Straight out of Oklahoma and brandishing a southern-flavored style of stoner rock, Other Lives managed to quell the wicked temper of Thom Yorke’s groupies and rabid Radiohead fans alike as they opened for Glendale’s sold-out performance at the Jobing.com Arena.
Frontman Jesse Tabish’s lowing melodic voice carries with it all the gravitas of something you would expect in a Radiohead pairing— but backup vocalist and cellist Jenny Hsu provides a dreamlike falsetto that blends Other Lives’ crunchy guitar and heavily constructed moody sound with the innocence and freshness of a glockenspiel.
As the band crooned about subjects like “moving westward,” Hsu’s ultralight voice mixed with a well-placed reverb pedal lulled the audience into a hypnotic and satisfied sense of captivation.
Overall, Other Lives was a perfect blend of bands like Wilco, The National, and Sleepy Sun but with more of a multi-instrumentalist kick than usual. Keep an eye out for them.
Radiohead wowed fans as usual with their over-the-top wundershow, complete with 18 gigantic revolving LED plasma screens live-recording the artists’ faces as they laid out favorite jams old and new.
Personally, I find Radiohead’s newer stuff to be extremely boring, but even their newest techno-stripped beats were visually dazzling. As I stood in the crowd on the floor, hundreds towering over my measly 5’2″ stature, I watched Yorke and fellow Radioheads bop around to what I imagine was the majority of APS’s power load last night.
Whether you’re a superfan or a casual listener, Thursday’s show was a blast of sound and visuals to say the least.
Oh, and Yorke ended the show with “Paranoid Android”. And even I kind of lost it.
This article appears in Mar 15-21, 2012.
I was very bored with Radiohead. I think they phoned it in for the show.
Honestly, a real problem with radiohead shows in the US. I have no idea why, is it the crowd, the venue or the band? Germany/Copenhagen/Spain vs. NYC/phx/Florida x 2…
Radiohead played an old song called “Packed Like Sardines” and it was off beat or out of tune, I couldn’t tell what exactly was wrong with it but the song was difficult to listen to. Many people started talking when they played this song cause it was just a bad song. I have to agree with everyone here, the show was very low key and a bit slow. I was disappointed because the tickets were not cheap and it was not a high energy concert.
OH wow–maybe I was at a different show than you guys, but Radiohead rocked out in Glendale! I saw them in Houston too, and they were much more low-key there. At the Glendale show, Thom was dancing like a crazy man and even talking *and* smiling (gasp!)! This show was amazing–my face hurt from smiling so much.
This show was amazing as all Radiohead shows Ive had the opportunity to see. Beautiful music from a beautiful band and for those who saw them “phone it in”….I dont get it??? The show was perfect in everyway….except that fact that it was too short! I could listen all day and love every second!
Seriously who lets a non fan review a concert? I’m with TxinAZ and Heidi the show was incredible.
The first band was not bad, but CMON thom and jonny have more musical genius in their lil’ pinkies than the opening band could hope to amass over a course of a lifetime. Many were saying it was their best show of the tour so far. Thom was a dancing fool, and the energy was twisting turning simply shimmering; it a had a life of its own. Some people near me were having a a true religious experience it seemed.
Give up the ghost was so beautiful it caused thousands to be silent and awestruck. Boring?! I think not!!