Description
In the later half of the 90s, MTV and NYC went together like peanut butter and fluff. At the network’s height, the youth of America would constantly flock to MTV Studios in Times Square to see various stars, shows, and events from either a seat right next to Carson Daly or just a glimpse from out on the street. The Big Apple was the perfect spot for Music Television, a channel for the young and restless, to rendezvous and party. Naturally, in the ’90s, MTV received the up-close scoop to most shows in the area and, as a result, were able to capture live performances with ease. A classic and lost gem from their programing has to be Radiohead’s performance of OK Computer, live on the 10 Spot from New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom on the 18th of December 1997. And listening to this disc you can hear that its just as startling to any Radiohead fan now as it was when it happened. You have to remember that in December of 1997 Radiohead wasn’t the worldwide juggernaut it is today. However, Radiohead rocked the world via the 10 Spot, a point on MTV’s programing most known for its adult style content. Again, keep in mind that OK Computer was still new to the world. The relatively small crowd (atleast for Radiohead) goes ape shit from the start and a few OK Computer classics follows such as a haunting version of Karma Police, as well a quiet version of Exit Music (For a Film) that sounds just as powerful back then as it does today. They also play a frantic version of The Bends which starts with the crowd freaking out to Yorke’s announcement that they are about to play it. Greenwood literally tears through the song as he breaks multiple strings on purpose to make the guitar sound crazier, while Yorke screams in his epileptic rock out fashion. A surprise for the night was Subterranean Homesick Alien. Hearing this song live is glorious — as it is a song they haven’t played on-stage in almost seven years. They waste no time either upon the song’s end and go into My Iron Lung and it’s here where the difference in Radiohead is truly notable. At the bridge of the song, the crowd starts to mosh. This is unlike most Radiohead shows now where nobody dances (until Idioteque comes on). The crowd is so jacked up on art-rock to the point where it’s almost absurd. Hey, nobody ever moshed for Lou Reed back in the day. From then on, the band bounces back and forth between songs off The Bends and OK Computer. The band plays the most colossal version of Bones, complete with Colin Greenwood laying down the bass line that makes it sound slicker than the studio cut. Paranoid Android sounds nothing short of musical theater, and the audience screams like the Spice Girls just walked out when Yorke announces the song. As if things couldn’t get any better, Radiohead sonically impairs your mind with Fake Plastic Trees followed by Street Spirit (Fade Out) to signal an encore. Bonus tracks on this album is 3-tracks from the Evening Session at BBC Radio One on the 28th of May 1997 as well as two rare studio outtakes. So time has gone by since those days in the late 90s, the music game has changed completely, but one thing has remained the same: Radiohead reigns supreme no matter what they do.
Track list:
1. Karma Police
2. The Bends
3. Exit Music (For A Film)
4. Subterranean Homesick Alien
5. My Iron Lung
6. No Surprises
7. Bones
8. Paranoid Android
9. Fake Plastic Trees
10. Street Spirit
11. No Surprises-BBC Radio One 1997
12. Talk Show Host-BBC Radio One 1997
13. Climbing Up The Walls-BBC Radio One 1997
14. Exit Music (For A Film)-BBC Radio One 1997
15. Just-studio outtake
16. Nobody Does It Better-studio outtake