RADIOHEAD w GRIZZLY BEAR
Molson Ampitheatre
Friday August 15, 2008

Oh rain, why have you made an appearance at every outdoor show I have attended this summer? First you turned Rogers Picnic into a huge mud pit, putting a damper on shiny, summery sets by Chromeo and Vampire Weekend. And then last night, you reeked havoc on the masses of people vying for the perfect spot on the lawn (err...another mud pit) at the Ampitheatre for Radiohead's stop in Toronto in support of In Rainbows. But you did create breathtaking rainbows which hovered over the venue, trying to get a glimpse of the Oxford 5.

Arrived at the venue at the height of the downpour, but was lucky because we had really good seats in the 200's, meaning no rain for us. Caught the tail end of Grizzly Bear's set, they played Knife, but their sound was a bit lost in the large, cavernous venue. They looked soo small on the stage. The change over between bands went really quick and at 8:45pm the house lights went down and Radiohead began their set.

I have to admit, I'm not the hugest fan of their last two albums (Hail To The Thief and In Rainbows), I like about 3 or 4 tracks off each album. I miss their more electronic stuff (circa Kid A). They opened with 15 Step, one of the songs off IR that I love. Thom did his little jig, it was endearing. Their setlist heavily pulled from the last two albums but they sprinkled in a couple old tracks into the mix such as Climbing Up The Walls, Paranoid Android, Planet Telex (shocking!) and my favourite Talk Show Host. Setlist was as follows:

15 Step
Reckoner
Optimistic
There There
Morning Bell
All I Need
Pyramid Song
Arpeggi
The Gloaming
A Wolf At The Door
Faust Arp
No Surprises
Jigsaw Falling Into Place
Idioteque
Climbing Up The Walls
Nude
Bodysnatcher
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Like Spinning Plates
Videotape
Airbag
Talk Show Host
Street Spirit
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House Of Cards
Planet Telex
Everything In Its Right Place

As mentioned by pretty much every blogger/reviewer that has seen the band on this tour, Radiohead's light show was incredible, there were multiple LED tubes hanging from the rafters that pulsed to the music and created an atmospheric coloured hue over the band. Behind the band was a huge bank of television screens that broadcast up close images of the band playing. Overall, a great show, I honestly don't think the band will ever top their performance at Molson Park back on the Amnesiac tour, but still a great night.

Update: Frank over at Chromewaves was in the photo pit, check out his pictures here. Amazing.