Radiohead treat the O2 to the spectacular first night

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Last night at the O2 Arena in Greenwich, Radiohead all but concluded their short UK arena tour with a three-part, 2 hour and fifteen minute long show comprised of 24 songs and the crowd, which felt like the entirety of London, still couldn’t get enough.

They began their first set with a holy trinity of ‘Lotus Flower,’ ’15 Step,’ and ‘Bloom.’ The crowd behaved demurely until the five-some played a few standouts from their back catalogue, including ‘Like Spinning Plates,’ ‘Nude,’ and ‘Karma Police,’ after which they woke up, responding as enthusiastically to Radiohead’s layered dance beats as they did to the more spooky, hyper-electronic ballads. The first set also saw the band perform some new material, ‘Identikit,’ which was very well-received.

Radiohead closed out the first part of the show with ‘Idioteque,’ and then took a short set break. They returned to the stage and played five more songs, including the anthemic ‘Reckoner.’ After another quick break, Radiohead finished the gig the way they
began it, with three monsters: ‘Give up the Ghost,’ ‘There There,’ and ‘Everything in Its Right Place.’

As you might expect, there was a fair amount of spectacle (Thom Yorke showcased his trademarked dancing throughout the night, and at times there were as many as three drummers on stage), but Radiohead delivered a performance which connected with the audience on a visceral level. ‘Creep’ was conspicuously absent from the set list, but Radiohead proved you don’t always have to play every hit to put on a great show.

Canadian electronic act Caribou opened for them, treating a few dedicated early birds to a 30-minute set that featured crowd favourites ‘Jamelia,’ ‘Odessa,’ and ‘Sun.’

Setlist
Lotus Flower
15 Step
Bloom
Kid A
Daily Mail
Myxomatosis
Climbing Up the Walls
The Gloaming
Separator
These are My Twisted Words
Like Spinning Plates
Nude
Identikit
Karma Police
Feral
Idioteque
—
Pyramid Song
Staircase
Good Morning Mr. Magpie
Weird Fishes / Arpeggi
Reckoner
—
Give up the Ghost
There There
Everything in Its Right Place

Read our in depth live review of Radiohead’s Manchester Arena show here.