Concert Memories: Radiohead at Suffolk Downs Racetrack, Boston, MA 8/14/01

I've previously written about some concerts I've been to on this site...these have included Blur, Gorillaz, Peter Frampton, Paul McCartney, Damon Albarn, and Ringo Starr.  I thought it would be fun for both me and you, my loyal readers, if I wrote up more of the shows I've seen in the past. There are two reasons that finally convinced me I should do this: 1) I thought it would be fun to share my experiences and hopefully spur conversation with those of you who may also have seen these (or similar) artists, and 2) it would force me to think back and dig up my memories of these experiences before I forget them!   There are a lot of them so I'm going to do them one per post in order to spread them out.  I'm going to keep the order random so that it doesn't get too predictable and hope that you enjoy reading these as much as I've enjoyed thinking back on them and writing them up.

Without further ado, first up will be...

Radiohead/The Beta Band Live at Suffolk Downs Racetrack, Boston, MA August 14, 2001

I'd been a huge Radiohead fan since their second album, the exquisite The Bends, came out in 1995.  I finally got the chance to see them in 2001 while they were supporting their latest two records, 2000's Kid A and 2001's Amnesiac. The concert was at the historic Suffolk Downs Racetrack in East Boston on a typically muggy August night in New England.  I went with my wife (then my fiancee), brother, and sister.  We drove down to Charlestown from our home on the New Hampshire seacoast and took the T to the racetrack.  I'd never seen a show there before so I wasn't sure what to expect as far as seating arrangements; turns out, there were none!   It was 100% general admission, with the stage set up toward the end of the racetrack infield.  We got there relatively early so if I recall correctly we were about thirty feet from the stage, standing the whole time.   There were no barriers, just a rope between posts running across the entire infield to keep the crowd out of the "pit" area in front of the stage where the photographers and press were.  There were two opening acts: first up was Kid Koala, a DJ who did some crazy things with a turntable. Not really my cup of tea but I remember being impressed by the bit he did at the end when he was spinning and dancing around doing all of these crazy moves and working his turntables without missing a beat. He later joined Radiohead for a a song during their set.  As for the second opening band, they were an indie rock band from Scotland who I'd only ever heard of but never actually heard called The Beta Band.  I'll cut right to the chase and say that they were absolutely fantastic. I was blown away by their set and it made me a fan right from that very moment. I think I went out that same weekend and bought all of their albums and continued to follow them until they sadly split up in 2004.  It was one of the rare times when I enjoyed a support act so much that I became a full-blown fan.  Finally, after a long wait, the headliners hit the stage...

What I remember most about the show was that it was overall very, very good. They played a nice cross-section of material from every album of theirs to that point (apart from the debut), with the only glaring omission being "Optimistic." I was really surprised and disappointed that they didn't play it, as it's one of my favorite songs of theirs and was the big single from Kid A released just a year before. Kid Koala joined them for a very long, drawn-out, and awesome version of "The National Anthem" to open the show.  There was a comical screw-up during the first section of "Airbag" that caused the band and crowd to laugh as it fell apart. They started it again and pulled it off flawlessly.  They hit all of the big songs from Kid A and Amnesiac, as well as numerous classics from OK Computer and The Bends. I remember being really pleased to hear two of their obscure (and great) b-sides like "Pearly*" and "Talk Show Host." I also can still feel the incredible atmosphere of brooding, majestic songs like "Lucky," "Pyramid Song," and "Like Spinning Plates" as they soared on the thin breeze that blew through the muggy night.  At one point, a teenager bumped into me from behind and when I turned around, he looked up into my face (I'm 6'5") and said "are you a cop?" When I said no, he offered me his joint, to which I told him to get lost (I've been proudly drug-free my entire life).  Later on in the show, something happened at the back of the crowd which brought a big roar from behind before everyone started pushing forward in a massive crush. It was actually quite scary and I remember my brother (who is 6'3" and solidly built) and I (as stated, 6'5" and also solidly built) tell my wife and sister to get in front of us as we locked elbows and held back against the crush.  It was probably the most scared for my safety that I've ever been a show as the crowd was really surging hard and had they not let up, I'm not sure we could have remained standing more than another few minutes. It hurt!

In any event, the show ended up being excellent and one I'll always remember.  It was at the height of my Radiohead fandom; I'm still a fan but it's cooled off quite considerably since then. I was pretty disappointed with their 2003 album Hail to the Thief and they then disappeared for ages before coming back with 2007's excellent In Rainbows. However, the 2011 follow-up The King of Limbs was a crushing disappointment and all of the momentum and excitement they'd generated as one of the most innovative rock bands of the late 1990s/early 2000s was squandered.  To date it's the only time I've seen them live and while I certainly wouldn't say no to seeing them again, if I never see them again I'm perfectly content with the fact that I saw them once and that it was a great concert.  Bonus points for turning me into a lifelong fan of the Beta Band, too!

Set List:

The National Anthem 
Airbag (w/false start) 
Morning Bell 
Lucky
Knives Out
Packt Like Sardines In A Crushed Tin Box 
No Surprises 
Dollars & Cents
Street Spirit (Fade Out) 
Pearly* 
Just 
I Might Be Wrong 
Pyramid Song 
Paranoid Android
Idioteque 
Everything In Its Right Place
 
Encore: 

Like Spinning Plates 
Talk Show Host 
You And Whose Army? 
The Bends
Karma Police 
The Tourist

(Within a month or two of the concert, I was lucky enough to track down someone who had taped the show and I have a complete audience recording of this concert on CDR. I always try to get recordings of the shows I've been to so that I can relive them whenever I want)