- Music
- 23 Oct 12
By their usual standards, last year’s eighth Radiohead studio album The King Of Limbs was greeted by a collective shrug of indifference. Now, Yorkie and the boys really mean business, belatedly hitting the road to stake the claim that TKOL is in fact a seriously strong slow-burner.
They’ve certainly brought one hell of a stage production along. Twelve rotating screens flicker into life for ‘Lotus Flower’, projecting live images of Oxford’s finest that double as a retractable roof to make the stage smaller – a remarkably simple but highly effective trick that fosters even more intimacy in this natural amphitheatre.
Thom Yorke’s epileptic dancing and Jonny Greenwood’s guitar hero histrionics usually grab the attention. But please step forward Ed O’Brien, Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway for an equally deserved bow.
Selway’s drumming on The King Of Limbs is a revelation. The erstwhile Samaritans ambassador and volunteer proves that drummers don’t just hang around with musicians, they’re the vital backbone of any great band.
While Radiohead don’t quite enjoy the same exalted esteem as five years ago, they do more than enough on a heavenly night in Bologna to show that they’re back in the business of reclaiming their crown. Just one major quibble lads: don’t you dare blank Ireland again on the next tour. Don’t even think about it.