[cont...]
We then started to make a move towards the stadium itself for the main attraction (and the ONLY reason we had come). I had wanted to avoid the Stereophonics (as had we all) but it was worth it if we could get near the front We got to the stadium to find a HUGE queue to get to the front, near the stage. We waited and waited while a cat died [the Stereophonics][A]. Actually, I shouldn't be so harsh as they weren't that bad And there was this one girl near where we were waiting who looked like the happiest person in the world. Seriously. She looked like she was going to explode with joy. Not the loud kind of whooping joy but the internal "rising up inside and I will not let it escape" kind. It was beautiful to see and so I have to have some kind of grudging respect for the 'Phonics. Which is a shame - I feel dirty and wrong. We got through to a roadblock in the queue. Some stewards were stopping people from getting any closer and we were lucky enough to be stuck with some other people who spoke English. They were knobs. They were constantly swearing at the stewards to let them through and acting all matey with us. I didn't want anything to do with them but Paul is a little more forgiving so he spoke with them[B]. Eventually we worked our way to the pitch after the Sterophonics had finished. The back of the pitch. Better than nothing. But, not better than the front so we pushed and barged through til we could get to the little path/gate thing that allowed us there. And we got there. Nirvana.
We got there before The Strokes were on so we managed to watch them in the pit. They were pretty good but the lack of material was really apparent. Blitzed through the album in some random order. It's not even a particularly long album and its even shorter live. I enjoyed it a lot though. The crowd seemed to like it too. Not amazingly into it though, the problem with festivals is that you don't necessarily get a load of fans there of each band (1). And it is difficult to sing along in a foreign language I guess. They chucked in a few Japanese words. Well they said "Arrigato" (Thanks) anyway.
It was still light as we waited for the headliners to the accompaniment of some random muzak. Not the style of the new Beta Band album on repeat (like at South Park) but some other stuff. There seemed to be a bit of a buzz about the place. Craig had never seen Radiohead before and I had spent much of the time after getting the tickets building up his expectations about how they were life changing live. Not sure he believed me but he was obviously looking forward to it. Me and Paul had seen them a few times so we spoke about our favourites, speculated about the set list and what it would be.
And. Then...
Everybody went mental. And I mean it, not in some blinkered "cos I was excited" way, they went mad. Radiohead came on, played the beginning of "There There" and, well, I had no choice but to float. Thousands of people started moving and I levitated. Phenomenal. I was wrong (look at (1)). They had all come for Radiohead - this was a Radiohead gig with support. I can't even remember the details that well but it was like a totally different experience from not only every Radiohead gig I have been to but also anything else I have ever done. They played a lot of songs. A lot of songs, especially for a festival set. And the crowd were well into it. Singing along, jumping and, most bizarre of all, swaying in time to the slower ones. You know, like primary school girls. Except thousands of them. Bizarre but amazing. I was well into it too, obviously. I even started the shushing for "Exit Music (for a film)" Like at South Park. The band looked really pleased too, I don't think they can get that reaction for most of their gigs (no way they could be such grumpy muppets if they did!). Thom spoke more Japanese than the rest of the bands that I saw that night and the crowd were very appreciative of it. In fact they were very appreciative of anything they did. The setlist was really weird and highlights the breadth of material they have at their disposal now. They played a lot of new stuff and it was a bit like a "Hail to the Thief" touring list but they played a few older ones. I was shocked at the lack of "Street Spirit" and "Airbag" but the other stuff was "not bad". They played a decent rendition of "Everything in its Right Place" too to finish the first part.
The highlight of South Park (sorry to keep mentioning it but those that know me will recognise what high regard I hold that in) was the encore of Creep. Not because it is their best song (far from it in fact) but because it felt very special. They don't play it normally and they even set it up last time with a bit of trickery. They played it again as the finisher and again it was a bit of a surprise. But it didn't feel as special because it was just "normal". It even took the sheen off of South Park for me and Paul. It was still absolutely fantastic though and the crowd went mental yet again. It was so very hot too - everybody was drenched. The gig finished and there was the most intense ovation I have heard in a long time. And then the real finisher came. Knockout blow. Fireworks. In the sky. Perfection. I cannot explain it and I don't know if it was a Radiohead thing or a Summersonic thing but it was perfect. And took the whole night up that little bit more.
The lights came on and I found Paul and Craig (the pit was fairly "fluid"). And Craig's face was totally different. Honestly, he looked totally drained of "something" and pale. As if he didn't quite understand what had happened to him. Eyes WIDE open. "Rabbit in your headlights", if you will. He clearly loved it beyond what he had thought and it was really visible. Different to that girl I mentioned but visible nonetheless.
[tbc]
---All lettered footnotes were written in 2015---
A. I used to like the Stereophonics in a certain way. Their first album should have been excellent and it had some really good singles - but they worked as singles. They didn't seem to work within an album and I felt the same about the second album.↩
B. I do not seem to get on well with people at gigs - it may be an aversion to seeing other people have fun. Or it could be that some people become very selfish and entitled once they have had a few drinks and are surrounded by other people.↩
We then started to make a move towards the stadium itself for the main attraction (and the ONLY reason we had come). I had wanted to avoid the Stereophonics (as had we all) but it was worth it if we could get near the front We got to the stadium to find a HUGE queue to get to the front, near the stage. We waited and waited while a cat died [the Stereophonics][A]. Actually, I shouldn't be so harsh as they weren't that bad And there was this one girl near where we were waiting who looked like the happiest person in the world. Seriously. She looked like she was going to explode with joy. Not the loud kind of whooping joy but the internal "rising up inside and I will not let it escape" kind. It was beautiful to see and so I have to have some kind of grudging respect for the 'Phonics. Which is a shame - I feel dirty and wrong. We got through to a roadblock in the queue. Some stewards were stopping people from getting any closer and we were lucky enough to be stuck with some other people who spoke English. They were knobs. They were constantly swearing at the stewards to let them through and acting all matey with us. I didn't want anything to do with them but Paul is a little more forgiving so he spoke with them[B]. Eventually we worked our way to the pitch after the Sterophonics had finished. The back of the pitch. Better than nothing. But, not better than the front so we pushed and barged through til we could get to the little path/gate thing that allowed us there. And we got there. Nirvana.
We got there before The Strokes were on so we managed to watch them in the pit. They were pretty good but the lack of material was really apparent. Blitzed through the album in some random order. It's not even a particularly long album and its even shorter live. I enjoyed it a lot though. The crowd seemed to like it too. Not amazingly into it though, the problem with festivals is that you don't necessarily get a load of fans there of each band (1). And it is difficult to sing along in a foreign language I guess. They chucked in a few Japanese words. Well they said "Arrigato" (Thanks) anyway.
It was still light as we waited for the headliners to the accompaniment of some random muzak. Not the style of the new Beta Band album on repeat (like at South Park) but some other stuff. There seemed to be a bit of a buzz about the place. Craig had never seen Radiohead before and I had spent much of the time after getting the tickets building up his expectations about how they were life changing live. Not sure he believed me but he was obviously looking forward to it. Me and Paul had seen them a few times so we spoke about our favourites, speculated about the set list and what it would be.
And. Then...
Everybody went mental. And I mean it, not in some blinkered "cos I was excited" way, they went mad. Radiohead came on, played the beginning of "There There" and, well, I had no choice but to float. Thousands of people started moving and I levitated. Phenomenal. I was wrong (look at (1)). They had all come for Radiohead - this was a Radiohead gig with support. I can't even remember the details that well but it was like a totally different experience from not only every Radiohead gig I have been to but also anything else I have ever done. They played a lot of songs. A lot of songs, especially for a festival set. And the crowd were well into it. Singing along, jumping and, most bizarre of all, swaying in time to the slower ones. You know, like primary school girls. Except thousands of them. Bizarre but amazing. I was well into it too, obviously. I even started the shushing for "Exit Music (for a film)" Like at South Park. The band looked really pleased too, I don't think they can get that reaction for most of their gigs (no way they could be such grumpy muppets if they did!). Thom spoke more Japanese than the rest of the bands that I saw that night and the crowd were very appreciative of it. In fact they were very appreciative of anything they did. The setlist was really weird and highlights the breadth of material they have at their disposal now. They played a lot of new stuff and it was a bit like a "Hail to the Thief" touring list but they played a few older ones. I was shocked at the lack of "Street Spirit" and "Airbag" but the other stuff was "not bad". They played a decent rendition of "Everything in its Right Place" too to finish the first part.
The highlight of South Park (sorry to keep mentioning it but those that know me will recognise what high regard I hold that in) was the encore of Creep. Not because it is their best song (far from it in fact) but because it felt very special. They don't play it normally and they even set it up last time with a bit of trickery. They played it again as the finisher and again it was a bit of a surprise. But it didn't feel as special because it was just "normal". It even took the sheen off of South Park for me and Paul. It was still absolutely fantastic though and the crowd went mental yet again. It was so very hot too - everybody was drenched. The gig finished and there was the most intense ovation I have heard in a long time. And then the real finisher came. Knockout blow. Fireworks. In the sky. Perfection. I cannot explain it and I don't know if it was a Radiohead thing or a Summersonic thing but it was perfect. And took the whole night up that little bit more.
The lights came on and I found Paul and Craig (the pit was fairly "fluid"). And Craig's face was totally different. Honestly, he looked totally drained of "something" and pale. As if he didn't quite understand what had happened to him. Eyes WIDE open. "Rabbit in your headlights", if you will. He clearly loved it beyond what he had thought and it was really visible. Different to that girl I mentioned but visible nonetheless.
[tbc]
---All lettered footnotes were written in 2015---
A. I used to like the Stereophonics in a certain way. Their first album should have been excellent and it had some really good singles - but they worked as singles. They didn't seem to work within an album and I felt the same about the second album.↩
B. I do not seem to get on well with people at gigs - it may be an aversion to seeing other people have fun. Or it could be that some people become very selfish and entitled once they have had a few drinks and are surrounded by other people.↩
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