Radiohead @ Theater at Madison Square Garden, 6/14

The vibe at the Theater felt like a room full of lottery winners and everyone seemed to have that permanent smile face. We got there early to catch The Black Keys and found swarms of people in line at the venue for ticket cancellations - I've never seen anything like it. The Keys only played a 30 minute set but they did not disappoint. Patrick hits the drums harder than anyone in the business and I'm probably in the minority here but in a live setting, I think they're better than the Stripes (no comparison on the albums, however). Radiohead took the stage at 9 and that's probably where I blacked out with excitement. We were seated 20 rows back and to the left of the stage and I knew that it was highly unlikely that I'd ever have better seats at a Radiohead show again - not to mention in a venue that size. It's a real treat to watch that little freak, Thom, parade around the stage - nothing else quite like it. The mp3s floating around of the new songs don't do them any justice, you need to hear them in a live setting to fully understand the quality. The exception is Bangers 'n Mash - that just feels like a b-side to me. Thom had very little to say to the crowd although at one point after thanking the crowd for listening to their new stuff and the old stuff, made a comment about why anyone still "gives a shit." Nice try, Thom. I heard my two favorite Radiohead songs, Paranoid Android and Idioteque so the rest was gravy. 2 hours later, The Tourist as the closer was also pretty huge. Here is the setlist:

01 The Gloaming
02 The National Anthem
03 15 Step
04 Arpeggi
05 Kid A
06 Dollars And Cents
07 Videotape
08 Nude
09 I Might Be Wrong
10 Paranoid Android
11 Bangers 'n Mash
12 Pyramid Song
13 My Iron Lung
14 Bodysnatchers
15 Myxomatosis
16 No Surprises
17 Everything In Its Right Place
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18 A Wolf At The Door
19 Down Is The New Up
20 Like Spinning Plates
21 Spooks
22 Idioteque
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23 Just
24 The Tourist

Of course, there were the celeb sightings. Through various accounts on last night's show, I've noted Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, Heath Ledger & Michelle Williams, Michael Stipe, Elijah Wood, Ed Norton, and Ryan Adams. If you're into that sort of thing...