January 24, 2010
Henry Fonda Theater, Los Angeles
Benefit concert
Radiohead for Haiti
Yes, you read that correctly – Radiohead played the Henry Fonda Theater (capacity 1,300) last night. The band announced on their website Thursday afternoon that they’d be playing this intimate show to raise funds for Oxfam, to provide additional relief to the people of Haiti. Tickets were available by auction only, with the minimum bid being $475/each when the auction closed Saturday morning. $572,754 was raised as a result of this one night event.
As you will see by the set list and videos below – you had to be there. The guys played a dream set and performed one of the best live shows I’ve ever seen (and that includes the numerous other phenomenal Radiohead concerts I’ve attended).
They had a stripped down stage. No big light show. Just arguably one of the best bands in the world, playing their songs at full throttle, while raising a significant sum of money for a country in dire need.
Ed O'Brien
While I have tremendous appreciation for the elaborate lighting and stage set up experienced at most Radiohead shows, being able to see and hear the band without the lights was spectacular. Typically at a Radiohead concert, you’re immersed in a sea of light and sound, which hits you in waves and layers. Last night, it was simply an aural symphony. Without the lights, I became even more tuned in to how the band builds each song, layer by layer, sound by sound. The people standing around me mentioned multiple times that they never realized how many of the sounds are created by Ed. If you had any doubts previously, this show enabled you to see the crucial role each individual member plays in creating the music. It’s one impressive thing that a band can compose and record this music; it’s another thing entirely that they can play it live, with perfection.
Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood
Radiohead literally ROCKED last night and they seemed to have fun doing it. At one point Thom commented, “You guys are getting all my jokes tonight. . . I’ve died. . .” Well, the way you played, so did we.
Here’s the set list. Some videos are posted below the set list, and judging by the number of cameras in the audience, many more can be found on YouTube.
Faust Arp
Fake Plastic Trees
Arpeggi
National Anthem
Nude
Karma Police
Kid A
Morning Bell
How To Disappear Completely
Wolf at the Door
The Bends
Ed O'Brien and Jonny Greenwood
Reckoner
Lucky
Body Snatchers
Dollars & Cents
Airbag
Exit Music (For a Film)
Encore #1
Everything In Its Right Place
You and Whose Army?
Pyramid Song
All I Need
Encore #2
Lotus Flower
Paranoid Android
Street Spirit
15 Comments
January 25, 2010 at 10:24 am
Sweet review. Wish I could have made the show.
January 25, 2010 at 12:36 pm
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January 25, 2010 at 6:29 pm
Thanks for the review and videos. I was at the show last night and could not have described it better myself.
January 25, 2010 at 7:49 pm
Thank you! Happy you were able to be there and able to share the experience. I always hope my reviews help those who weren’t there to feel like they were, and those who were there to re-live it. Your comment is very much appreciated! Hope to see you at more shows soon.
January 26, 2010 at 1:21 am
It was beyond special to get a show without Thom’s ‘road voice’. We got to hear a rehearsed and rested ‘studio voice’ that made it so much better then I could have expected. I believe they were in the studio this week in LA, and their focus and energy were very different than when their tour usually wraps up in CA. Without the strain and rasp that touring can put on there- it was honestly beyond CD quality. I don’t care who makes your headphones.
January 26, 2010 at 11:41 am
I agree — that was the best sounding music I’ve ever experienced (live or recorded).
February 10, 2010 at 5:23 pm
Totally agree
January 26, 2010 at 8:09 am
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February 1, 2010 at 10:53 pm
Oh my, so this is your site! I’m the Asian girl from the Roosevelt and the Music Box. Great site btw; I envy your job
February 2, 2010 at 10:20 am
Hey there! Happy you found it
It was great hanging out with you. Hope to see you at a show again soon.
February 2, 2010 at 10:57 am
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February 10, 2010 at 5:25 pm
Your videos are great! I was sitting in the front row of the balcony and was in utter rapture. Anytime I want to relive the experience, I can just come to your blog!
February 10, 2010 at 5:30 pm
So nice to hear! I do the same thing to re-live it. . . pretty much daily
February 19, 2010 at 10:06 am
Well Done! Your Video and Information is done very Well
March 5, 2010 at 2:54 am
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