Radiohead – Victoria Park, London

Like seemingly half of London – Kimbo and I headed down to Victoria Park for the second of Radiohead’s two hometown shows for their 2008 World tour.
It was actually a bit of a trek – so we arrived at the park in time to hear Radiohead drifting across to us as we wandered into the gates and found a spot in amongst a nicely civilised crowd of around 32,000.
Drawing mostly from their post-‘Kid A’ material, it was good to hear a few oldies in the mix, including “Lucky” early on in the set, and a crowd-pleasing “No Surprises”.
The stage set-up was very impressive – the sound was excellent from the few different spots we tried. And the video screens on either side of the stage were fantastic – crystal clear separate images of all band members, utilising unusual camera positioning (like birds-eye view directly above front-man Thom York) – and resembled more of a well-produced music video than the standard crappy camera focussed on the lead-singer that you usually get at concerts.
The lighting effects were also astounding, with long beams hanging down to the stage and around the band, that could both light-up different colours and also, seemingly display footage within them (or maybe this was projected onto them?).
The main set came to a close with a great double-header of “Everything in it’s Right Place” leading into “Idioteque” – two of my favourite Radiohead songs from their recent twitchy-pop period.
We started making our way out of the park as the encore’s commenced, but it was great to hear “The Bends” and other classics drifting across as we slowly made our way to the exit.

Full setlist:
01. Reckoner
02. 15 Step
03. There There
04. All I Need
05. Lucky
06. Nude
07. Wierd Fishees / Arpeggi
08. Myxomatosis
09. The National Anthem
10. Faust Arp
11. No Surprises
12. Jigsaw Falling Into Place
13. Optimistic
14. Videotape
15. Everything in its Right Place
16. Idioteque
17. Bodysnatchers

Encore 1
18. House of Cards
19. The Bends
20. Bangers 'n' Mash
21. My Iron Lung
22. Karma Police

Encore 2
23. Go Slowly
24. 2+2=5
25. Paranoid Android

My Bloody Valentine - The Roundhouse

Loudest-gig-ever.

When we arrived, there was a few signs up offering free ear-plugs from the merch desk. I thought was a bit of a gimmick - but fortunately a friend at work hooked me up with a couple of pairs in advance - and I'm so glad he did. This was without a doubt the loudest gig I have ever been too. Things started well with the more mellow "Only Shallow" into "When You Sleep" - however as the show went on everything got louder and louder. By the last song "You made me realise" stretched into 15+ minutes of guitar noise/feedback which is being dubbed "holocaust" on some fan websites. It's certainly the first time I've seen people with ear-plugs still covering their ears!
Kimbo was a big fan back in the day so we we're both pretty excited about seeing the first show of their reunion after a 15+ year hiatus. Also the Roundhouse is an ace venue. It was a very cool show - absolutely no between song chat, a 90 min set straight-up no encore. Played everything you wanted to hear, plus a few odd EPs tracks. But it was just so loud. As one wag observed as we we're leaving: "it was like Kevin Shields decided 'the last thing I want everyone to hear is my gig'..".

The other thing that's been kinda funny is all the UK music media treating the MBV reunion with religious fervor. My favorite was Xfm with "sonic cathedrals of sound".


Full Set-List:
Only shallow
When you sleep
You never should
(When you wake) you're still in a dream
Lose my breath
I only said
Come in alone
Thorn
Nothing much to lose
To here knows when
Slow
Blown a wish
Soon
Feed me with your kiss
Sueisfine
You made me realise / 15+ mins of noisy feedback

N.E.R.D - Brixton Academy

We got the new N.E.R.D. album 'Seeing Sounds' a couple of weeks ago and it's been on high rotation ever since. Both Kimbo and I reckon it's a massive return to form, up there with their 2002 debut, after the likable but kinda hollow 'Fly Or Die'.

So we were both pretty excited to be heading down to their only UK headline show (the band we're over for an appearance at the Isle Of Wight festival last night).

The crowd anticipation was high when we arrived about 9pm (the time the band was scheduled to come one) as the audience proceeded to boo the start of every new pre-recorded song - meaning it would be another few minutes before N.E.R.D. hit the stage.

The show itself got off to a bit of a stuttered start, with the 5-piece band coming on (guitar, bass, keywords, and two drummers) coming on to a massive cheer, doing a quick run through of "Anti-Matter" from the new album; before leaving the stage again. A few minutes latter the full crew returned to the stage led by Pharrell Williams and Shay Haley upfront, while Chad Hugo placed himself behind some keyboards at stage center.

This time the launched into a full version of "Anti-Matter" one of my favorites from the new album. Quickly followed by "Brain" from their debut.

The band sounded very tight - particularly impressive with two drummers. The main trio held things together well. They possibly when a little hard on pushing the new album ("I want all of you to come home and tell 10 friends why they should buy our new album"). Also the show production seemed a little hit-and-miss - some songs had impressive lighting and visuals on a large screen behind the stage, while others seemingly had no lighting at all.

Such was the case for "Spaz" from the new album, although the pre-faced this by saying they we're filming tonight for a music video for this song - which explained the presence of a camera crew on stage during most of the most. It's pretty cool to know the show we were at will be the next N.E.R.D. video - but it did kill the momentum of the night slightly, especially when they stopped to film crowd cut-aways and reaction shots.

Still, over all the show was great with other stand-out tracks including"Lap Dance" and "Rock Star" from 'In Search Of' plus "Maybe" and "Fly or Die" from 'Fly Or Die'.

It was the closing few songs when N.E.R.D. really found their form, from a filthy "Backseat Love" to roof-lifting current single "Everyone Nose", straight into 'Fly Or Die's "She Wants to Move" (which included 20+ "girls" from the crowd dancing on stage). The band then closed with a note-perfect rendition of The White Stripes "7 Nation Army" while Pharrell and Shay rapped the refrain of "Everyone Nose" - "all the girls standing in line at the bathroom" over the top. A suitably strange but impressive way to end a good night.