[Live MP3s] Radiohead in Boston 2006
Posted on June 6, 2006 at 11:03 am | No Comments
Radiohead are, to me, one of the few bands that have gotten big without getting boring. Sure, they’ve messed around with their early-guitar-heavy formula (losing some hipster fans along the way), maybe leaned a little heavily on the techy knob-twiddling in recent years, but for the most part, the songs are still there. When I’d start to wonder if they’d peaked with ‘The Bends’ or ‘OK Computer’, they’d go write something like ‘Knives Out‘ or ‘Idioteque‘, or even ‘There There‘.
I figured my days of seeing Radiohead live were over… ticket demand and crowd sizes grew faster than I really cared to keep up with. I skipped their last couple Boston stops, one at the too-large Suffolk Downs racetrack, another at the Tweeter Center, a couple venues I really have no interest in seeing live shows at. But when I found out they’d be playing a couple nights at the 5,000 seat Bank of America Pavilion on the Boston waterfront (not exactly intimate, but far smaller than they could have played), I had to give it a shot. Well, it was a nice thought… but tickets were gone in a matter of seconds. Me and my lone browser never had a chance. In the end I tried to feel better knowing that I’d saved some pricy-concert cash.
Color me surprised when a week later I got an email from a kind stranger, responding to a blog comment I’d made about being shut out: He had an extra, and it was mine for face value if I wanted it. Jonah had gotten himself up in the early hours for fan ticket pre-sales, and had scored. 2nd row center. And I was in. Can’t thank him enough for the gesture, and I can only guess how much he could have re-sold that seat for. Fortunately for me, he’s not that kinda guy.
So here’s here was last night’s fantastic show in its entirety. Some very promising new songs, some older stuff, a really varied setlist with a few nice surprises…
(apologies for the fuzzy cell-phone shot… it’s all I got)
Live at the Bank of America Pavilion
Boston, MA
Monday, June 5th, 2006
[ download the entire set in a 136 MB .zip file ]
01. Intro
02. Climbing Up The Walls
03. Bangers ‘n’ Mash (new)
04. 15 Step (new)
05. Morning Bell
06. Kid A
07. Fake Plastic Trees
08. Videotape (new)
09. Bodysnatchers (new)
10. Where I End And You Begin
11. Knives Out
12. There There
13. Nude (new)
14. Just
15. Spooks (new)
16. Idioteque
17. House of Cards (new)
18. Planet Telex
encore 1…
19. Like Spinning Plates
20. Arpeggi (new)
21. No Surprises
22. Everything In Its Right Place
encore 2…
23. The Tourist
A few personal highlights: Guitarist Ed O’Brien’s total enthusiasm during the peak of ‘Fake Plastic Trees‘ (even after all these years), closing the main set with ‘Planet Telex‘, Colin Greenwood’s stellar rolling bass lines on ‘Where You End And I Begin‘, Thom Yorke’s ‘Idioteque’-idiot dance, 5,000 voices behind me singing along to ‘Just‘, and ending the night with ‘The Tourist‘. Favorite of new songs: ‘Videotape‘, by far. Can’t wait to hear the studio version of that one.
I’ll refrain from complaining about any crowd jackassery this time around… it abounded, but I just had too much of a good time to let it get to me. Maybe it was the contact high from the three girls and their very-potent pipe next to me, maybe it was the large-sized harpoon IPAs, or maybe the fact that I was a few feet from the stage, but damn did I ever enjoy myself.
Some links for ya…
some fine print: If anyone has an issue with this live set being made available, just say the word (email link on left). Recorded with a Sony ECM-719 mic and a Sony MZ-RH10 minidisc, converted to .wav and then edited to 192kbps mp3s. They are made available for a limited time, and are not reposted once removed.
Now, most of the live set posting I do is for smaller shows and lesser-known bands… it’s not like Radiohead needs my help. So this set may be up for a shorter amount of time than usual, either by choice (bandwidth goes boom), or when the band’s major label lawyers come a’callin. Either way, get to grabbing.
Mp3s: Film School live in Boston
Posted on May 29, 2006 at 2:02 pm | No Comments
San Francisco’s Film School came to town a week ago, taking the stage at Allston’s Great Scott just after a great set by Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s. I’d missed them the last time they were in town, and again when they had to cancel a show in Wellesley after their gear was stolen back in March. This time had to be the charm, especially since the bar’s just a few blocks from my place.
It’s not hard to spot the five-piece (and fifty pedal) outfit’s influences, and my shoegaze-filled brain couldn’t help doing just that (‘here’s the Ride-ish drumbeat’, ‘there’s the early-Slowdive-style intro’). Fortunately for Film School, they’re able to take these influences and tweak them just enough to own (or at least rent-to-own) them, and they deliver their songs with no small amount of energy and sincerity. Hey, if they’re going for a certain sonic aesthetic, at least they picked my favorite one.
In the small confines of Great Scott, earplugs were required, but I couldn’t help removing them near the end to feel the guitars (and the beers, thanks false45th) fully wash over me. Totally transported, I could have stayed for far more than their 9-song set, but both bands knew you should leave the crowd wanting more. So they did…
Live at Great Scott
Allston, MA
Monday, May 22nd, 2006
01. On & On
02. Harmed
03. Pitfalls
04. He’s In A DeepDeep Lake
05. Ms. Connection
06. Breet
07. P.S.
08. Like You Know
09. 11:11
Seven of those can be found on their excellent self-titled second disc, and the other two (‘p.s.‘ and ‘Ms. Connection‘) appear on last year’s ‘Alwaysnever’ EP.
A brief aside: For the first time, the ‘most annoying audience member’ contest results in a tie! Couldn’t decide between the socially-inept dork with the incessant WOOOOoooOOOOooo!-ing in my ear (listen to the mp3s, ya can’t miss him), or the tool who felt compelled to yell ‘San Francisco represent!’ after every song. I’d love to see these two fight it out in a to-the-death cage match, all the while screaming their respective battle-cries.
Film School video for ‘11:11‘ here, their MySpace page (with three streaming songs) is right here, and their tour with Margot & the Nuclear So & So’s continues tonight in Atlanta. The two bands will part ways in Texas as F.S. heads west for a homecoming show at Slim’s in San Francisco (uh, represent!).
the fine print: If anyone has an issue with this live set being made available, just say the word (email link on left). Recorded with a Sony ECM-719 mic and a Sony MZ-RH10 minidisc, converted to .wav and then edited to 192kbps mp3s. Mp3s are made available for just a few weeks, and are not reposted once removed.