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I'm sitting here shocked reading the favorite show thread and seeing Radiohead at the top of most lists. Did everyone think they were THAT good or do we have a case of the Emporer's New Clothes here.
I am not a rabid Radiohead fan, but I do like them. I believe that I have four of their CD's, so this is definitely not a flame at a band that I simply don't like.
We had a very good spot for the show, and were kinda getting into the first few songs, but then the same slow droning songs just kept coming one after the other. Did they forget about Pablo Honey and the Bends? After about 45 minutes, everyone in my group at the same time decided that we'd have more fun elsewhere. We left the show, and while dining on late night Chinese food, heard The Bends. We were all like, "Finally, they play something that rocks."
I am sure that I would really enjoy Radiohead in a more intimate setting, but I just don't think they're cut out to play festivals. When I'm at a festival, I want to hear something with a little thump. I want to go nuts, dance, whatever. TO ME, Radiohead didn't allow that at all.
Maybe they cut loose in the 2nd half of the show. I'd be interested to hear if they did. I couldn't make it that far, though, since I was about to fall asleep.
Is there anyone else out there that felt the same way about the show?
This may be blasphemy to say, but I really am not a fan of Raidohead. Before Bonnaroo, I could not have told you a thing about them. However, I went to the show, and was somewhat impressed.
They were good, but the problem that I had was the energy change. I could get really in to it, and so would the crowd, but then the band would bring the energy WAY DOWN, and you could almost see the crowd get disinterested. Then suddenly they'd play something that excited the crowd again, and the energy would rise. I couldn't handle all that change, so I gave up and left.
NOW, I will say that when I got back to our camping area and met up with some friends, we really enjoyed sitting back, having a good time, and listening to them as background music.
Defintely not me. That f*cking show left me w/ my jaw wide open. But, to give you perspective, I'm an insane Radiohead nut, and I think most of their diehard fans are more into OK Computer to present - honestly, it's their best work. Not to say that I don't absolutely LOVE The Bends (because I do), but they've done much more amazing things since then.
And I don't think it was disinterest that you were witnessing, imho. The slower songs just take you to a different place. It's great to boogey on down to stuff like Idioteque and The National Anthem (two of my favorites), but the slower songs just send you off somewhere to some musical landscape in your head. It's good to hear both, and I think that's what makes them so amazing - they can do it all and pull it off. And trust me, fans know the songs, fast and slow, and they came to hear them all.
I don't find their songs droning at all. They are powerful, moving, and brave.
I'm sure the hard-core fans loved it. I love any show from any band that I'm a hard core fan of, even if it's not their best night.
But shouldn't the headliner at a festival be one that could entertain the WHOLE crowd, not just the hard core fans. A festival brings all types of music fans together. DMB for instance. They bring a show that fans and non-fans can have a good time at. That's what a festival is for, in my opinion.
Post by karmicpayback on Jun 19, 2006 17:29:30 GMT -5
dagbeast said:
I'm sure the hard-core fans loved it. I love any show from any band that I'm a hard core fan of, even if it's not their best night.
But shouldn't the headliner at a festival be one that could entertain the WHOLE crowd, not just the hard core fans. A festival brings all types of music fans together. DMB for instance. They bring a show that fans and non-fans can have a good time at. That's what a festival is for, in my opinion.
I don't think it's possible to have one band that the entire crowd likes. What they did instead was get 3 very different bands to headline each night so hopefully everyone there was entertained by at least one. In my opinion they did a great job and it looked like they succeeded.
Post by bojangles22 on Jun 19, 2006 17:32:07 GMT -5
I am a stupid crazy fan of DMB, and last years dmb@roo was of epic asskickery (watchtower bioch!) but I am glad radiohead played sat night. And I'll tell you why,,Everything that coulda gone wrong to me did, right before the radiohead show(cell phone died and I could not rendezvous with any of my friends(w/ drugs), Bad timing into the What Stage area forced me into the back, pushed as far into the masses as i could go and was still far away from the stage., MuthaF*ckin taco stand near the Which stage served me the nastyest damn food and it gave me "death gut" so my frequent farts were dynamite!))) And then Radiohead started and everything went away cept me and the music. Completely sober(against my will) I was hypnotized... I didn't scream and go nuts the whole time like at Tom Petty, but I was just in awe, and after Radiohead finished I was still mentally trippin, It felt like when yer on shrooms and you get those religious revelations that leave you speechless! Radiohead whooped my ass.
Radiohead doesn't do shows where all the songs are "get up and boogie" songs. Like it's been said before, they have danceable songs, and then there are the transy songs that are meant to leave you in awe. I heard alot of complaints from people around me, at the show, and at our campsite, about radiohead, and that they don't belong because of the "slow" nature of some of thier songs. Some will like it, some won't. I watched some of Petty, I got bored with him and left, so there you have it. Every headliner isn't gonna please everybody. Enjoy the show for what it's worth, and if you don't, go do something else. I wish the people beside me at radiohead would have done this, cause they kept talking very loudly and nay saying all things radiohead.
Play skeptic if you like, I did not see one single act that matched the production value of theirs. Like their music/be a fan or not, Radiohead played with more emotion and more sincerity than OVER 75 percent of the acts we saw this weekend.
I was standing next to a group of naysayers who were literally standing with mouths open by the end of the set.
You don't have to be a fan to appreciate what they did for us this weekend. You only have to have a genuinely open mind and one single iota of musical appreciation.
You don't have to be a fan to appreciate what they did for us this weekend. You only have to have a genuinely open mind and one single iota of musical appreciation.
This is what amazes me though. That some people will call themselves "music fans" and yet they'll hate on radiohead till the day they die. I heard alot of it. People seem to have great disdain for them because they took thier precious WSP away, or something along those lines. Good music is good music, even if it doesn't fit comfortably into the genre you're used to.
Post by edwinthethird on Jun 19, 2006 19:35:07 GMT -5
What I loved about this set was despite whatever naysayers may have cropped up (I was fortunate not to be around them), everyone at this show seemed to know how to appreciate their music. In a crowd of tens of thousands, there was almost complete silence for songs like Exit Music and How to Disappear Completely, and that's what made this show so epic for me.
It was completely worth the wait, even though I had to take care of a friend who nearly fainted a few times. Sadly, I was selfish and risked his death by not bringing him back to camp because we had already waited since about 3:30 at our spots. He's alive, so clearly the risk was rewarded.
The only problem I had with the set was the broken monitors--I felt bad for the people in the back who could only listen, because Thom was an effing madman when he didn't have an instrument. Simply an epic show.
ahhh, I was mad about that monitor not working!! but that show was amazing....I am a huge fan, so I don't really care if people dont like them or not. I had a damn good show, and I certainly wasn't around or heard anyone say anything bad about their set, but apparently those people were out there. Damn that show was amazing, and there was definately moments of damn near silence and that is a feat in itself.
You don't have to be a fan to appreciate what they did for us this weekend. You only have to have a genuinely open mind and one single iota of musical appreciation.
Well, let's get the flamethrower out, just because someone has a different opinion than you do. Open minded? Just because you don't like a band's performance and state that you don't like it doesn't make you closed minded. I guess you're very open minded, that is, until someone doesn't see things the way you do?
Musical appreciation? Just because I don't like a show means that I don't appreciate music? I've been consistantly seeing shows since the seventies and if I don't like one, I'll say it. That doesn't happen often, usually about 5-10% of the shows I've seen. I've always been a big Cure fan, but I didn't like their live show. So what? To each his own.
Radiohead is a unbelievable group of musicians, and I really like their music, but I'd prefer to see them at an intimate setting (or late night in my CD player) than a festival. That's it.
I'm not a Radiohead fan but went to see the show. I'd like to think I know music pretty well and have a wide range of bands and artists I like. I don't know why, but I just can't get into them. I can listen to them on CD or on an ipod for a short period of time, but I couldn't get into the show Saturday night. Maybe it was because I was really tired, but I took a nice nap during the set. I do appreciate what they do, how they do it, and that they have a die-hard fan base- it really speaks volumes about the band. I guess I'm just one of the few that Radiohead didn't have an effect on.
I agree with you...Just because I wasn't totally in love with the show doesn't mean that I didn't appreciate the musicianship that I saw. It really was incredible.
I think that I was just at a place in my head where I really needed the energy to take me away, and I wasn't getting it. Does that make sense?
radiohead was one of the greatest musical experiences of my life, only thing i can compare it to is phish, although they sound nothing alike, i came in with an open mind but not expecting to much, but wow.
Radiohead was great, and I'm pretty sure they pleased more than just hardcore fans.
More to the point, I saw so many people leave Lesh early it was stunning (before the rain or the break even). So it's probably best we stop trying to figure out people's tastes and just enjoy.
Post by augustwest on Jun 19, 2006 22:11:10 GMT -5
I didn't know very much about Radiohead, but was blown away by the show. I probably wouldn't by an album, but would definately see them live again if given the chance.
I respect that they are great artists but they've just never really done it for me... i'll like a song here and there, but for some reason I can't get really into them. I tried so hard on Saturday night but what I saw of the show just brought me down Didn't compare to others I'd seen.
You guys can't all be nuts, so I promise to try again someday!
Yeah I liked them but couldn't get into them at all. I have listened to them at friends and stuff and like it but I got bored after an hour of it. The encores I did like though because I actually knew the songs.
Post by thefussydutchman on Jun 20, 2006 0:30:47 GMT -5
I pretty much layed on top of my truck and was able to see the stage and hear the show pretty well.I'll start off by saying this when radiohead was announced as the headliner I didn't like it and I was one pf the people who would bash them without even hearing them. After about a month and an oysterhead addition I decided I should go out and buy some radiohead cd's and see if I could get into them. I bought Kid A and I actually though it was a really cool album, not quite my cup of tea but now I was able to see why people were so rabid about this band. I decided to not fight the crowds into centeroo on saturday and just watch the show from my campsite and conserve energy so I could go out for the latenights. It felt like my own private little concert(at least in my head) and I enjoyed the hell out the show but they still will never be my fav band or will I travel to see just them play but I do have a new appreciation for them and their amazing live performance.
"We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, movie gods, and rock stars. But we wont, and we're slowly learning that fact & we're very, very pissed off......."
I thought Radiohead was absolutely amazing. Thanks to GOUGEaway, I had been listening to some recent shows on the drive down, so I feel like I knew exactly what to expect in terms of energy level (plenty of high-energy stuff and plenty of quiter, subtler stuff). If I wasn't expecting that ratio of high energy, upbeat stuff to the pretty stuff I could see how I might have been dissappointed by the momentum. I haven't been especially interested in about 90% of the headliners Bonnaroo has had. Not everything is to everyone's taste.
My wife pretty much hated Radiohead pre-Bonnaroo. I listened to Kid A rather obsessively when it came out and she got pretty sick of it ("its depressing, sounds like a funeral, and his voice is annoying"). She agreed to give them a shot at Roo but planned on heading back to camp after 45 min. or so to rest up for late night. She ended up staying for the whole show and enjoying it. She basically said, "OK, I get it now. Not my favorite band or thing to listen to, but I really enjoyed the show and get what the fuss is about."
Post by exspectator on Jun 20, 2006 2:17:02 GMT -5
that wasn't even a "hardcore fan" setlist by far.
my most favorite thing about the show was how much love they showed for the festival. radiohead isn't a jamband. they dont just play beats to kick the drugs in. (please understand) their music is the combination of atmosphere and presence- some of you might say its slow, but the times when the breeze seemed right in sync with the music... its the subtle things that move me.
I enjoyed Radiohead, my wife did not. It's a personal thing with moodier music, music that lets you find the vibe instead of forcing one on you.
It was an interesting comment, should such a band headline a festival with 80,000 people of all types...in that sense, perhaps Petty is a more inclusive choice.
Except I grew up with Petty and knew every song he played, and I was like, where's "Running Down A Dream"? Where's "Love Is A Long Road"? Where's "Woman In Love"? "Don't Do Me Like That"? Fukking "Breakdown"? Why was was the show so short? So, there ya go. Petty left me wondering why the set was so by-the-numbers and just weak, whereas Radiohead, a band I am not so familiar with, left me entranced.