not sure what they hell they were doing there supporting B&S. I’m sure the band are nice enough, but they seemed like a band that just failed the audition to be the third act on the bill for a Counting Crows summer tour. B.O.R.I.N.G.

Belle and Sebastian’s (not boring but annotated) setlist:

1. The Stars of Track and Field (how awesome was this?!?!?)
2. Another Sunny Day
3. Funny Little Frog (I know it’s supposed to be silly….but the 2 syllable “throat” sucks)
4. I’m Waking Up to Us (I think I said “fuck yes!” when this one came on)
5. Sukie in the Graveyard
6. Electonic Renaissance (so much better live)
7. Song for Sunshine (not fussed about this one)
8. We are the Sleepyheads
9. Dress up in You
10. Piazza, New York Catcher (a Scot singing in Australia about baseball…)
11. For the Price of a Cup of Tea
12. If You’re Feeling Sinister (this is where the show got friggin’ awesome)
13. The Boy With the Arab Strap (!!!)
14. Dog on Wheels (…to my dog on wheels…)
15. I’m a Cuckoo
16. Jonathan David (brilliance)
17. White Collar Boy (surprisingly awesome live)
18. Judy and the Dream of Horses (nice way to bookend the set with Sinister tracks)
——–
The Blues are Still Blue
The State I am In (one of my favourites)
Sleep the Clock Around (perfect way to end the night)

A couple more photos here

About a week ago I wrote about one album that has had a cinematic effect on my ears and I promised another album was doing the same thing. While the Beirut album fits within my general music listening (indie, indie folk…etc), this one does not. Tropicália: A Brazilian Revolution in Sound is one of the most critically acclaimed albums of recent years. After seeing so many gushing reviews I finally decided to check the album out, even though I didn’t think it was something I would normally listen too much. And it wasn’t. But now I am hooked.

Tropicália is a Brazilian art movement that began in the late 60s in opposition to the government of the day (read the wiki and this Pitchfork review for a more detailed history of the movement). This record is a compilation of the highlights of the tropicália movement by artists such as Os Mutantes, Caetano Veloso, and Tom Zé and it serves as a wonderful introduction to an entire musical movement I previously had no knowledge about. If you listen to this album, your Beck records all of a sudden make more sense.

Now I’ve never been to Brazil but this record creates such an incredible atmosphere that when you listen to it you can’t help but feel a sun beating dow on your face. Since most of the songs on the album are sung in Portuguese I find myself creating my own meanings and understandings of the songs (which are surely more benign than their original revolutionary intent). So while the Tropicália movement may have a fixed place in history, it remains timeless as new generations of listeners are able to discover this truly wonderfully exotic music for themselves. I can’t recommend this album enough. Buy it and make your own meanings.

Soul Jazz Records
Amazon

As I said before, this isn’t really the type of music I normally listen to; Tropicália: A Brazilian Revolution in Sound was, therefore, a powerful reminder that this is EXACTLY why I should be listening to this album.

In Toronto last night Radiohead debuted another new song called ‘Down Is the New Up.’ I’ve only listened a couple times, but I’m realllllly liking this one so far. Some of the others took some time to grow on me, but not this one.

Jonny on drums + Thom beat boxing + Ed’s most prominent backing vocals ever = Single

It’s very, VERY cool and this recording is pretty good too! Download away:

Down Is the New Up (live in Toronto 2006-06-08)

You can also download the entire June 7 Toronto show at this link (I have yet to listen to it so can’t comment as to the quality)