I’m exhausted. I left work a bit before 5pm, and it only took a little under 2 hours to make it across the city :) I missed several bands. I could have seen Beck, but I made the choice to stake my spot for Radiohead, the true motivation behind my ticket purchase. I spread out my new akqa blanket in front of the handicap podium, which was a great spot. I was able to stand on the fencing and see above the entire flood of people.

But everything else seemed to go downhill from there. The sound cut out for half of two songs and was pretty bad for most the show. The guy manning the handicap ramp picked the quietest, most intimate moments of songs to yell at people to get off the ramp. A man down the way had a seizure. Another man in a wheelchair had to roll through mid-show. And the guy behind me decided he felt like talking…a lot. All potential outcomes when around so many people. I took it in stride, though. I’d been waiting to see Radiohead for 10 years. Literally.

I can’t say they topped NIN, but it was pretty amazing. I was thrilled to hear so much OK Computer. Airbag was the 3rd song of the set, which I happened to film. I had honestly forgotten just how much I love that album. I haven’t given it a good listen in so long, but all the lyrics came rushing back. I fell asleep to that album for at least half of my freshman year in college.

My favorite moment: the crowd over-singing the band on Karma Police. Favorite song: Exit Music (for a film). Silence fell over the entire crowd. It was beautiful. Just & Nude were also amazing. They closed the night with Everything in its right place. Leaving the stage with a loop of “There are two colours in my head,” and a crowd hoping for a return to the stage. But that was the end. Sadly. Overall, I was really happy with the set list. Actually, if they had only played Exit Music and left the stage, I would have gone home happy. I love that song so much.

I was close enough to make out the figure of Thom Yorke dancing around. He never stopped dancing. He was in his own world up there. Pretty incredible. During You and whose army, he put his eye in the camera lens, which I think happens at every show. However, tonight, about 3 “come on” lines in to the song, he just started cracking up and had to look away from the camera. We were all cracking up. Later, he was just being playful and making hand gestures. It was amusing. He seemed like a nice chap, and handled the equipment problems very well, ending simply with “after all, it’s about the music.”

I’ve walked more today than I would like to think about. From 6th Ave to 25th Ave to 30th Ave and from 30th Ave back to 5th Ave (~4 mile round trip). I made amazing time, though. It took me exactly 30 minutes from the moment I started to leave the show to my arrival at 5th, and that was with a few minutes waiting at 2 bus stops. I squeezed on the second, which got me to Masonic, where I waited for 20 minutes only to squeeze on to that bus as well. I guess I was hoping no one would make it over to that line. So 2 hours later, I made it home. When I sat down on my futon, I realized I hadn’t been to the bathroom in nearly 7 hours. I had cut my water intake, but still, I was so focused on trying to get myself home that I didn’t even really think about it, nor the fact that I had skipped dinner. It was totally worth it, though.

I saw Radiohead for the first time in the first real night concert in Golden Gate Park, amongst 50,000 people from all around the country. And I did it all by myself. And it’s looking like I’ll be doing the next 2 days solo as well. It was actually nice. I did whatever I felt like.

Only 2 regrets: not putting Radiohead on my iPod and not having a bike.

And now I must sleep, though all this late night business does take me back to my Midwest Music Summit days. Walking around taking photos by myself and staying up way too late blogging about it & waiting for photos/video to upload.

Listen in on all of us singing Karma Police:

Set list:

  1. 15 Step
  2. Reckoner
  3. Airbag
  4. There There
  5. All I Need
  6. Nude
  7. Talk Show Host
  8. National Anthem
  9. The Gloaming
  10. Videotape
  11. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
  12. Idioteque
  13. Karma Police
  14. Jigsaw Falling Into Place
  15. Just
  16. Exit Music (for a film)
  17. Bodysnatchers
  18. Pyramid Song
  19. You And Whose Army?
  20. Paranoid Android
  21. Fake Plastic Trees
  22. Everything In Its Right Place