Radiohead are the sole reason I am still in Denver tonight.  If the boys from Oxford weren’t performing at the 1st Bank Center in Broomfield, I would have been well on my way to Austin for SXSW.  That being said, I do have a flight to catch in a matter of hours, so I’m going to make this quick.  First off, Radiohead did their job tonight.  They put on a world class show worthy of the world class band that they are.  Lining up in front of a venue 2 hours before doors is not something I’d do for just any band, and Radiohead proved they were worth the time and effort.  Performing for over two hours, they did a great job of mixing the old with the new with the even newer, keeping the sold out crowd at attention throughout the show.  And while the new (The King of Limbs) material did translate much better in a live setting, the absolute brilliance of the older tracks, such as “Street Spirit (Fade Out)”, “Everything In Its Right Place”, “Myxomatosis”, “Idioteque” and “Karma Police”, did nothing if not highlight the extreme mediocrity of recent Radiohead.  Now, before you label me a hater, I will say that this was one of the best shows I have seen in recent memory, but ask yourself ‘how much better would it have been if The King of Limbs never existed?’

I drove back from Broomfield a believer in Radiohead — believing they continue to be one of the most exciting mainstream bands working today and that KOL was just a misstep, but I would be lying if my thoughts hadn’t already crossed the border into Texas.  And if I don’t find a band down there that excites me more than “Bloom”, “Feral” or “Little By Little”, then I fear for the future of music.

Setlist:
Bloom
Little by Little
The National Anthem
The Gloaming
Morning Mr. Magpie
Staircase
Separator
Codex
Nude
Karma Police
The Amazing Sounds of Orgy
Bodysnatchers
Feral
Lotus Flower
Reckoner
Street Spirit (Fade Out)

Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
There There
Lucky
Everything In Its Right Place

Give Up the Ghost
Myxomatosis
Idioteque