Temporarily uploaded. This will be linked as one of the "R.E.M. Related
Artists" pages in the near future. Radiohead
..... Musically the most successful admirer of R.E.M.; Thom Yorke & Michael
Stipe have been close friends since 1995
Temporarily uploaded. This will be linked as one of the "R.E.M. Related
Artists" pages in the near future.
Japan Tour 2001..... Thom sings 'It's The End of The World' at Osaka-jo Hall, Osaka on Sep 29, 2001
Prior to playing the last song 'Everything in its Right Place' on the 1st night in Japan Tour, Thom Yorke sang "It's the end of the world as we know it (x3) and I feel fine", playing an organ for himself. This could be comprehended as his political statement on the US policy against the terrorists, considering Thom stated, in introducing an encore piece 'Thief' (Can) on the second Osaka show, that the song was dedicated to Bush, and that he was always be a thief, someone else's monkey & puppet. Anyway, I was thrilled to hear Thom sing a song of his music compatriot, even though not all the audience seemed to react as much as I did...
On the 2nd night in Osaka, they did play 'Everything ...' as well, but no R.E.M.
<Concert Review, or Rave-view> @ Osaka-jo Hall, Osaka, Japan, on Sept 29, 30
The band has evolved further, much further than I had anticipated. The five men, obviously in a good mood & temper, especially Thom in his favorite country, displayed superb, tight & sophisticated rock ensemble, which could be made possible only by a band with mutual bonds and tough experiences. Songs from "Kid A" & "Amnesiac" sounded surprisingly much better live, especially 'Morning Bell' and 'How to Disappear Completely', and I could really appreciate the excellency & the beauty of the songs on these controversial & critically acclaimed albums. The tunes in "The Bends" & "Ok Computer", of course, sounded great, with some newly arranged ones like 'Climbing Up the Wall', which compelled astounded silence from the audience.
It was announced in the first place that their third tour in Japan would be held only 2 days: one in Osaka & the other in Yokohama, but later 3 more dates were added: one more in Osaka, one more in Yokohama & the other at Budokan, Tokyo. I went to the first 2 shows held at Osaka-jo Hall, an arena commonly used by major acts when they play in Osaka area.
Thom Yorke, wearing a tie on the 1st night, appeared to be polite & cordial to the Japanese audience, vowing a lot in a kind of Japanese way and speaking a bit of Japanese phrases in a surprisingly natural pronunciation. He said "Konbanwa" (Good evening), "Arigato" (Thank you), "Soudesune" (Let me see), "Oyasuminasai" (Good night), etc, the phrases a lot of musicians performing in Japan would say, but His had been much improved since the last tour in 1998. He even tried saying "Ookini", a dialect commonly used in Osaka/Kyoto area meaning "Thank you", several times.
I realized how good a percussion player Thom is, though I had known it used to his speciality. His playing the tambourine on 'Dollars & Cents' and 'I Might Be Wrong' was just great. I wished that I would like to see him play other percussions some day.
The concerts were perfect, in the selection of the songs & the supreme quality of their performance, only except for two regrets. One is their performing 'Talk Show Host' on the 1st night, probably one of the best live pieces, sounded not as exciting as the shows in 1998, maybe because they played in the encore, or because the last time was too good. The other was not the band's fault but some audience; badly drunk English speaking (sounded like American... sorry if I'm wrong) guys who were yelling all the time, even when the band was playing 'Exit Music' while the hall was all silent concentrating on Thom's beautiful singing.
There were not no surprises in the setlists. They played 'Like Spinning Plates' in totally different arrangements from the album version, three of them playing in a quiet manner; Thom on the upright piano showing a beautiful introductory solo, Jonny on the keyboards, and Colin on the bass. On the 2nd show, the band wiped off the dust on a track in "My Iron Lung" EP, 'Permanent Daylight', showing as if they could be a guitar band and could still enjoy being so, anytime they feel like it.
<The Setlists> There may be some mistakes in the orders...
September 29 September 30 1 The Natinal Anthem The Natinal Anthem 2 Hunting Bears Hunting Bears 3 Morning Bell (Kid A version) Morning Bell (Kid A version) 4 My Iron Lung Lucky 5 Karma Police Karma Police 6 Knives Out In Limbo 7 Optimistic My Iron Lung 8 Exit Music Climbing Up the Walls 9 No Surprises Exit Music 10 Dollars and Cents No Surprises 11 Airbag Dollars and Cents 12 Street Spirit Fake Plastic Trees 13 I Might Be Wrong I Might Be Wrong 14 Pyramid Song Pyramid Song 15 Paranoid Android Paranoid Android 16 Idioteque Idioteque 17 It's The End of the World As We Know It -- Everything In Its Right Place -- Everything In Its Right Place 18 Like Spinning Plates Permanent Daylight 19 Talk Show Host Just 20 You and Whose Army ? You and Whose Army ? 21 Lucky How to Disappear Completely 22 Fake Plastic Trees Thief (cover of Can) 23 How to Disappear Completely The Tourist
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