Radiohead versus Pisshead

Last night I went to my, much looked forward to, Radiohead concert. We were somewhat apprehensive at the ticketless entry system and must have checked the booking terms a dozen times to make sure we had everything with us that we needed to gain entry.

In the end it was faultless and we were in our seats in good time. I had never heard the support before "Caribou" but I enjoyed them. They were loud.

The tickets cost us £150 with booking fees and I am always wary at the M.E.N. as I don't think the acoustics are brilliant. far too much echo in the cavernous empty roof space for my liking. I now get to the point of this posting.

Is it just us two that are out of touch with the realities of modern culture or, has everyone become a pisshead? The queues for booze, once you gained entry, never dropped. There were vendors with cases of Fosters on their backs dispensing it to eager customers. I assumed that once the band came on, it would stop but, did it buggery. If anything it got worse. It was almost as if electric shocks were being passed into selected seats at regular intervals as people stood to let pissheads go to the bar then stood again to let them come back with their bottles and plastic cups.

When the fifth song from the set was underway, there was a queue of dozens out in the corridor, thirsting for booze. I could see them lining up as the doors never closed with the throughput of traffic. If booze was so essential to the enjoyment, why not just go to Wetherspoons and wear headphones? It never stopped, from first number to encore, in out, in out in case they had the faintest chance of sobering up.

I won't complain about the dickheads who pay £75 for a seat then stand all the way through the concert nor the complete twat somewhere nearby who was obviously smoking a joint. I won't complain about the hundreds of phones pointing at the stage recording fuck knows what as all you got was a mass of colour and the sound would have been terrible. When played back it would be like you had recorded someone's bad dream.

As for the concert itself, I love Radiohead but I came out slightly disappointed. They played an unusual set. No Street Spirit or Just or Karma Police. It would be like the Moody Blues refusing to play Question and Nights in white satin. The bass was decibels too loud and drown out all the lead guitar work for me. I just couldn't hear it. There was an intricate stage set of off angle screens showing individual band members but I found it annoying. They only stayed on one band member for a few seconds before switching and sometimes had angles that you couldn't work out what the hell you were seeing.

To cap the night, we stayed in a nearby Travelodge and were given a bed that they must have bought pre war. There were more springs coming up than we have in the back garden after the floods. Fotunately they threw in a breakfast by mistake so I won't bother complaining.

Despite what it sounds like, we had a great day.