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Radiohead have been laying pretty low since last weekend’s stage collapse in Toronto that killed drum tech Scott Johnson and injured three others. But the band released a statement earlier today announcing that they would be postponing a handful of upcoming tour dates, though the reason has less to do with the ongoing investigation regarding the accident and more to do with the fact that their light show has been compromised.
“As you will probably have heard the roof over the stage collapsed at our show in Toronto killing crew member Scott Johnson and injuring three other crew members,” the band wrote in a statement. “The collapse also destroyed the light show — this show was unique and will take many weeks to replace. The collapse also caused serious damage to our backline, some elements of which are decades old and therefore hard to replace. Whilst we all are dealing with the grief and shock ensuing from this terrible accident there are also many practical considerations to deal with.”
The band postponed a total of seven shows in Italy, Germany, and Switzerland. The band hopes to have new dates and information regarding those shows by June 27. Read the entirety of the statement below. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Martin F. Vielma/Crackle
A few years ago, Grammy-winning record producer and unofficial sixth Radiohead member Nigel Godrich was lamenting the lack of the great music-based television shows like The Old Grey Whistle Test as well as great experiments like The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus. So he did something about it and created From the Basement, a series with a simple premise: Great bands performing killer songs in a small room with no audience.
“I think what happened was MTV came along in the ’80s and destroyed the way that people film music on television,” Godrich told EW via phone from London. “The performance ended up in the edit, and it wasn’t very direct. It’s a selfish thing, really—as a music fan, I really wanted to see people performing on television, so we went ahead and did it. Musicians hate doing TV because it’s such a different world and a horrible environment for them, so wouldn’t it be cool for me as a music person to do a TV show? Then I could get something out of them that TV shows wouldn’t get.”
The series has mostly existed online and on U.K. television, but the third season—premiering this summer—will be featured the 3D network 3net. That means that not only will you be able to experience dynamic performances by the likes of the Shins, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Feist, and Foster the People, but you’ll also be able to watch them in 3D
“I was quite cynical about it when it was suggested to me,” Godrich admitted of the introduction of 3D. “I’m very careful about anything that seems like a gimmick, but the technology is so good and it looks so amazing. When you see a photograph of an Impressionist painting, it doesn’t really make sense until you go to France and stand in the museum and watch this thing vibrate in front of your face. It really is another level of intimacy, and it really translates in a really sophisticated way.”
Of course, those not equipped to view things in three dimensions won’t be left out in the cold, as From the Basement will be available on Crackle, which is available on a bunch of different smartphones as well as video game systems. That will let you catch stuff like the Shins performing “Bait and Switch,” which you can watch in the exclusive clip below. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Alexandra Mihan/AP
A drum technician for Radiohead has been identified as the victim of Saturday’s stage collapse at Downsview Field in Toronto. The band posted a tribute to the victim, Scott Johnson, on their official web site Sunday.
Drummer Philip Selway wrote:
We have all been shattered by the loss of Scott Johnson, our friend and colleague. He was a lovely man, always positive, supportive and funny; a highly skilled and valued member of our great road crew. We will miss him very much. Our thoughts and love are with Scott’s family and all those close to him.
Three others were injured in the collapse. The concert was canceled and the band said that ticket holders would be refunded.
Read more:
Radiohead stage collapse kills one, injures three before Toronto show
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It’s April, and that means that it’s time to head to the desert for this year’s Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival (or simply Coachella, if you’re nasty). This year’s festival takes place over two separate weekends. Starting today, the lineup will run through Sunday, and then next Friday (April 20), the same lineup will do it again.
This year’s top-liners include Radiohead, the Black Keys, Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg, Bon Iver, At the Drive-In, Florence + the Machine, Pulp, and a ton of dance-music folk like Swedish House Mafia and AVICII. If you’re headed out to the desert or are just curious about the first big event of the summer festival season, here are the five questions that most need answering.
Is Eminem going to crash another party like he did at SXSW? READ FULL STORY »
As Radiohead have become more difficult and esoteric, their fans only become more rabid and devoted. These days, Thom Yorke’s band of misfit robots regularly fills arenas and throws the Internet into a full-on tizzy with each fresh note played.
Such has been the case over the past week, as the band has begun its latest North American trek and pulled the curtain back on a few new songs. The first, “Identikit,” surfaced on the tour’s opener in Miami a few nights ago. It’s a claustrophobic Radiohead groove, with their now-patented wash of keys, bloops, and bleeps filling in the spaces between Yorke’s hypnotically alluring warbling. Give it a listen below. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Gary Wolstenholme/Redferns/Getty Images
South by Southwest is right around the corner, and Coachella’s already prepping its polo grounds for a two-weekend extravaganza, which means it’s time to look forward to that third major warm-climate festival: Bonnaroo.
Manchester, Tenn.’s second most exciting tourist attraction (we see you, Old Stone Fort!) will take place June 7-10 this year, and its newly announced lineup is as impressive as ever. Perhaps the biggest headliner are Radiohead (who are also doing Coachella); also on the top of the masthead are the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Phish, who are no strangers to Bonnaroo’s muddy festivities.
Some of the fest’s bigger acts — many of which you may remember from the Grammys — include Skrillex, the Shins, Bon Iver, Bad Brains, the Civil Wars, comedian Aziz Ansari, and the reunited Beach Boys (hopefully without Foster the People, though they will be there too).
Of course, there’s many, many more. Check out the full list of artists below:
For some time now, Austin’s South by Southwest has been the festival where bands big and small alike make newsworthy announcements, debut reformations, tease long-awaited releases, and otherwise create waves and headlines.
But now that the lineup for this year’s Coachella Music and Arts festival in Indio, Calif., has been announced, it’s starting to look like SXSW might have a worthy challenger out west.
The Black Keys and Radiohead, plus a double bill of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg lead the lineup for this spring’s annual Coachella Music and Arts festival in Indio, Calif. The event spans two weekends this year, April 13-15 and April 20-22. In addition to the headliners, dozens of buzzworthy bands, both new and old, will perform, including Bon Iver, the Arctic Monkeys, M83, Florence + the Machine, and punk icons the Buzzcocks. The full lineup was posted on the festival’s Facebook page today.
The festival will run two identical weekends this year for the first time ever, with all of the acts signed on to perform both weekends. Rumors ranging about who would play the festival had been running rampant around the Web practically since last year’s festival ended.
Who are you most excited to see at Coachella?
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Music fans planning their spring desert pilgrimage to Coachella don’t have much longer to wait to hear if their favorite bands will be performing. The popular Coachella music festival in California will announce the lineup of the two-weekend event this coming week, organizers told fans in a tweet.
Rumors have been swirling about the lineup for months, with speculation of headliners including No Doubt, Foo Fighters, Radiohead, and LMFAO running rampant around the Web.
Only time will tell, but in the mean time it’s always fun to check the rumor mill, converted into the classic Coachella poster format by the Starz Uncut blog.
The event runs April 13-15 and April 20-22 in Coachella, California. The festival’s website has been featuring videos over the past few weeks from some of the bands that are expected to perform, including Jimmy Cliff, Breakbot, and Housse de Racket.
