Radiohead, Willy Mason - Hammersmith Apollo, London - Friday 19th May 2006

Radiohead were last seen alive at Glastonbury in 2003, where in all honesty they were a touch disappointing. I wasn't sure at the time if that was just how Radiohead are now - a bit disappointing. They played some of the songs that everybody wanted to hear, but spent an awful lot of the time amusing themselves on their own. With some new material available, which is rumoured to sound like the stuff on The Bends and OK Computer, this was a healthy chance to redeem themselves! Tickets went in ridiculous time when they went on sale, and had since been selling for stupid money on eBay.

Willy Mason supported, also with some new songs, but also with some new band members! His brother on drums was not too much of a surprise, but a female violinist and vocalist added a new dimension to the set. Some new songs which sounded a lot more elaborate than those on the first album, and pretty damned good as well. The older songs were also rearranged, the new instruments adding a brilliant extra dimension to some of them. Willy Mason is clearly a genius, and I hope to see him headline again soon.

After an interlude which featured some characteristically strange music, Radiohead arrived. The number of solo males in the audience seemed to grow very quickly, especially around me - lots of trainspotting Radiohead fans around. The first 3 or 4 songs were incredible in terms of sound, and the intensity with which they were performed. New songs were slipped in, and sounded very promising, I would agree with the rumours that they are Bends or OK Computer-like.

The set lasted for a good 2 hours, but left frustration. Radiohead could play for 2 hours and be without a doubt the best band in the world, if they played what the audience wanted to hear (i.e. mainly stuff from the first 3 albums, with some later highlights). I felt there was too much playing of what amused them - when they did play an earlier song, the place erupted every time - 2 hours of playing that would see them able to conquer the world.

Things got better towards the end, as a mix of good new songs, and some classic staples, including Black Star and the amazing Lucky, were rolled out. But you do get the feeling that Radiohead do that only because they feel they have to stick in a quota of crowd pleasers. That is a shame, because it is what they sound best doing. Look forward to the new songs, they should be great when recorded and released.