Two weeks ago, Chris Maddin, Chris Guerra, Leonard Rader, Matt Thomas, Jaime Rader, and myself performed Radiohead’s Kid A in its entirety for a packed house of more than 250 Radiohead fans at the Broadway 5050 in San Antonio, Texas. Just like last year’s full live album cover shows (which included Arcade Fire’s Funeral and Radiohead’s OK Computer), this was a 100% free show, put on to salute one of our all-time favorite albums. We’re not a cover band, either — we deconstruct and learn an album for a few weeks, perform it, and then we move on to another project. (The only exception was performing OK Computer again for my favorite local radio station, KRTU 91.7 Indie Overnight).
Stephen Castro of local video production house Miranda Studios was front-row and recorded the whole event, and it really captures what it was like to be inside the room with us. Fun fact: YouTube contacted Stephen to take these videos down, citing copyright infringement — but we only sampled a few bits and pieces of the album. So apparently our live version was good enough to fool YouTube’s lawyers. I can’t think of a higher compliment.
Below is all six parts of Kid A live, for your viewing and listening pleasure. Once again, a huge thanks to my fellow musicians, Miranda Studios, the Broadway 5050, and everyone who packed it like sardines in a crushed tin box. Most of all, huge thanks to Radiohead for being the best band in the world.
Enjoy!
“Everything in its Right Place” and “Kid A”:
“The National Anthem” and “How to Disappear Completely”:
“Treefingers” (audio only):
“Optimistic” and “In Limbo”:
“Idioteque” and “Morning Bell”:
“Motion Picture Soundtrack” and special encore “15 Step”:
The “Kid A” band:
Chris Maddin (vocals, guitar)
Chuck Kerr (drums, drum samples, iPad 2)
Chris Guerra (Fender Rhodes, synths)
Leonard Rader (guitar, vocals, synths, loops)
Matt Thomas (bass)
Jaime Rader (samples, loops, synths, guitar)