Radiodread: (Mostly) Not The Abomination We Expected
Monday night Seattlest headed to Chop Suey for the Easy Star All-Stars performance of Radiodread, a dub-reggae version of Radiohead's OK Computer. We went in knowing of the group's previous reworking of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, filled with a morbid curiosity of whether this would be a regrettable showgoing decision (but also knowing that horrible shows are easiest to write about). We're happy to report that while the show is most definitely a bastardization of a classic, it's mostly harmless and disposable, so we don't wish for any accidents to befall their tour bus.
The Easy Star All-Stars took the stage before a full Chop Suey, opening with a few original numbers and some of their Pink Floyd covers before beginning Radiodread with a big introduction. It seemed as if most people were there for Radiodread, as like us, they stood around bored through these opening numbers. The Pink Floyd piqued people's interest and set the tone early, letting people know that it likely wouldn't be that bad, since those covers were innocuous, generating giggles from many over the concept, not the execution.
Radiodread continued the giggle-fest early with takes on OK Computer that wouldn't have seemed possible, but we found to be not displeasing. We describe it based on what it isn't because we went in with an incredibly negative impression, so we had to be won over to neutral before they would garner any praise. The show might have actually won us over on the level of social experiment had the momentum of the show not been ruined by That Guy.
More about That Guy and his suckage after the jump.
"That Guy" in this case was the ragga/dancehall MC that was along with the All-Stars. We didn't care so much about him during the opening non-Radiohead songs, but once he came out for "Let Down," he immediately gained our ire. "Let Down," one of our favorite tracks from this classic album was molested by this ragga demon, turning a soaring epic into a plodding wannabe ska stomper. His vocals didn't fit, the tone of the song didn't work, and dammit, our inner sadist wanted to see him suffer. We tried to take consolation in the fact that he wasn't even a good MC, but instead that just made the suffering worse. To say we hate That Guy is an understatement. We're fine with the tour bus not having an accident, but if he manages to get left at a gas station somewhere, they'll be better off.
The rest of the night thankfully only featured a few appearances from the night's Satan, with the band going through most of OK Computer mostly in order in pretty generic reggae style. There was a lot of pot that could be smelled in the audience's clothing, which helped with people's acceptance of this interpretation (straight-edger Seattlest is, we remained critical). One of the more interesting moments was going from Radiohead, segueing into Pink Floyd's "Money," then working back into Radiohead. Clever, considering the Pink Floyd comparisons made upon the album's release. However, that momentum was ruined with That Guy returning to butcher "Electioneering."
We stuck around until the end waiting for the group to finish the album, but once the encore proved interminable, we gave up on the chance of hearing the group finish the album (no "Fitter, Happier" for us) and went home. On the whole the evening both met and exceeded expectations. Most of the evening was fine enough, but That Guy's appearances made for what we're sure is a new circle of hell: The Hell of Mangled Classics. We pray to never be exposed to that pain again and wouldn't wish it upon our worst enemies.
Image from flickr user judester
