By chance, a friend of a friend noticed that I liked Radiohead on my Facebook, and told me he had a spare ticket. And I decided not to pass up the opportunity. Radiohead have been my favourite band for a while, up there with Sigur Rós (who I genuinely liked before they were cool). And even though I don't enjoy live music as much as I once did, to see the In Rainbows tour would be a real highlight.
Back on the 24th of June, my ticket man, Ben, and I took a long tube ride and met up with his friend Elise at Mile End. We all walked to the massive outdoor venue: Victoria Park, where despite having my ticket, I wasn't allowed in. Why? Melanie, my camera. Apparently, there's a no-cameras rule, printed on the back of the ticket which I had received seconds prior.
Actually, this wasn't true. A no-cameras rule would mean that people aren't allowed to take in cameras. The rule was actually a no-decent-cameras rule, meaning that you can take in cameras as long as they don't look like a they could take nice looking photos. An SLR might endanger the band with its sharp focus or something. In all, it's just another battle in the war against photographers, good amateur photos and proper cameras.
Having been turned away, I fretted over what to do. I didn't drive there, I couldn't leave it in my car. No security office would take responsibility. I was stuck with my valuable camera not having a place to go. I decided it was getting in there, even if I had to smuggle it. Taking off all the accessories bar the strap, and hiding them all in my pockets, I wore the camera on one shoulder, behind me and under my coat. In the camera bag, I placed a mostly finished bottle of Sprite. When my bag was searched, they told me no bottles, so I graciously threw it away. Seeming like their job was complete, they ushered me through with no further searching. This all while I frantically hid my face from the guy who stopped me before, while trying not to look suspicious. But Melanie got in, and while I hid her for the first hour or so, I realised that no-one was paying any attention, and I took photos throughout.
The support act was Bat for Lashes, who was entertaining, but ultimately forgettable (unlike The Objects supporting Junior Senior, who were brilliant). She had funny makeup and a poncho, and a wide variety of instruments were at hand, but there was an ondes Martenot in the background, and that outshone anything they'd brought with them.
Now, I hadn't actually listened to In Rainbows until about a week before, and I'd listened three times. It hadn't grown on me as much as it has now, but I still really enjoyed hearing it. However, I was looking forward to the older songs more, as were a few people.
The crowd was huge, I heard estimates of twenty thousand, and there seemed to be a concentration of avid smokers gathered around us, as well as one idiot who had only come to hear Creep, and wanted to let everyone, including Thom Yorke, know this. It was mainly for this reason that I was thankful that they didn't play it.
They did, however, play Just, which was probably the highlight of the evening for me, alongside Idioteque. I enjoyed everything from Kid A, although I was disappointed when they played Let Down from OK Computer. It just isn't a great song.
I won't list the songs I enjoyed (anymore), but I'll tell you it was a stunning concert, and an unforgettable experience. My feet hurt by the end, but they do after any long stint of standing. I used my telephoto lens to het really close photos (helped by standing very close to the stage), and I'm very happy with the photos I took as a result.
Despite almost getting badly lost on the walk back to the tube station (we deviated from the crowd- mistake), it was a wonderful show, one that has partly restored my faith in live music. I'll see them again for the next album.
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