Chicago + Radiohead do good (8/1/01)

The City of Chicago pulled off an amazing event tonight: A giant field in Grant Park was used to host the Radiohead concert and 25,000 fans - a first for the city, and reported as being a test for future events. From what I saw, the event went off without a hitch, paving the path for what is sure to bring a new vibe to Chicago. The whole thing felt like something you would expect from San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, or one of Phish's 3-day special events.

The General Admission event cost $37 plus $12 for Ticketmaster. (If only Pearl Jam had turned the Ticketbastard headquarters to dust rather than politely speaking to Orren Hatch and friends....) Anyway, the city kept food at incredibly low prices: $3 for big sandwiches and $2 for water. No alcohol. Like Taste of Chicago, you bought tickets and used those for food/water. Very short lines for food/water and tons of clean port-o-potties. Klezmer music played on the sound system as people filed into the field, which was surrounded by Chicago's amazing skyline. The crowd was mostly 18-24, white, and extremely respectful and attentive.

The Beta Band opened the show. Maybe this would be good in a small club, but in this setting it provided a chance to eat, use the port-o-potty and catch up with friends. (I was with 6 friends from law school, most of whom I hadn't seen/partied with in years, so that was great...Of course there had to be trouble - 2 of the 6 got busted for walking down the street with open beers on the way to the show. Funny how crack deals are going down in the city but the cops take their time to bust two 30-something lawyers for drinking beer in a brown paper bag...Fortunately, I wasn't holding a beer at that moment). We also got to catch up during the second act, some DJ whose name I forget...you could easily find a better DJ at your local suburban Bar Mitzvah.

Then, Radiohead. Two thumbs up. A+. This is a great live band that is never to be missed. Great front man, great melodies, intellectual music, experimental and trippy as hell while weaving intense jams INTO the songs so you don't have to sit through any jamband noodling. They played material from all of their albums, especially Kid A, Amnesiac and OK Computer. They did a few from The Bends and one from Pablo Honey, as well as 2 unreleased songs. Giant video screens featured well-shot black and white close-ups. I was amazed at how attentive the crowd was...you could hear a pin drop during the quiet, atmospheric moments of the songs...it was as if we were in England...or Golden Gate Park. Maybe it was due to the lack of alcohol, the abundance of pot being smoked, or the 95 degree heat with humidity to match. The crowd cheered when leader Thom Yorke dedicated a song to the full moon...and sang along when the band performed the incredible "Fake Plastic Trees". Some crowd members (including some in my crew of course) expected Jerry Garcia's birthday to be acknowledged, but that of course wasn't happening.

All in all, this band from the Oxford, England area gave the crowd a great and interesting night, which appeared to be just what they were looking for. Everyone left with smiles on their faces and filed out of the park as peacefully as they entered. Unless the news comes up with some trouble that I didn't see, it looks like there will be many more large concert events outdoors in the heart of Chicago. Congrats to Chicago for taking a chance and congrats to Radiohead for blowing off SFX and insisting on a creative way to present their music.