In the spirit of the event, Web In Front has also listed several places you can donate money to provide further relief to Haiti. Radiohead’s benefit concert in Los Angeles on January 24th raised $572,754 for Oxfam’s Haiti Relief Fund.
January 24, 2010
Henry Fonda Theater, Los Angeles
Benefit concert
Radiohead for Haiti
Yes, you read that correctly – Radiohead played the Henry Fonda Theater (capacity 1,300) last night. The band announced on their website Thursday afternoon that they’d be playing this intimate show to raise funds for Oxfam, to provide additional relief to the people of Haiti. Tickets were available by auction only, with the minimum bid being $475/each when the auction closed Saturday morning. $572,754 was raised as a result of this one night event.
As you will see by the set list and videos below – you had to be there. The guys played a dream set and performed one of the best live shows I’ve ever seen (and that includes the numerous other phenomenal Radiohead concerts I’ve attended).
They had a stripped down stage. No big light show. Just arguably one of the best bands in the world, playing their songs at full throttle, while raising a significant sum of money for a country in dire need.
Ed O'Brien
While I have tremendous appreciation for the elaborate lighting and stage set up experienced at most Radiohead shows, being able to see and hear the band without the lights was spectacular. Typically at a Radiohead concert, you’re immersed in a sea of light and sound, which hits you in waves and layers. Last night, it was simply an aural symphony. Without the lights, I became even more tuned in to how the band builds each song, layer by layer, sound by sound. The people standing around me mentioned multiple times that they never realized how many of the sounds are created by Ed. If you had any doubts previously, this show enabled you to see the crucial role each individual member plays in creating the music. It’s one impressive thing that a band can compose and record this music; it’s another thing entirely that they can play it live, with perfection.
Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood
Radiohead literally ROCKED last night and they seemed to have fun doing it. At one point Thom commented, “You guys are getting all my jokes tonight. . . I’ve died. . .” Well, the way you played, so did we.
Here’s the set list. Some videos are posted below the set list, and judging by the number of cameras in the audience, many more can be found on YouTube.
The last time I was at the Henry Fonda Theater it was to see Nine Inch Nails’s second-to-last concert (theoretically) ever. NIN absolutely destroyed the place! Not cosmetically, but existentially. It was one of the best shows I’ve ever experienced. They took all my previously fond memories of past concerts at that venue, crumpled them up, and made them seem like insignificant moments in time. A reader posted the following comment on my review of the Nine Inch Nails show at Henry Fonda Theater:
September 11, 2009 at 6:37pm
They should just burn down the Fonda, because there will never be a better show there again.
If they leave it standing they should no longer be allowed to have any more concerts there. b-ill-one
I’m not condoning arson, but I couldn’t have agreed more. Something so outstanding took place that night that the Henry Fonda could have closed its doors forever and nobody would question it.
Fever Ray at Henry Fonda Theater
Well, it’s a good thing they stayed open because, tonight, Fever Ray resurrected the Fonda ghosts and turned that venue upside-down. . . again. Does that make it right-side up now? If so, then the Henry Fonda is back in business.
I will admit that between opening acts I looked up at the stage and nostalgically felt that Nine Inch Nails show all over again.
But the instant Fever Ray hit the stage, all thoughts dissipated as the characters (aka the band) – led by Karin Elisabeth Dreijer Andersson (formerly, The Knife) – transformed the Henry Fonda Theater once again. Fever Ray’s full, layered sound filled the room, complemented by the pulsing laser show. There were costumes and face paint, and fans swayed in reverence.
I don’t believe a word was spoken on stage between songs and if so, I was too entranced to notice. You didn’t just hear the music, watch the lights, see the smoke – you felt the music, felt the lights, felt the smoke (some more than others).
This has been one of the most anticipated shows in LA since the tour was announced on May 12, 2009. It may remain among the most talked-about until May 12, 2010. . . or whenever Fever Ray returns.
By the way, speaking of Nine Inch Nails, Trent Reznor was at the show tonight, but nobody seemed to care. Every now and then somebody returning from the bar or restroom would say, “Hey – Trent Reznor’s here!” And without turning their head, without shifting their eyes, the friend would respond, “yeah. . . ”
So this is what it’s like to go to a Fever Ray show: your friend can tell you that your hero just walked in the room, and as if you were talking about the color of the carpet, you’d say, “yeah. . . cool.”
Henry Fonda Theater
NIN Wave Goodbye Tour, night 3
September 8, 2009
You give me the reason. . .
“Wait – wasn’t Sunday’s show at the Echoplex supposed to be the last one??” For those of you who haven’t been following the events surrounding the final four Nine Inch Nails shows, there were some. . . complications. After playing a brilliant show (although he was sick) at The Palladium on September 2nd, Trent had to reschedule the NIN shows at Henry Fonda Theater (capacity: 1,300) and The Wiltern (capacity: 2,200) because he was too ill to perform. Well, nobody’s complaining tonight!
I’ve been to A LOT of “best concerts ever”, but this may be the one that trumps them all.
Let’s start from the beginning: Attending these final Nine Inch Nails shows makes me feel like the luckiest person alive. It’s also like being on Survivor NIN. Here’s how it goes:
Line-up to pick up your tickets.
Make alliances in line.
Line-up to enter venue.
Eat dinner in line.
Hydrate. But not too much. You don’t want to have to leave during the show to go to the bathroom. Nor do you want to fight your way back to your spot after doing so.
Make more alliances in this second line.
Conspire with other fans to find the guy who’s buying up all the tour shirts and selling them on eBay.
If anybody asks what happened to that guy, everybody uses the “I don’t know – I was standing in line with all these guys” alibi.
Get strip searched on the way into the venue. They told me they were “looking for weapons. . . or jewelry”.
Try to figure out why they’re looking for jewelry.
Enter the venue and get in the merch line, hoping they don’t sell out of event shirts this time.
Look for the guy who’s been selling shirts on eBay. Somebody must have already taken care of him.
Grab a spot on the floor, surrounded by new friends and stand your ground for the next 5 hours
Get an amazing shoulder workout by holding the camera above your head for several hours
The only difference is – on Survivor you win a million dollars. Tonight we won the best performance we could have hoped for from Nine Inch Nails. Yes, I’d rather have that than the million dollars at this point.
NIN kicked off with “Head Like A Hole” and the crowd went nuts (I’ll post the video as soon as it’s done uploading). From that point forward the energy just continued to rise. The walls at the Fonda were shaking. From “Head Like A Hole” they went straight into “Terrible Lie” which is always a welcome song. Next, they played “Sin” which I had been not-so-secretly hoping to hear during these final shows. It’s one of my favorite NIN songs and it’s been a little while since I’ve seen them perform it live.
Wish there was something real. Wish there was something true.
Alright – I just took a brief time-out because I have A.D.D. and did a trend search on Twitter for #NIN. . . Apparently I’m not the only one who feels this way. Everybody is talking about how this was “the best show ever.” And thanks to them for reminding me to tell you that the show was 3 hours. Solid. 2 encores. Guest appearances by Mike Garson (Bowie), Gary Numan (who needed no introduction this time), Eric Avery (Jane’s Addiction), Danny Lohner (NIN), Greg Puciato (Dillinger Escape Plan). They finally played “Atmosphere” (following a failed attempt due to technical difficulties at The Echoplex on Sunday).
I don’t ordinarily do this because there are plenty of places that post the setlist and there are so many other details that can be written about that illuminate the experience, but in this rare (and perhaps only) instance, here’s the setlist from tonight’s show:
Head like a hole
1. “Head Like A Hole”
2. “Terrible Lie”
3. “Sin”
4. “March Of The Pigs”
5. “Piggy”
6. “Echoplex”
7. “Reptile”
8. “I’m Afraid Of Americans”
9. “Survivalism”
10. “Head Down”
11. “1,000,000”
12. “Letting You”
13. “Burn”
14. “Gave Up”
15. “Eraser”
16. “Just Like You Imagined” (Featuring Mike Garson)
17. “The Becoming” (Featuring Mike Garson)
18. “I Do Not Want This” (Featuring Mike Garson)
19. “Down In The Park” (Featuring Gary Numan)
20. “Metal” (Featuring Gary Numan)
21. “Cars” (Featuring Gary Numan and Eric Avery)
22. “Anthrax” (Gang of Four) (Featuring Gary Numan and Eric Avery)
23. “Heresy” (with Danny Lohner)
24. “Get Down Make Love” (Queen) (with Danny Lohner)
25. “Mr. Self Destruct” (Featuring Greg Puciato and Danny Lohner)
26. “Wish” (Featuring Greg Puciato and Danny Lohner)
27. “The Hand That Feeds”
28. “Atmosphere” (Joy Divison)
29. “Dead Souls” (Joy Division)
30. “The Day The World Went Away”
31. “Hurt”
The band sounded great. Guitars and equipment were tossed in the air. Trent easily jumped 4 feet high and the crowd did the same. With this performance Trent and the band seemed to be saying a few things:
“Sorry we had to postpone the original show. But you see now, right? THIS is the show we wanted to give you and we couldn’t have done it while I was sick.”
“We really are leaving for a while. But before we do – we’re going to remind you that we’re one of the best live bands you’ll ever see.”
“I’m sweating more than you.”
“Thank you!”
I could go on and on, but you’d get sick of hearing me tell you how phenomenal this night was. So hear it from some other people – do a Twitter search for #NIN. I’m not the only one.
Videos from Henry Fonda Theater, Wave Goodbye LA night 3: (Recorded sound quality isn’t very good, but the visuals are awesome and video footage is good so I wanted to post it regardless. I have excellent sounding video recordings from the Palladium show here: http://rockisagirlsbestfriend.com/2009/09/03/nine-inch-nails-wave-goodbye-la-night-1/)
Head Like A Hole:
This is how they started the show. The entire show was an encore!
Sin:
Hurt:
Burn:
Check out the light show and the look in his eyes.
Rock Is A Girl's Best Friend 