It is a peculiar thing to see Radiohead live, particularly in the context of a massive festival such as Lollapalooza. In the nearly quarter century since the release of their first album, the Brits have trafficked in sounds best experienced while alone. It’s music written from a vaguely isolated perspective that has the general effect of making the listener feel distant, paranoid, alienated, even alien. This ethos runs counter to the harmony and camaraderie typically stirred by the most memorable festival acts like, say, the Flaming Lips.
Radiohead have no happy songs and like 70,000 people came to see them
— soft grenade (@sashageffen) July 30, 2016
If there was lingering uncertainty about the potential to enjoy Radiohead as a shared experience, it was wiped away six songs in by “My Iron Lung,” an anthem of discomfort that saw the audience transformed into a chorus of thousands. “If you are frightened,” they sang in unison, “you can be frightened. You can be, it’s OK.” Standing slump-shouldered over his instrument, Jonny Greenwood responded with blasts of overdriven guitar and fits of bodily spasms that sent his mop of hair flying. That was followed by the sinister creep of “Climbing Up the Walls,” which inspired another group chant.
“We’ve got a few more,” Yorke mumbled with relative clarity when the band returned for an encore.
