Concert Review: Belly and Radiohead

Reviewed September 24, 1993
at the Visage, Orlando, Florida
by Derek Miner

The line outside Visage was oddly patient. I say oddly because the doors opened a half hour late. Once inside, there was another wait of an hour and a half. Never believe what they print on your ticket.

About 9 PM, the opening band took the stage. The still patient crowd reacted politely to The Bats, a New Zealand power-pop outfit. By my estimations, these guys were pretty talented. Not many people seem to like the simpler pop styles these days, though. The quartet ran through a short set and promised the more impatient audience members Radiohead would soon follow.

After the inevitable equipment changeover, the real show began. The official billing was Radiohead opening for Belly, but there seemed to be more people there for Radiohead. The crowd got loud even before the stage lights came up to reveal the five members of the group.

Four members of Radiohead look as typical as any other British rockers, but the distinguishing feature of the group is lead singer Thom Yorke. Not only does he have blonde hair that contrasts the darker locks of his cohorts, but he also looks quite lanky and frail. And when Yorke sings, he seems to put so much in to his performance, he looks emotionally and physically drained, yet still he carries on.

Watching the band rip through a highly charged set, one can see that the group (Yorke in particular) puts a gusher of energy and emotion into its music. Radiohead's songs frequently alternate between quiet, almost simple passages, and harder grunge-like bridges. This style lends itself easily to on-stage improvisation, and Radiohead carried it off marvelously. They won me over by being incredibly adept at recreating their music in a live setting. They don't lose any of their sound in the translation.

The audience's favorite was clearly Radiohead's current hit, "Creep." In addition, they played a good selection of tunes, including the new single "Anyone Can Play Guitar." After working the audience into a frenzy, Radiohead came back for a short encore.

The next obligatory stage revision brought the show's length to around two hours. By this time, the heat in the full building had caused the more active members of the audience to be literally soaked in sweat. Before Belly began to play, lead singer Tanya Donelly came on stage and flung water out over the audience. Gallon jugs of water were passed around during the band's set.

Belly is a relatively new band, but Donelly has certainly had a good deal of experience in her previous bands Throwing Muses and The Breeders. Belly's music, on disc, has more of a pop style than Radiohead, but the songs are much more intense live. The difference is most noticeable in the increased tempo and louder beat applied to the band's hit "Feed The Tree." In addition to other tunes from the album Star, the group did a wild cover of Jimi Hendrix's"Are You Experienced?" that the audience loved.

By this point in the show, the garage door in the side of the building had been opened to relieve the heat problem. As Belly's set came to a close, the audience again called for an encore. Donelly, however, put a good spin on the typical wrap up by emerging without her band, but with Yorke from Radiohead in tow. Donelly began a quiet acoustic number while Yorke looked a little embarrassed. By the second verse, however, Yorke launched into an incredible harmony vocal with all his trademark emotional intensity. The audience clearly was pleased. After what would have been a standing ovation (if the audience had seats), the show was ended proper with the rest of Belly on stage.

For alternative-rock fans, the night was certainly no disappointment. For me, it was certainly one of the best shows I have seen, with all aspects, from sound quality to performance quality, being as near to perfect as you can get. The next time any of these bands comes to town, I'll be in line for a ticket.