The moment that Taiwanese rock fans had been waiting for for the past seven months — one could even say for more than a decade — finally arrived on Wednesday, when Radiohead performed at the Taipei World Trade Center’s Nangang Exhibition Hall (台北世界貿易中心南港展覽館).
Thom Yorke and company did not disappoint on their first ever visit to Taiwan, putting on a two-and-a-half hour, 25-song concert that was relentlessly driven and intense.
Those who expected to hear a greatest hits reel from the 1990s were in for a rude surprise. The band did oblige the audience with a few classic tunes from Ok Computer and The Bends, but the show was mostly a showcase of the music of Radiohead today, where straight-up guitar rock has taken a backseat to an endless torrent of layered, syncopated beats, noise and electronica.
Photo Courtesy of Very Aspect
The evening started with a pair of songs from Radiohead’s latest album, King of Limbs. There was a welcoming roar from what felt like all 18,000 people in the audience as the band launched into Lotus Flower. Played live, the subtleties heard on the studio versions of these songs inevitably got lost. But the band made up for this by playing up visual and visceral elements in the show.
Yorke was constantly on the move throughout the concert, dancing, writhing, snaking his arms. At times he looked manic, but it was clear that he was happily losing himself in the groove. He bounced around the stage during Bloom, against a backdrop of cascading guitar riffs and a barrage of pounding rhythms played by three drummers.
The trippy, sci-fi vibe to Radiohead’s stage and lights show was perfectly suited to the music. A grid of video screens above the band flashed and flickered with simultaneous close-up shots of different band members on stage. Each song sported a different color scheme — The Gloaming, a techno-rock number from the 2003’s Hail To The Thief, riffed on a black and green backdrop, a la The Matrix. Identikit, a new song with a looping trip-hop beat and mournful melody, was performed in an aquatic blue setting.
Given the intricacies of Radiohead’s layered sound and considering that the cavernous Nangang Exhibition Center is far from an ideal venue, the sound was surprisingly good. This could be chalked up to the band’s well-prepared crew and a state-of-the art sound system. Yorke, whose singing was in top form that evening, cut through the fog of all the band’s noisy orchestration, at least from where I stood near the center of the exhibition hall.
Another point of appreciation of the evening was that you could literally feel the beats — the music would move your body, like it or not. During Kid A, the entire floor shook from the bass and drums, which pulsed underneath the velvety piano tones played by the band’s virtuoso multi-instrumentalist Jonny Greenwood. That’s something you’d never get from watching them on YouTube.
Despite the initial excitement, the band didn’t actually hit its stride until the sixth song, Morning Mr. Magpie. The six-piece band found itself locked perfectly into a groove during this guitar-driven number, and the response from the audience was electrifying.
The energy in the room had revved up a few notches, and again, I could feel the drum and bass notes reverberating in my chest and throat.
It’s hard to choose highlights from the show, as there were many. Karma Police elicited widespread cheers and the requisite sing-a-long. The dubstep-flavored Feral and the electro-funk of Little By Little were unsettling but exhilarating. After a loose second set of seven songs, the night ended on a hushed note with a beautiful rendition of Exit Music (for a film).
Although he was animated on stage, Yorke said very little to the audience, except to say “thank you” or announce song titles. In spite of the doofuses near the front of the stage who would yell “Say something!” between songs, Yorke did offer a short comment on one of the Radiohead’s pet causes, which drew appreciative cheers and applause. Before the band performed Everything In Its Right Place, the stage crew rolled out Yorke’s synthesizer, which had a Tibetan flag draped in front of it. As he launched into the song, he smiled and quipped, “Free Tibet, (expletive)!”
The Radiohead concert has made for a good start (probably too good) for this summer’s season of blockbuster rock bands visiting from the West. Smashing Pumpkins, Nelly Furtado, and Garbage will be in Taipei next month as part of the TWinkle Rock Festival. For details and tickets, visit www.twinklerockfestival.com.
SHOWS THIS WEEKEND
Live Wire’s picks for this weekend are outside of Taipei. If you have some pent-up energy stored up after the recent events at Shida, consider making a trip to Taitung for the Fudafudak Concert, which takes place tomorrow. The event also targets some unfriendly neighbors: the Miramar Resort Village (美麗灣渡假村) has built a hotel complex blocking public access to Shanyuan Beach (杉原沙灘), which local Aboriginal groups consider to be sacred ground. The concert line-up includes an all-star list of Aboriginal performers: Amis singer Ilid Kaolo (以莉.高露), who won the Golden Melody Award for best new singer, folk poet/activist Panai (巴奈), folk stalwart Kimbo Hu (胡德夫) and a duo of trouabdours, Takanow (達卡鬧) and Long Ge (龍哥).
■ Shanyuan Beach is located about 6km north of Taitung City on the coastal highway. For directions and more information, search “Taidong Protest Concert” on Facebook or check: www.gigguide.tw/event-5543.
Taipei indie rockers Forests have a new CD out, The Moon is Man, and it rocks. The noisy trio will be busy this weekend playing shows in the south to promote the new release. Tonight, they’ll be in Tainan at TCRC and tomorrow in Kaohsiung at the Mercury.
■ Tonight, 8pm, at TCRC (獨立音樂聯盟), B1, 314, Ximen Rd Sec 2, Tainan City (台南市西門路二段314號B1), tel: (06) 222-3238. Admission is NT$300, includes one drink.
■ Tomorrow, 9pm, at The Mercury, 46 Liwen Rd, Zuoying Dist, Kaohsiung City (高雄市左營區立文路46號), Tel: (07) 550-8617. Admission is NT$250, includes one drink.
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