Thom Yorke, last night at the Midland (slideshow and setlist)
It is completely reasonable to expect a Thom Yorke show to be mellow and mild mannered. His solo material — particularly Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes, for which this tour is named — is meditative, to be judicious. Plenty nice, but not exactly party stuff.
Last night’s show at the Midland, though, was rife with downbeats and a surprising amount of energy from Yorke, producer Nigel Godrich, and artist Tarik Barri, who produced the remarkable, sprawling visuals for the show’s duration. “Black Swan,” “Brain in a Bottle,” and “Cymbal Rush,” among others, proved highly danceable, and newer material, including “Two Feet Off the Ground,” and “Unmade” (off the wonderful Suspiria soundtrack) nodded to a potentially more melodic future for Yorke’s work. Thirty years into his career, Yorke continues to surprise.
Setlist below. Scroll down for photos. All photos by April Fleming.
Interference
A Brain in a Bottle
Impossible Knots
Black Swan
Harrowdown Hill
Pink Section
Nose Grows Some
Cymbal Rush
The Clock
Two Feet Off the Ground
Amok (Atoms for Peace)
Not the News
Truth Ray
Traffic
Twist
___
I Am a Very Rude Person
The Axe
Atoms for Peace
Default (Atoms for Peace)
___
Unmade