Warning: this post has nothing to do with hollowbody basses, and everything to do with Radiohead.

I’ve been true Radiohead devotee since ‘97 or so, when I bought a copy of OK Computer after hearing Paranoid Android on the radio. I remember the first time I listened to the album - I was vacationing at my Aunt’s house for the week. We had made a trip to the mall (or some other record-selling establishment) where I bought the album. As soon as we got back to her house, I anxiously opened the cellophane and popped the disc in her nice Hi-Fi. Airbag……”this is amazing”. Paranoid Android……..”still amazing”. Subterranean Homesick Alien…….”umm….this is not exactly rockin”. Exit Music……..”hmm, this drags. maybe this album isn’t as great as I thought it was going to be.”

Now, before you crucify me, these were the thoughts of a fifteen-year-old, who for the last two years had been listening to a LOT of Nine Inch Nails and just about any other heavy, pounding, hard rock / industrial stuff he could get his hands on. (Exit Music is now one of my favorite Radiohead tunes.)
But I liked ‘Airbag’ and ‘Android’ so much that I kept coming back to the album. After several listens, the genius of it hit me. I can honestly say that my copy of OK Computer is the only CD that I’ve worn out since I started buying CDs in the early 90’s. And I take immaculate care of my CDs.

Before OK, I was a casual fan - I loved “Creep” (as any angsty teenager would), and thought the singles from The Bends were okay (I didn’t get around the buying The Bends until after OK Computer was out).

In the years between 1997 and 2000, I would take trips to Chapel Hill, Raleigh, Greensboro or anywhere with a decent record store in search of Radiohead import singles and albums. Then in 2000 I discovered Napster and started downloading any Radiohead oddities that I could find. When Kid A came out, was in line at 12:01am to by my limited edition copy.

Heck, I actually paid for my download of In Rainbows.

In short, I consider myself a devoted fan.

In 2001, I had an opportunity to see Radiohead live for the first time. August 11, 2001. It was going to be glorious day. We drove from North Carolina to Washington DC for the show. We were stoked. I have a picture or two that were snapped in my Jeep on the way up there. We’re happy! We get to the park - it’s a hot but beautiful day outside. We make it inside the park and stake out a spot on the ground.

Oh, what a horrible journey it turned out to be. A little before the opening act was supposed to come on, the clouds rolled in. No biggie, right? The ticket says rain or shine. I don’t mind getting rained on if I get to see Radiohead. Then the rain starts falling. And the lightning starts crashing all around us. And the skies opened up and what occurred next was a deluge of rain that can only be described as ‘Biblical in proportion’.

We end up being forced out of the park by security and told to wait in our cars. As we’re trudging/running up the hill to the parking lot / mudhole, there is as least 8″ of water rolling down the hill into the valley we’re exiting. Lightning continues to crash, causing a tree to our right to explode. My wife actually felt the electricity from the tree explosion run up her leg. We made it to the Jeep (Cherokee) and piled in. At that point we realized the rain was coming down so hard that the seals on the Jeep doors had given way to the rain and there was now a 1″ puddle of rainwater resting on the floorboard. With all the water we’d soaked up on the way to the Jeep, the seats were now soaking wet as well.

We spent a good while in the Jeep before learning that the concert was officially called off. It’s still raining. As we finally make it to the parking lot exit, we picked up some poor chap who had been sitting in the rain all this time. We took him back to downtown DC before heading to our hotel room.

I managed to book a hotel room in a semi-sketchy part of the city, and didn’t really want to leave my windows down or car unlocked overnight. So I didn’t. When I went out the Jeep the next morning, the windows were fogged up from the inside. Suffice it to say that the Jeep had a bit of a ‘funk’ for the next few years until the mildew smell finally dissipated.

So anyway, the ‘01 Radiohead-DC trip was a total bust. After that, I decided I would never again make travel plans for a band. Even Radiohead. Unless the somehow resurrected Johnny Cash. I’d travel to see that…….

Fast forward seven years. Radiohead announces their In Rainbows tour, and Charlotte, NC is on the list. YES. I know I wasn’t the only one with that sentiment, considering my tickets were towards the back of the covered seating and I was on Ticketmaster vying for seats at 10am sharp the day they went on sale.

Finally, finally, finally, I see my heroes play a concert. Ed’s GQ style. Phil’s grin. Johnny’s Starcaster. Colin’s under-appreciated bass. Thom’s unmistakable voice. For real, playing and singing on a stage that if I had the inclination and security-bypassing ninja skills to make it to, I could have stood with. It was as close to a religious experience that I’ve had at a concert. For some, it probably was the most religious experience they’ve had.

If you haven’t managed to catch a Radiohead show over the last sixteen years, I highly recommend you do before you die. I’m glad I managed to.

Setlist:

1. All I Need
2. There, There
3. Airbag
4. 15 Step
5. Nude
6. Sail to the Moon
7. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
8. Myxomatosis
9. Idioteque
10. Morning Bell
11. Videotape
12. Optimistic
13. Where I End and You Begin
14. You and Whose Army?
15. Everything In Its Right Place
16. Bangers + Mash
17. Bodysnatchers

Encore 1:
18. Go Slowly
19. Talk Show Host
20. Exit Music
21. Planet Telex
22. House of Cards

Encore 2:
23. Paranoid Android
24. Reckoner

The only thing that could have made the night better for me would have been to hear Climbing Up The Walls. But that is in no way a complaint. Personal highlights of the night were There There, Myxomatosis, You and Whose Army? and seeing Radiohead play Talk Show Host and Exit Music back-to-back. Talk Show Host does weird things to my brain. Makes me wonder if I’m invincible.

Garrett, thanks for coming to the show with me.

Zac, wish you could’ve been there.

-Brandon

My vantage point (cellphone pic):

Yours truly, waiting for the sun to go down and for the Liars to get off the stage:

Photos from the show, taken by a few folks with better vantage points than myself:

Photo by Hyphen1982

Photo by Hyphen1982

Photo by Hyphen1982

Photo by Hyphen1982

Photo taken by Crystal Floyd

Photo taken by Crystal Floyd

Photo taken by Crystal Floyd