Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Coachella
Radiohead headlined the first night of Coachella, and technical difficulties unfortunately put a huge monkey wrench in their performance. The sound cut out twice during their set, leaving both fans and Radiohead extremely pissed off.
Via Consequence of Sound, here’s how it all went down.
The trouble began three songs into the set as the band performed “Ful Stop”. Not only did the sound drop, but there were several loud bursts of feedback, as Pitchfork notes. Thom Yorke joked that it was the result of “alien interference.” The audio problems continued two songs later during “Airbag,” prompting the band to briefly pause the set in order to fix the issues. However, just two songs later during “Let Down”, the sound again dropped and the band exited the stage. When the band returned, Yorke asked the crowd, “Can you actually hear me now?” I’d love to tell you a joke, lighten the mood, something like that. But this is Radiohead, so f*ck it.”
That’s brutal. I can’t imagine being a huge Radiohead fan and shelling out tons of money to see them at Coachella, and then having to suffer through bullshit audio problems like that. This isn’t a cover band at your local bar. This is Radiohead at Coachella for Christ’s sake. Get it together, ya slapdicks.
Here are some videos of the sound cutting out, showing how it brought the show to a screeching halt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp6bpQPJRgM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SplL05TGVxo
So frustrating. But it’s been reported that things went a whole lot smoother during the second half of their set, so all was not lost. Plus, anytime you get to hear “Creep” live it can’t be too bad of a night. That’s pretty f*cking special.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfWq6GcIiv8
