Live Report: Radiohead – Roundhouse, London

A stunning set from a group who must be cherished...

It's the silence that gets you.

The quiet, dignified respect shown by the crowd, the waves of silence that lap across the venue, as if to further underline the intense concentration being shown by everyone in the room.

Perhaps that's a sign of the efforts made by each person to be here. When Radiohead announced plans for three shows at London's Roundhouse venue earlier this year fans raced to grab passes, with secondary ticketing sites then selling some on – often at rapidly inflated prices.

Chatting to fans in the queue, it's clear that some bit the bullet and paid rapidly over the odds. But then, this is an unusual, somewhat remarkable experience – Radiohead tours are more likely to take in the O2 Arena, or even a big top. The Roundhouse, by way of contrast, is quite remarkably intimate.

We're here on the final night of the trilogy, having somehow managed to avoid reports from the previous two performances. We've sneaked a peak at the set lists, sure, and we've soaked up the social media buzz, but opinions? We've got enough of our own, and so does every other person in the Roundhouse.

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Arriving to huge cheers from the crowd Radiohead dive straight into a searing version of 'Burn The Witch', opening their set with quite astonishing intensity. The evening is front-loaded with material from new album 'A Moon Shaped Pool', and that's only right – after all, this isn't about nostalgia, it's about offering something new.

'Decks Dark' has a real elasticity, while a fragile version of 'Desert Island Disk' teases out an emotive, tender Thom Yorke vocal, that combines to wonderful effect with those flurries of Bert Jansch-like acoustic notes. And then it's 'Ful Stop' and then, and then, and then…

And then it's 'Lucky' and we begin to lose it. There's simply something about this band, the way their material seeps into you, becomes a part of you. From the opening chords onwards 'Lucky' simply gushes forth, and with it memories of the first time you heard it, the way it seems to visit and re-visit your life when the occasion demands.

And it certainly demands it now. Jonny Greenwood's guitar pieces through the air, an astonishing, visceral noise, a splinter of sound that – even after all these years – couldn't be further from a conventional guitar solo if it tried.

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A sublime 'Talk Show Host' follows, while 'Climbing Up The Walls' has rarely been imbued with such introverted menace. It's a mid-section packed with favourites, a stunning display of sonic riches that finds Radiohead placing the tour debut of 'Like Spinning Plates' against brand new cut 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor Rich Man Poor Man Beggar Man Thief'.

Communication is kept to a minimum, yet it's clear that all those onstage are relishing every moment. The performances are taut, succinct, but each musician seems to retain the room to show wilful disobedience to the source material, to continually find fresh ways to be Radiohead.

The last notes of 'Everything In Its Right Place' begin to settle, when Thom Yorke turns to the crowd, grinning wildly and brandishing an old, rather beat up keyboard. Summoning the opening notes of 'Idioteque', the glacial, biting, visceral performance proves that the track has lost none of its alien energy.

'Bodysnatchers' rings out the last of the initial set, but with road crew rushing out onstage it's immediately clear that they'll be more. Whereas most encores feel forced, this feels rather apt – giving both band and audience time to rest, an intermission rather than the abject plea to soak up more applause that so many lesser bands allow encores to become.

'Bloom' and 'Present Tense' follow, while '2 + 2 = 5' is almost gleefully paranoid. 'There There' is a mass of percussion, the itchy funk of the layered beats prompting some limb-wrangling moves from Thom Yorke, as ever the fulcrum of any Radiohead live show.

But it's a group performance. Returning for the second encore, Radiohead pay their respects to the crowd, and also to one another. 'A Moon Shaped Pool' is the group's first in almost five years, a return to the act of being a band following an array of sometimes solo endeavours. Piledriving into 'Paranoid Android', the performance seems to underline just how cherished, how beloved Radiohead actually are.

In a year dominated by so many unsettling obituaries, with music losing so many potent forces, it's an incredible sight to see Radiohead return, in such intimate settings, with such a powerful performance. A masterful set, from a group who deserve every plaudit laid against them.

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Photography: Marc Sethi (taken on May 27th)

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