Photos by Andrew Parks
Okay, so it wasn’t exactly a Radiohead show. But then again, it wasn’t billed as one either. Instead, Atoms For Peace‘s second night at Roseland was a nice reminder of the subtle pleasures in Thom Yorke’s solo work and just how versatile his backing band (Flea, Joey Waronker, Mauro Refosco and Nigel Godrich) is. While the latter let Yorke’s spotlight-stealing voice lead the way along with a bottom-heavy rhythm section (thanks Flea!), their intro-to-out performance of The Eraser had its one-night-only moments, including a rather anthemic rendition of “Harrowdown Hill” and a tension-building “Cymbal Rush,” which slipped Yorke’s techno tendencies atop gear-shifting beats. Not to mention some serious dance moves from a guy who was clearly relishing playing a show that was much less draining–emotionally and physically–than a typical Radiohead gig.
Two encores followed–including a solo Unplugged segment that peaked with a piano-driven version of “Everything In Its Right Place”–but we left before the last note because the night’s impatient crowd couldn’t stop talking over their supposed hero.
Speaking of pure ambivalence, people were polite but nonplussed during Flying Lotus‘ opening set. That didn’t stop him from slinging live samples and pumping his fists in the air like he just don’t care, though. Definitely check L.A.’s finest out in the coming months, as we saw his headlining performance at (Le) Poisson Rouge recently and its fusion of live and A/V elements was one of the best electronic shows we’ve seen in a while.
And now, some photos…
