Maybe years of concert going in Los Angeles have made me a jaded cynic, but I have to admit some trepidation when I intially heard that Thom Yorke would be playing the ~700 person capacity Echoplex in the heart of LA’s hipster haven. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been to several Radiohead shows across the country. I’ve met and spoken with Thom himself. I know firsthand how great of a stage performer this awkward looking Englishman can be. It’s just that… well, solo albums from celebrated frontmen usually end up being a disappointing affair. I wasn’t a huge fan of The Eraser, the album came off to me a bit flat and soulless. Plus, how in the world could this new band work out? Nigel I can understand, but Flea?? Is he going to come out on stage in nothing but a tube sock, and start slappin’ da bass I Love You Man style? I was worried the show would degenerate into an 80 minute masturbatory jam session with famous musicians.
Fortunately, Thom and the boys proved I was a complete douche for even entertaining those thoughts.
I’ve seen countless Indie bands du jour at the Echoplex. 90% of the time they are simply ok. Fun, glad I went, but nothing to write home about. It was quite jarring to see real performers with stage presence in such an intimate venue. Thom and his new band proved that there’s a lot more to being great performers than being talked about on the blogosphere and selling out tickets to scenesters.
They came on roughly half past 9pm and launched into the title track from The Eraser. Though I had a feeling most of the set would consist of Thom’s 2006 solo record, I wasn’t really thinking about it as the band played through the album in order. Each of the band members contributed to creating a fuller, richer sound that transformed the songs into something almost brand new.
As always, Thom showcased his array of awkward looking dances. My personal favorites were “the belly dancer” and “the sardine dance”. (just visualize what you think those mean and you probably nailed it) He was in good spirits, talking with the crowd between almost every song and splitting his time between the piano and the front stage mic. One move which I had not seen from him before was something I call “the rapper.” While singing Harrowdown Hill, Thom channeled his inner hip-hop star and strutted along the front of the stage with the swagger of Jay-Z.
Being the first show played by the unnamed band, Thom saw fit to introduce the band:
After Thom, the first performer my eyes gravitated towards was Flea. He looked subdued, clad in a simple gray tshirt and jeans, but brought the energy and funk when the songs called for it. Songs that sounded like a looped bass machine on the record were transformed into energized, organic entities.
Mauro Refosco, the Brazilian percussionist, seemed to be born for playing in this band. Though I couldn’t see exactly what he was playing, it sounded like he had the figurative kitchen sink filled with literal dining utensils of percussion instruments. During some songs he pounded instruments like a spoonman, while in others he brought an almost tribal beat. If Flea brought the funk vibe, Mauro brought the world music vibe. One instrument I did manage to see, however, was a pretty mindblowing 6 snaredrum setup, which he played like the bongos.
Nigel and Joey were tucked away in the back of the stage for most of the show, making it hard for me to get a good look at what they were doing. I can tell you that Joey rocked it on the drums, while Nigel provided one of the night’s highlights when he took his guitar to the front of the stage and rocked out with Flea.
After completing The Eraser, the band took an encore break. Thom returned to the stage by himself and played a couple of new tunes solo. Prior to starting, some dude shouted “Play some Skynyrd!” Thom replied with, “It should be more like… I dunno play some Stone Temple Pilots or something like that.” First of all, I’m surprised Thom knew who the Stone Temple Pilots are. Second of all, a cover of Stone Temple Pilot’s Creep would have blown the roof of the building with the sheer force of irony. Third of all, holy shit, maybe Thom was thinking the same thing! Well played, Mr. Yorke, well played.
The full band returned on stage shortly and finished off the lengthy encore with some more new material. While they didn’t grab me as very different from the songs played earlier, they still sounded great due to how well the band members complemented each other. In fact, I was very surprised at how tight and practiced the band sounded as a whole. Thom led off the show by saying “Welcome to the rehearsal!” but there was really no evidence that it was a rehearsal other than a couple of slip-ups here and there. All in all, I’m quite excited to hear where this new band goes. They’ve got the potential to be something more than a forgettable side project.
Setlist:
‘The Eraser’
‘Analyse’
‘The Clock’
‘Black Swan’
‘Skip Divided’
‘Atoms For Peace’
‘And It Rained All Night’
‘Harrowdown Hill’
‘Cymbal Rush’
‘Open The Floodgates’
‘Lotus Flower’
‘Skirting On The Surface’
‘Judge, Jury, Executioner’
‘Paperbag Writer’
‘The Hollow Earth’
‘Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses’
Video of ‘Atoms For Peace’:
