I’m getting too old for this crap. Yesterday was a day I’d been waiting for, a chance to see one of my top 5 favorite bands. Radiohead has turned out so much amazing music over the years that is just my style, a little bit of rock and a little bit of electronica, all tied up with an eerie, melancholic bow. Whenever I hear the first few seconds of “Kid A”, chills shoot up my spine. It’s the type of music that is absolutely made for a gloomy, rainy day.
But not this kind of rain.
Not only did I decide to suck it up and make the trek out to the Nissan Pavilion, something I said I’d never do, but my friends and I endured a torrential rainstorm for three and a half hours. Even in full rain gear we were miserable and cold as were most of the people around us. Of course there were the young kids wearing shorts and t-shirts who thought it was cool to be soaking wet in 50 degree weather, as if it was adding to their concert experience somehow, but I’m no kid and I experienced no addition of fun. We kept debating about whether we should just leave before Radiohead even came on (the opening act sucked BTW), but the longer we waited, the longer we thought, “Well we’ve stayed this long. Let’s wait until they come on, hear a few songs, then head out.” Which is exactly what we did.
Their set design was cool and their performance pretty much mimicked what you hear on their CD’s, but after three songs we decided that we’d heard enough, endured enough misery, and decided to head back to DC. Via Taco Bell that is, because I mean, “When in Rome.”
Overall it was one of the worst experiences I’ve had in a long time, but it could have been much worse and it had nothing to do with Radiohead themselves. Well, aside from choosing to play at the Nissan Pavilion rather than some place like the Verizon Center or RFK Stadium where the masses could have used public transportation instead of driving out into the middle of nowhere. At least I can say that I’ve seen them in concert, albeit for three songs. If they go on tour again, rest assured I will be buying tickets for one of their indoor performances.
Photo by myjacketisinthekitchen.
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
