NOW THAT YOU'VE FOUND IT, IT'S GONE
Radiohead, Hummingbird Centre
June 8, 2006

I've always had a soft spot for Radiohead in my heart, I became a mega-fan after hearing The Bends in grade 10, and was automatically drawn in to their honest, emotional lyrics, and excellent songwriting. Needless to say, I've somewhat outgrown them in the past couple years, Hail To The Thief was a hard album for me to get into. I loved a few songs (2+2=5, There, There, Go To Sleep) but had a hard time connecting with the majority of the album. And as always, their best songs from the HTTT sessions were saved and released as b-sides (Fog, Gagging Order).
When the current North American tour was announced, there was no question that I was going to attempt to secure tickets for one of the Toronto dates. To see them at Hummingbird, one of my favourite seated venues in the city was something I couldn't miss. The last time I saw the band in a small venue was back in 1999 at the 9:30 Club during the Tibetan Freedom Concert in Washington DC. We arrived at Hummingbird just after 8pm and had already missed Willy Mason which is a shame because I've only heard good things about him. Radiohead hit the stage at 8:35 and launched into The Gloaming which was utterly amazing. I decided not to see the band on the HTTT tour due to the concert being moved from the Molson Ampitheatre to SkyDome due to the blackout, so this was my first time see HTTT material live and was pleasantly surprised by how strong the songs are in a live setting. After The Gloaming, they played a string of new tunes including Bangers n Mash and 15 Step which has a Idioteque feel but much more dancey and fun. The band have become a lot more comfortable playing live, I have never seen Thom so animated, he danced his ass off and seemed to be enjoying himself. Oh a he even smiled alot!!! A small set of old songs followed including 2+2=5 (fucking great), Kid A, and Fake Plastic Trees (surprising). More new songs followed, but it's hard for me to comment on them because it was my first time hearing them. Highlights from the rest of the show were a chillingly beautiful performance of Climbing Up The Walls, Idioteque, a full venue sing-a-long of Karma Police and Nude (aka Big Ideas), which I have never before seen live, and absolutely loved (it's my new favourite RH song). For the encore, they band made my one RH-related dream come true, I finally got to see them play Let Down, which has been the one RH song that I have always hoped to see live. The encore concluded with a stunning, drum-heavy There, There. Here is the full setlist (via AtEase):

The Gloaming
Bangers n Mash
15 Step
2+2=5
Kid A
Fake Plastic Trees
Videotape
Arpeggi
Idioteque
Climbing up the Walls
Down is the New Up
Karma Police
Nude
House of Cards
Myxomatosis
Spooks
Paranoid Android

Encore 1
You and Whose Army
Bodysnatchers
Just
Let Down

Encore 2
There There

Overall, the show was good, It wasn't the best I've seen them play (nothing will ever compare to their set at Molson Park on the Amnesiac tour), but it was the closest I have ever been to the band (10th row!).

More blog posts/reviews of their Toronto shows:

Look Out Kid/Sucking A Lemon has the most beautiful pictures from night one, and a great song by song review here.

Janice over at Just Keep Bloggin' secured last minute tickets via TM. Check her review here.

Beth over at Rock/Paper/Pixels was at the same show as me and has an excellent review and great pics from the show.

Ben Rayner's review.

You Tube links:
Idiotique from Night One
2+2=5 from Night Two
Kid A from Night Two
Clip of You And Whose Army? from Night Two
Clip of Down Is The New Up from Night Two (First live performance ever of the song)