It was a homecoming of sorts for Radiohead on Friday night, when the Oxfordshire-bred band played its first show in the U.K. in eight years at London’s O2 Arena.
This month, the iconic alt-rock group — fronted by Thom Yorke and consisting of guitarist Jonny Greenwood, bassist Colin Greenwood, drummer Philip Selway and guitarist/backing vocalist Ed O’Brien — has embarked on its first tour in nearly a decade, playing four-night residencies in Madrid, Bologna, London, Copenhagen and Berlin. With two cities before it, London attendees had an idea of what to expect (for example, that Radiohead would be playing in the round on a stage in the center of the floor), but not much can prepare one for the feeling of witnessing a band some thought may never return.
Read on for the highlights from Radiohead’s first of four London shows, from the unique stage-set up to a truly cathartic encore.
Radiohead in the Round
Walking onto the O2 Arena’s floor, concertgoers were immediately confronted with a big decision — where is the best place to stand? With a round stage in the middle and panels covering the set-up from view, fans paced around in circles and consulted Reddit threads in an attempt to determine the most ideal location. About 15 minutes to showtime, anticipation peaked in the multi-generational crowd — there were your expected middle-aged men, but also dads with daughters and groups of rowdy teenage boys — as the outside panels on the stage began to pulse. Each section of the crowd hollered when a panel close to them lit up, until the entire crowd was yelling as the band walked through to the stage.
The lights went down and the first few notes of “Planet Telex” rang out, but the band continued to be shrouded by the panels until mid-way through the second song, “2+2=5.” Once the panels lifted, it was revealed that there was really no bad place to stand. With microphones on both ends, Yorke switched sides every few songs, and the stage’s raised height meant everyone could see (even if a very tall man loomed in front of you). Colin Greenwood and O’Brien were stationed where this journalist was standing — on the opposite side from where attendees entered the floor — as was the piano where Yorke would stop to play the band’s ballads. Though Jonny Greenwood was mainly on the other side of the stage, he too made his way around eventually, ripping his way through guitar solos and pausing to play the piano during “Daydreaming.”
Thom in His Element
Though all members of the band were in peak form, Yorke really seemed to be in his element. Dressed casually in a denim jacket and baggy jeans, he maneuvered around the stage with glee, almost skipping at some points. During tracks like “15 Step” and “Kid A,” he showed off his signature dance moves, flailing his body around and moving to the beat in an almost salsa-like fashion. He also enjoyed working the crowd, motioning for them to scream and clap at points, with a particularly incredible response during “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi.” For “Daydreaming,” a roadie brought out a music stand and Yorke began to compose, waving his arms around as if he were Mozart. Though the frontman did not say many words — only a “pleased to meet you” and “thank you very much” every once in a while — his stage presence remained magnetic and enthralling to watch.
A Surprisingly Phoneless Crowd
Going into this tour, there was a slight concern that we may be seeing the TikTokification of Radiohead due to songs like “Let Down” and “No Surprises” going viral on the app. Would the crowd just be full of teenagers with their phones in the air? Somewhat surprisingly, the opposite was true. Even when they played the songs that have granted them a new Gen Z audience, there was barely any video-taking, with everyone preferring to stay in the moment. In fact, it was probably one of the least phone-crazed concerts I’ve been to all year, giving the show a real community feel.
Setlist Science
So far, the current tour’s setlist has been a pretty even mix across Radiohead’s discography — except for 1993 debut “Pablo Honey,” which the band rarely performs live. Charts have been made on Reddit just to keep track of the set, with it seemingly following a pattern of playing certain songs every other show. Their first night in London mainly stayed true to this (see the full setlist below), but the band still found ways to switch things up: “Lucky” and “Bloom” traded places, “Idioteque” went back to the 12th spot after appearing in the encore during the last Bologna show, “Everything in Its Right Place” was played 13th (it’s typically been 12th or the final song of the encore) and “Jigsaw Falling Into Place” was played 16th for the first time (instead of third). Despite drawing from the same material every night, this variation has ensured that each show is truly a unique experience.
A Cathartic Encore
The best part just may have been the encore, with a series of seven heavy-hitters — “Fake Plastic Trees, “Let Down, “Paranoid Android,” “You and Whose Army?,” “A Wolf at the Door, “Just” and “Karma Police” — drawing the set to a cathartic close. From the first notes of “Fake Plastic Trees,” the show turned into a true singalong, with the crowd even overpowering Yorke at certain points. This section of the night also elicited the most words out of the frontman, who said before playing “Just”: “This is one we wrote on a freezing cold farm in 1994, when we thought maybe this wouldn’t go anywhere. We thought, ‘Fuck it, let’s just write this one song.’” Thank God they did.
See Radiohead’s full setlist for their Nov. 21 London show below.
“Planet Telex”
“2+2+5”
“Sit Down. Stand Up”
“Lucky”
“Bloom”
“15 Step”
“The Gloaming”
“Kid A”
“No Surprises”
“Videotape”
“Weird Fishes/Arpeggi”
“Idioteque”
“Everything in Its Right Place”
“The National Anthem”
“Daydreaming”
“Jigsaw Falling Into Place”
“Bodysnatchers”
“There There”
Encore
“Fake Plastic Trees”
“Let Down”
“Paranoid Android”
“You and Whose Army?”
“A Wolf at the Door”
“Just”
“Karma Police”
