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