Radiohead Switches It Up At Old Trafford

English rockers Radiohead were supposed to play their only U.K. non-festival shows of the year at Manchester Arena, but they replaced the pair of concerts with one big performance at the famed Old Trafford while the arena is undergoing construction in the wake of May’s terrorist attacks. Radiohead had a number of treats in store for the Manchester faithful on Tuesday night including just the second version of beloved track “The Bends” since 2010.

Thom Yorke & Co. showed the evening would be different than other gigs right from the getgo by opening with OK Computer’s “Let Down” for the first time all tour. “Let Down” would be one of a whopping six songs from OK Computer to make the setlist as the band continues to celebrate the seminal LP’s 20th anniversary. “Airbag,” “Karma Police,” “Lucky,” “No Surprises” and “Paranoid Android” were also part of Radiohead’s 26-song performance at the legendary venue.

An impressive run of “15 Step,” “Myxomatosis,” “All I Need,” “Pyramid Song” and “Everything In Its Right Place” was followed by a “No Surprises” that at the end saw the crowd burst into a spontaneous chant of “Oh, Jeremy Corbyn!” to the tune of “Seven Nation Army” in support of the Labour leader. The main set then concluded with the career-spanning sequence of “Bloom,” “Identikit,” “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi,” “Idioteque,” “You & Whose Army?,” “Bodysnatchers” and “2 + 2 = 5.”

While Radiohead normally open shows on this tour with “Daydreaming,” in Manchester it served as the start of the first encore. “Nude” and “Lotus Flower” came next ahead of fan favorites “Paranoid Android” and “Fake Plastic Trees.” The evening concluded with a masterful four-song second encore. Up first was “There There” from Hail To The Thief followed by the recently-resurfaced OK Computer era outtake “I Promise.” The capacity crowd then went wild for the return of “The Bends.” The title track from Radiohead’s 1995 sophomore studio album hadn’t been performed in the U.K. in over nine years. Radiohead said farewell with a sing-along “Karma Police.”

Watch video highlights captured by godieinhell2:

[The Bends]

[No Surprises w/ Jeremy Corbyn chant]

[Everything In Its Right Place]

[Weird Fishes/Arpeggi]

[Karma Police]