Radiohead @ Theater at Madison Square Garden: The 5500

I felt like one of Ticketmaster's chosen few who scored a Radiohead ticket without resorting to scalpers/brokers or giving someone the old "deserted rest stop special" via Craigslist. It's like that scene from Close Encounters of the Third Kind where the humans, who had been kidnapped by aliens, come back to Earth and everyone wants to know what it was like. Thus, tonight's Radiohead show is the same way. It's like seeing the band in a big stadium, only a smaller stage with better sound and you can see Thom Yorke without looking at big monitors. The 5500 in attendance tonight will live to tell the New York tale.

A lot to get through, first I'll talk about the show, then after the photos and video you can read what it feels like to sit in front of Tobey Maguire.

Here's the setlist (* for new songs):

• You and Whose Army?
• National Anthem
• 2 + 2 = 5
• 15 Step*
• Morning Bell
• Arpeggi*
• Videotape*
• Kid A
• Fake Plastic Trees
• Climbing Up the Walls
• Nude*
• Bangers 'n' Mash*
• Idioteque
• There There
• Street Spirit
• Bodysnatchers*
• Lucky*
• 1st Encore: I Might Be Wrong
• Down is the New Up*
• The Bends/Exit Music
• Everything In Its Right Place
• 2nd Encore: House of Cards*
• How To Disappear Completely

To tell you the truth, the only major difference between seeing them in a theater and seeing them in Giants Stadium is that you can see all the members and it's a comfortable environment. I've felt through the years since they became a mega-band that they've made music that's meant to be played in a grand, larger-than-life setting. I don't feel that anymore after seeing them tonight. The songs from Kid A, Hail to the Theif and Amnesiac fit just as well in this more modest setting.

I can't really pass judgement on the new songs. I'd rather absorb them when it's the finished product. I did enjoy "Down is the New Up" because it has wicked drum parts to it and one slow song had a Massive Attack-type feel to it.

The sound and their performance was impeccable. They manage to play this amazing, full sound with just the five of them. No background singers, musicians or orchestra needed. That's really what separates them from everyone else, the five of them are brilliant musicians, composers and arrangers. It never feels dull hearing "National Anthem" live for the fourth time. I love it's energetic, spastic quality. Live, it's like volts are being shot through your body as you do some sort of awkward dance -- the same one Thom Yorke is doing on stage.

It's ironic that Thom seems like a more comfortable front man after Kid A came out and after they graduated to the big leagues. Seeing that documentary about the OK Computer tour, Meeting People is Easy, it looked like he was a miserable, little chap. Three albums later with a fourth possibly within a year, he definitely has a good time with such crowd pleasers as "2 + 2 = 5" and "Kid A". Also, with the crowd being at his feet, he even stepped up and shook some hands. Although, he limits his stage banter to just a lot of Thank you, New Yorks.

It's hard to say if this was the best Radiohead show I've seen. I'm still partial to the August 2001 show in Liberty State Park. Perfect evening, life-altering experience seeing them on a huge stage, four encores, good times with my friends. I'm sure there's some meaning that 9/11 happened a few weeks later, but I don't want to go into that.

Radiohead is one of the few bands in the industry that have a mystique surrounding them. Seeing them in person has a profound effect because their music is vastly superior to other bands and the band members themselves are not whoring themselves out. I've been following them since I first saw them in 1993 (Rutgers college gym, Pablo Honey tour, I was there, bro), and one of the things that's been consistent is that they let the music speak for itself. They do the occasional magazine cover and TV performance, but they are not totally in our face. They don't appear on their album covers, IPOD ads or their mugs are not splashed on their $30 t-shirts. I like that I don't know much about them, I know their vague history, but as far as what each song means, it's up to me to decide and not them. Sometimes, I like not knowing what a song is about or what the Greenwood brothers are like in real life. Although, Ed is probably a good laugh.

Anyway, in 20 years, we'll know the impact that Radiohead has had on music. For now, we should feel fortunate that they make truly inspired, thought-provoking, body-moving music.

Jason of ProductShop NYC was there, we talked about how awesome a show it was. Crooklyn Vegan was lurking about somewhere as well. Matt from MusicSlut was in the sweaty pit area (it was really stuffy in the theater).

Okay, Tobey Maguire. I went to the show by myself, hence I got an awesome seat, about six rows behind standing. It kind of feels foreign to me because I'm used to going to shows and seeing people I'm friendly with and all that. I'm looking around and I say, "Who are these people?" The drawback to the single ticket is that you're in your own world. The advantage: you'll get a seat to a show that sells out within 10 seconds and a decent one at that. In any case, I found friends sitting nearby, all good.

Anyway, I see Edward Norton sitting two rows behind me. I'm like, "Hey, I got better seats than him."  I start noticing that a lot people around me have VIP stickers or laminates on them. There's this small wave of panic of thinking that I'm in the wrong seat, but I'm cool. No "I'm sorry, sir. Christy Turlington wants to sit there. You have to leave, jerky."

So I'm waiting for the show to start when I see Tobey Maguire, his fiance and their people looking for their seats. I would just shit myself if I'm sitting in their seat by accident. I'm trying not to look at them as they to try find their row. They end up sitting directly behind me. Like if I stretched my arm back, I would get a face full of Maguire.

Great, I've got the guy who gets paid $30 million to play Spiderman and who's engaged to a girl who's worth over $100 million (her father is the head of Universal Studios). I'm 6'0, he's about 5'7". He's going to be looking at the back of my head the whole evening because I intend on standing the whole show.

He sits and I feel a whole bunch of eyes looking at me, but they are not looking at me, they're looking at Tobey. I can imagine a bunch of people text messaging Gawker Stalker at that moment. "Tobey Maguire at Radiohead show, some idiot blogger is in the way of me taking a picture with my camera phone."

Plus, the whole time I'm waiting for the show to start, it's hard not to overhear their conversation. I'll be a gentleman and not repeat it here.

I leave these big actor, celeb types alone, it's the rock stars I tend to bother. So I'm thinking of things I would say to him or ways to ask for a picture for my myspace page, but I know Thighs, ModernAge and Village Indian would all make fun of me. "Did you make out with him? Did you get to first base, you stalker." Pleasentville is one of my favorite movies from the past 10 years and Spider-Man 2 is the best superhero movie made since the first Superman. I left him alone, nobody bothered him that was around him.

So I have this internal debate with myself on Tobey Maguire. "Oh, that guy didn't have to pay, so what if I'll be in his way. He's got it made, makes movies with Sam Raimi and Steven Soderbergh, while I pay to watch them. What a lucky guy he is. We're the same age, and look what I've done with my life. I'm going to go home to blog, eat Target-brand snack mix and drink filtered water. He's going to be backstage after the show. The next morning, he'll make movies and get paid to make out with Kirsten Dunst. I stink."

"At least, I technically have a better seat than his. It's safe to say that I have a better record collection than him. Score one for me. He had to act opposite Jewel in Ride With the Devil. Another score for me. Cider House Rules was kind of lame, but he was in Wonder Boys and Seabiscuit, that's good stuff. I can go in public and not be hassled by photographers. I actually do pretty well for myself. Maybe it's not so bad being me after all."

Thank God Radiohead came out. I would have tortured myself the whole time. So I didn't say anything or make a deal of sitting in front of him. You got away this time Maguire, you and your Super Friends.

Comments

[matt]

more over @ the music slut

www.themusicslut.org

[Matt Berlyant]

You forgot to mention the best Tobey Maguire movie, which IMO is The Ice Storm. I do agree with you that he was perfectly cast as Peter Parker, though.

Anyway, I'm one of the many who couldn't get tickets for either night, though I've seen them 4 times over the years, so it's OK. I have no doubt that I'll see you at iForward, Russia! tonight, though.

[kelly]

tobey mcguire lol

[bobby]

spiderman 2 is not the best superhero movie since Superman. try Nolan's Batman Begins

[wes]

haha this post made me laugh out loud. i saw sufjan, david byrne and lou reed! (ok, no that was not this show, several other shows where they pop up. oh and bowie! always the same shows! haha). I did coincidentally sit next to a kid that looked just like Toby McGuire, but it wasnt him.

[andrew]

That was a fucking great show, wasn't it?

Night #2 at the Garden was great, I got some pix here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fwyb/sets/72157594166747592/

I liked "Down is the New Up" best of the new bunch.

[Fotini]

oh man those 2 radiohead shows were glorious

[suck it]

so tired of stupidly over the top fans
flushing my toilet now