Radiohead the second time around

Ok, so I saw Radiohead in concert for the 2nd time on Sunday night in Dallas. I had been kind of worried that the 2nd concert wouldn't live up to the first one, b/c the first one was a completely magical, religious experience for me (is that kind of an oxymoron, magical and religious?) Justin and I saw them in 2001 at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado. It was just the most incredible experience-the music, the atmosphere, everything. I liked Radiohead before I went, but after the concert, I thought they were music gods.

Skip forward to Sunday night in Dallas. First of all, we didn't the beautiful drive up the canyons/mountains to the amphitheatre. Second, we didn't get the communal "wait in line with everyone" experience, chatting and hearing Radiohead in the background doing a sound check, with the sound bouncing off the canyons. Even if we had arrived earlier in Dallas, it still wouldn't have been the same. Third, the audience had a totally different feel than the Colorado one did. I could be totally judging people on outward appearances, but the Dallas audience just seemed like a lot of them were just there to socialize. I would look at some of the "sorority girl types" and think, "you really like Radiohead?" While in Colorado (and again I am judging on outward appearances), the audience just looked like legit Radiohead fans. You know, the type that are real laidback, hippie-types, etc. (I don't think I fall into either of those categories, so I probably shouldn't judge, but it's just an observation). But I have more evidence to back up my "being there to socialize theory." When the show actually started, there were people that were just talking through the whole show!!! You are there to see the greatest band in the world, what are you doing talking the whole time?!!! And they would talk and yell during the quiet songs! I really just wanted to smack some people. If they were legit Radiohead fans, would they really be talking the whole time? Of course you are gonna make the occasional comment to the person next to you, but not the whole show and definitely not during the quiet songs. And the Dallas concert just had more people. So, to make a long story short, the atmosphere of the concert didn't come close to the one at Red Rocks.

As far as their actual show, they were still amazing. We were a little farther back this time, so we didn't quite get to see as much what they were doing, but they were still amazing. I loved how they used the lights with their songs. My favorite stuff they did was from The Bends and OK Computer. When they started playing stuff from those albums, I pretty much went crazy. I wish they had done My Iron Lung though-that was amazing last time. I also loved the stuff from Kid A-Idioteque and National Anthem. And There, There was awesome. The stuff from the new album wasn't as cool live. I think it sounds better as something to listen to at home rather than at a concert. They did an outstanding job on it, it just wasn't as meaningful to me as the stuff from The Bends and OK Computer. For some reason, I think those are the best of their albums to perform live.

I think the only thing that was cooler about the Dallas concert was they had a lot of cool concession stands and the t-shirts were awesome!!! And it was fun traveling with Greg Horton and my cousin Zach.

I think this whole experience really showed me what a difference an atmosphere can make in a concert. The Red Rocks concert was like an out-of-body experience. I remember looking behind me at the crowd in the most beautiful natural setting with canyons and mountains and seeing everyone singing the lyrics and just seeming totally entranced by the whole show. The Dallas show was not an experience to me. I looked around at the audience-some people were into, some were just hanging out. It was just a really good show.

Maybe I can't recreate the first Radiohead experience. It was my first time to see them and I didn't know what to expect, didn't know my mind would be completely blown away by them. Maybe it was just too good and so any subsequent concert will never live up to it.

But I'm going to try and get that experience again. Next time I see Radiohead, I'm going to Red Rocks. I'd rather pay the gas money and have another out-of-body experience than save the gas money and settle for a good show.

But wherever they play, they are still music gods.