Twenty-four hours before, we were in Aspen, Colo. Beautiful people were everywhere, a liquor called Tuaca flowed like water, and designer drugs were popped like Pez in the bar bathroom.
A wild coyote nonchalantly strolled by on the moonlit drunken walk to a friend-of-a-friend’s house, but we were too concerned with doing Jack Nicholson impressions in front of Jack Nicholson’s Aspen home to really become scared about it.
Now we were in Ellensburg, Wash., which is close enough to the middle of nowhere that it could be annexed. I attempted to get a beer at a bar on Main Street and was noticed by a rather large good ol’ boy named Bill.
“Ya’ll from Wes-con-sen to see who?” He had his arm around me now and I was petrified. “Hey, Zeke. These boys done came from Wes-con-sen to see Radiohead.” Zeke was confused and unimpressed at the same time.
As much as Bill could not grasp why we drove nearly across the country to see a band, he nonetheless introduced us to everyone and we were bar celebrities for a night, and severely overdressed at that.
It really does not make much sense to drive to Colorado, then Washington, to see two Radiohead shows all in the time span of five days, but in the mind of a die-hard Radiohead fan, the question, “Why?” begs the question, “Why not?” And why not try to see as many shows as we could?
The Radiohead U.S. tour this past summer was the band’s first American tour since the OK Computer tour in 1997. Fans had waited four years for this one, and for many it would be their first time to see the band perform live.
I saw Radiohead play at Red Rocks, Colo., the Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Wash., Chicago, Ill., and Cleveland, Ohio. Even with serious cramps from the driving, I recommend that everyone see the group at least once in his or her life.
For those who missed the tour this summer, I Might Be Wrong — Live Recordings helps fill the void that may exist. The album consists of eight live songs recorded during the European leg of last summer’s tour.
Appropriately enough, the album starts off with the national anthem, which Radiohead opened all their shows with. It begins with guitarist Jonny Greenwood receiving some European radio station on his little transistor radio. His brother, Colin, cuts the crowd’s anticipation with a thundering bass line, while Thom Yorke coughs rhythmically in time with Phil Selway’s concentrated and methodical drum beat.
The album’s namesake track is slightly faster than the version on Amnesiac and features Yorke wielding a tambourine. The combination makes “I Might Be Wrong” upbeat and quite enjoyable.
“Morning Bell” appeared on both Amnesiac and Kid A, and the live version adds the element of Jonny Greenwood’s space guitar and, later, subtle licks. By way of the gem, it becomes apparent why he is one of the most important rock guitarists today. Ed O’Brien assists Yorke vocally on the song and does it well. O’Brien’s unadulterated, boyish vocal backings are perhaps one of the most underappreciated elements of Radiohead’s live shows.
It would be difficult to get noticed in the midst of Yorke’s haunting and piercing voice. The live songs raise the question of whether his voice is really that good. “Like Spinning Plates” is a good example of Yorke’s vocal abilities. The song, which is considered by critics and the band themselves to be one of their finest, is equally as depressing as the original version on Amnesiac. The minute or so of warm piano solo by Yorke in the beginning transforms the song from desolate to inviting.
The true gem on I Might Be Wrong — Live Recordings is the previously unreleased and rarely played live “True Love Waits.” Yorke plays solo on the acoustic guitar and sings a painful ballad about the point in a dying relationship where one person will sacrifice anything to make the other stay. “I’ll drown my beliefs/ to have you be in peace,” Yorke sings. For those who experience something cathartic while listening to Radiohead, “True Love Waits” should have them crawling on the floor. York sings, “I’m not living/ I’m just killing time” and “Just don’t leave/ don’t leave.”
I Might Be Wrong — Live Recordings rounds out what has been an eventful year for Radiohead aficionados . The past 13 months have seen two full-length albums, a tour and now the live recordings. The album is a solid set of live songs and should be considered essential for any Radiohead collection.
