16 SEPTEMBER 2000 - GOFFERTPARK, NIJMEGEN, HOLLAND
www.followmearound.com


Setlist
Optimistic / Airbag / The National Anthem / Morning Bell / Fake Plastic Trees / You And Whose Army? / Planet Telex / Lucky / In Limbo / Dollars And Cents / Climbing Up The Walls / Exit Music / Paranoid Android / How To Disappear Completely / Idioteque / Just / Everything In Its Right Place / (encore:) No Surprises / Knives Out / Karma Police / Egyptian Song / (encore 2:) Killer Cars (acoustic) / My Iron Lung /


Review by Marc
I woke up, still half in trance after seeing a great Radiohead concert yesterday. Today would be a bit different from yesterday, cause this time I would leave early to get there on time. A friend of mine, Maurice, joined me. I'd bought a ticket for him too otherwise he wouldn't go. Lack of money, he said. Sure!

But anyway, we left our hometown Venray by train at 15:45. We got in Nijmegen at 16:15, got ourselves a quick bite and headed to the Goffertpark where the massive touring tent was waiting for us to occupy. We arrived there at 17:15. There were already about 120 people waiting outside. The barriers opened at 17:30 and we all went rushing in, hoping for a nice spot in the front row. And we did, only 5 metres away from the stage. Now all that's left, was to wait for support-act Sigur Rós to start playing. After one hour and 45 minutes the crowd stood up and started sheering, since the crew was almost ready setting everything right.

At 19:22 Sigur Rós started playing their set, which was only 4 songs long, but took about 50 minutes to play them (!). They were quite good. Everyone was quite as a mouse, listening to the beautiful sounds singer/guitarist Jón Thór Birgisson was spreading from his guitar. He played it in a quite interesting way… with a violin stick. After Sigur Rós left the stage after receiving a great applause from the crowd the crew came onstage, setting everything up for the moment of truth.

It took a bit longer than yesterday, but only 5 minutes. Foggy smoke started spreading and the lights went off. The crowd went wild. Suddenly they were there, only 5 metres away from us. First Ed, Colin, Phil and Jonny, then Thom. It was such a great view from where we stood. They started playing a great version of Optimistic, which I already knew every single word of. I love the part where Thom's singing “I'd really like to help you man”. Then they played Airbag and two absolutely stunning performances of The National Anthem and Morning Bell. The fifth song in the setlist was Fake Plastic Trees, which they had not played yesterday. I loved it, since it is one of my favourites, if not my most favourite Radiohead song. After this Thom took place behind the piano and played some tunes. I shouted out: “Yeah, You And Whose Army”. Thom looked up from the piano, smiled and started singing You And Whose Army. Later, when they finished playing Climbing Up The Walls, Thom looked in my direction again. I started taking bows towards him, like ‘You are God' and he started laughing, so was Jonny. That was a great moment for me.

Something went wrong during Paranoid Android, when Jonny played something wrong, but we were in a great mood. Later, when Thom started singing the ‘Rain Down'-part, a crewmember walked onstage and tried to fix a problem Jonny had with his gear. He accidentally stepped on an amplifier, causing a short loud noise.

Idioteque was great again. This is definitely my favourite new song. Everyone started sheering when Thom jumped up, dancing around like a madman. Very funny! This was the highlight of tonight's performance. During the two encores they played five songs they hadn't played yesterday, No Surprises, Knives Out, Egyptian Song, My Iron Lung and a stunning acoustic solo-performance by Thom of Killer Cars. I loved it. Before playing Egyptian Song, Thom took a balloon from an audience member and tied it to his piano. Very cool! Later, Ed used it as a boxing ball.

Today, was even a greater experience for me than yesterday's show. All five band members were in such a great mood, especially Thom. If this is what makes them happy, than so be it. I love the idea of this tenttour. The sound is great, the performance is great. Everything is just so perfect! Hopefully they'll tour Europe next year when their next album is released. I know I'll definitely be there! This is something I want to experience everyday for the rest of my life, but that's just me talking crazy. I just love Radiohead that much.


Review by Bastiaan
Indeed the best band of the moment, and maybe of some more moments to come!!! After the opening song "Optimistic", the crowd didn't stop applauding, yelling, singing and above all enjoying! Some of the new album material was played: "How to dissappear", surely one of the new live-favorites, as well as "Everything in its right place", "In Limbo" and "Idioteque".

OK Computer: "Lucky" even more beaitiful live then on the album, "Exit Music" one of the best songs of the evening, ""Airbag" and "Paranoid Android", inevitably "Karma police" which saw Thom backed up by almost all the crowd, and "Climbing up walls" also very powerful live!

Other songs played were "Dollars and Cents", "True love waits", "Planet Telex", "Bones" and "Knives out".

Radiohead live is such an awfully good experience. They have proven to everybody present at this gig that they're not only able of making some of the best songs ever, but that they're also able to perform them in a way that is seldom seen and heard before. It is quite amazing to see five musicians on stage make music varying from very electrifying and energizing rock to the most delicate and intimate songs. This variation makes attending a Radiohead Live Show an incomparable experience, that leaves a memory that will hang around for some years afterwards. After the last tones faded away, everybody woke up, looked around and knew: Radiohead IS the best band around today!!!


Review by Jacques
just came back from the concert in Nijmegen, Holland, and I have to tell someone about it (I always go to the concerts alone, there's little point in going with someone who can't really enjoy it to the same extent as you, and end up talking to you during the show). I have to say, it was the most sensational show I've ever seen. The lighting was different for every song, but always breathtaking (in particular a lasershow that illustrated the bass-patterns). More important of course, the performance was amazing. They played all of kid A, exept for treefingers and idiotheque, although they did a sort of hybrid of the national anthem and idiotheque (stuff like ice age coming, ice age coming was in it), it was pretty freaky. They came back for an encore of four songs, after which thom said that was going to be it, because jonny was "sick as a parrot". Then thom returned for a solo-performance of killer cars, left, and 5 minutes they all returned to do knives out, my iron lung, then finally ending with a haunting performance of egyptian song (or nothing to fear, I haven't heard egypt mentioned in the lyrics for nearly 2 years). When I left I walked into this immense park immersed in fog so thick, you couldn't see much further than about 30 feet, with music and lights still coming from the tent. If this wasn't divine intervention I'll never see it happen, because I couldn't think of anything closer to it. 2,5 hours of pure magic that have left me stunned. Now let's just hope jonny gets better in time for their next gig (and thom as well, as he complained of a headache, and getting "square eyes" from sitting behind his computer too much). I can only hope that i'll get the chance to see them again soon, before the ice age comes............