Radiohead pays tribute to Scott Johnson. Photo by @fittr_happier.
Radiohead returned to the stage last night for the first time since the tragic death of drum tech, Scott Johnson. If you’ll recall, Johnson was killed during a stage collapse last month in Toronto which forced the band to delay the tour.
The band did not disappoint last night at Les Arena in Nimes, France, starting off the set with “Lucky”, something they hadn’t done since 1998. Another huge highlight was the live premiere of “Treefingers”, the instrumental track from Kid A. Here’s a video:
For the third encore, Thom Yorke thanked the crew and dedicated “Reckoner” to Johnson, whose picture was displayed behind the band during the performance.
The full setlist is below. The band return to Les Arena tonight for their second show.
01 Lucky
02 Bloom
03 Morning Mr. Magpie
04 15 Step
05 There There
06 Staircase
07 The Gloaming
08 Separator
09 I Might Be Wrong
10 Pyramid Song
11 Nude
12 Identikit
13 Lotus Flower
14 Feral
15 Little By Little
16 Paranoid Android
Encore:
17 Treefingers
18 Give Up the Ghost
19 Videotape
20 Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
2nd Encore:
21 Full Stop
22 Everything In Its Right Place
23 Idioteque
Last month during their Bonnaroo performance, Thom Yorke dropped a hint that suggested that the band were doing something with Jack White at his Third Man Records studio in Nashville. Today we get confirmation from White saying that the band have been recording at his studio, but insists that he is not part of the sessions. “I don’t know how much to tell about it,” he told BBC 6 Music. “I didn’t play with them or produce but they came in and recorded at Third Man. I don’t know what else to be said about that, so that’s all I can probably say.”
What does this all mean? Is Radiohead recording a new album? Maybe just an EP? If Jack White isn’t involved, is it safe to assume the band is working with longtime producer Nigel Godrich? These are questions we hope to have answers to very soon. Stay tuned…
Radiohead have teamed up with actor Jude Law and Greenpeace to produce a short film (above) about a polar bear struggling to survive after being forced to leave its Arctic home. The band’s “Everything in its Right Place” is used as the soundtrack with Law providing the voiceover.
Greenpeace states that “oil companies are using melting sea ice to drill for more of the oil that is causing global warming in the first place. Shell’s Arctic fleet will be arriving any day now to begin exploratory drilling off the coast of Alaska this summer.”
Jude Law, commenting on the film, said:
“As the Arctic sea ice melts, polar bears are being forced to go far beyond their normal habitat to find food and look after their young. This film is a powerful expression of how our fates are intertwined, because climate change is affecting all of us no matter where we live.”
“Right now a handful of oil companies are trying to carve up the Arctic for the sake of their next quarterly results but a global movement is growing to stop them. I stand with hundreds of thousands of others who think the area should be made into a sanctuary, protected from corporate greed for good.”
Thom Yorke also made a comment:
”We have to stop the oil giants pushing into the Arctic. An oil spill in the Arctic would devastate this region of breathtaking beauty, while burning that oil will only add to the biggest problem we all face, climate change. That’s why I’m backing this campaign.”
If you’d like more information about the Save the Arctic campaign and what you can do to help, please visit www.savethearctic.org.
Radiohead, New York, NY 1997. Photo by Danny Clinch
Is anyone still here? After spending some time cleaning the cobwebs, we’re back to bring you the latest Radiohead happenings. We apologize for the radio silence. A mixture of server issues and just being too busy at normal life stuff meant that this site took a back seat.
A lot has happened since we last posted. We celebrated our 15th year on the internet in late March. It’s kind of hard to believe. So much has changed since we began as a small AOL-hosted website. Now we feel old.
Unfortunately, not all has been rosy in Radioheadland over the past few months. On June 16th, Radiohead’s drum technician, Scott Johnson, was killed when scaffolding from the stage collapsed and struck him hours before the band were set to perform at Downsview Park in Toronto. Three others were injured. Phil Selway posted on Dead Air Space that they “have all been shattered by the loss of Scott Johnson, our friend and colleague. He was a lovely man, always positive, supportive and funny; a highly skilled and valued member of our great road crew. We will miss him very much. Our thoughts and love are with Scott’s family and all those close to him.”
This tragic event forced the band to reschedule seven European shows. The new dates are:
SEPTEMBER
Thursday 20th – Switzerland, Canton de Vaud – Quarry of St Triphon
Saturday 22nd – Italy, Roma – Hyppodrome Capanelle – Rock in Roma
Sunday 23rd – Italy, Florence – Parco Delle Cascine
Tuesday 25th – Italy, Bologna – Arena Parco Nord
Wednesday 26th – Italy, Codroipo (Udine) – Villa Manin
Saturday 29th – Germany, Berlin – Wuhlheide (this replaces the 6th July show)
Sunday 30th – Germany, Berlin – Wuhlheide (this replaces the 7th July show)
All original tickets are valid for the re-scheduled date.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Scott’s family.
Radiohead’s third album, OK Computer, celebrates its 15th birthday. It was on July 1, 1997 when the album was released in the United States. It was released on June 16th in the UK, which at the time was complete agony for American fans as this was before music could be bought online as mp3s and more importantly, pirated easily. Your only options were to buy a pricey import CD or go to Canada, which is what I did. I remember driving with friends from New York to Montreal in order to buy the album on June 17th, which is when it was released in Canada. We must have listened to it 10 times on the drive back. Where were you when it was released?
Jack White at Third Man Records. Photo by Jo McCaughey
And finally, another piece of news made Radiohead fans excited and certainly perked our ears. While the band was performing at Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tennessee a few weeks back, Thom Yorke gave a shout out to Jack White. Before playing “Supercollider” Yorke said, “This song is for Jack White. We saw him yesterday. A big thank you to him, but we can’t tell you why. You’ll find out.” A few days later, Mr. White confirmed that the band stopped by his Third Man Records in Nashville but was mum about any details. Very interesting….
Radiohead announced more shows in France today. The band will play Bercy in Paris for two nights (October 11th and 12th) and then play in Strasbourg at the Zenith on October 16th.
