Radiohead

Throughout my adult life, few bands have punctuated key moments as markedly as Radiohead. Whether it was moving out of my parent's house to an "OK Computer" saturated summer or turning twenty one to "Kid A" or watching the leaves turn in Maine to "Hail to the Theif", Radiohead's progression has coincided with my own. In recent years, their impact on my musical landscape has lessened somewhat, but they have continued to remain one of my most valued bands. I was fortunate enough to have attended their show on Wednesday, this time with far better seats than I had four years ago. At that time, Mars was making its most visible appearance in the night sky and its presence above stage right added muvh needed aesthetic value for those of us on the lawn. This year, however, I had reserved seats which put me in the middle of the visual firestorm Radiohead had concocted. Throughout the two and a half hour performance, I thought of what this band has meant to me through the years and their remarkable ability to continue to innovate, be it musically or with industry shaking business practices. Indeed, their songs from "Ok Computer", now more than ten years old, still sound as cutting edge and groundbreaking as when I first heard them crackling out of my friend's broken cassette player. I thought about Dave, on the drive from North Carolina, asking me if they could really pull it off live. I thought about that question as they closed the evening with an unbelievably epic and atmospheric "Paranoid Android", Thom Yorke's ethereal voice slicing through the night air, and realized that not only can they pull off almost anything they want, but that they have the potential to continue to reshape music for as long as they care to grace our ears with their unique brand of songwriting. They are one of the only truly original artists these days and I feel lucky to have been able to experience their work for the last twelve years, both intimately and up close. I only hope they continue forward for years to come...