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In June of this year, the English band Radiohead sneaked into the US in advance of their then forthcoming release, Hail to the Thief (Capitol). They began a week in New York by sending frontman Thom Yorke and guitarist Jonny Greenwood to Electric Ladyland Studio for an intimate radio performance. The following day the band played a show at the Beacon Theatre that was filmed and later broadcast by MTV 2 before rounding out their visit as one of the high points of the otherwise ill-fated Field Day show, which had to be moved from a promising non-traditional rural setting on Long Island to the uncomfortably swampy sprawl of Giants Stadium. It was as if Radiohead were determined to prove, after the otherworldly and experimentalist of Kid A and Amnesiac (both Capitol), that they’d come back to earth and were ready to thrive as the immensely popular rock band that they’d been since the release of Pablo Honey (Capitol) in 1993. Any lingering doubts about their ability to settle into the role of a larger-than-life draw were cast aside by the intensity of their performance a week ago Wednesday at the Tweeter Center, as they kicked off a national tour in support of Hail to the Thief in front of a full house. Launching into a menacing version of "2 + 2 = 5," they generated such a powerful surge of energy, it seemed as if the lightning that flashed across the darkened skies were emanating from the storm front centered on the stage. Yorke stood stoic in the eye of this rock storm as the dissociative electronic sprawl of Kid A and Amnesiac was washed away by the fierce pounding of real drums and the unadulterated ring of real guitars. Yet like Hail to the Thief, the performance aimed for and found a comfortable sonic balance between the organic and the synthetic. Credit for that triumph belongs to Greenwood, who used a variety of samplers and keyboards to incorporate crucial samples and loops into the mix while remaining available to mirror the anguish of Yorke’s vocals with his serrated guitar parts. Radiohead are far from a two-man show. Ed O’Brien contributes to the two- and sometimes three-pronged guitar attack, particularly on songs like the current single, "There, There." And the infectious enthusiasm from bassist Colin Greenwood helps offset the wave after wave of angst that emanates from Yorke. Although this was the first night of the tour, everything fell into place as Radiohead focused on Thief, playing 10 of its 14 tracks. Yet they didn’t ignore past hits: the ode to postmodern alienation "Paranoid Android" and the self-loathing sing-along "Creep" were high points of a set that found them surging forward to meet the challenges of being a great live band instead of withdrawing into a protective cocoon of obscurity.
BY TOM KIELTY
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