Funny thing, life.

Yesterday, due to an unlikely series of coincidences, acquaintances, arrangements, follies, schedules, and mistimings, I found myself standing next to Thom Yorke at the bar of an Oxford club, site of the after-party for Radiohead’s hometown gig. I resisted the urge to pinch his cheeks and pat his head, the wee little dickens.

The show itself was great. Fantastic. Way better than anything I could write about it (“great” being the best adjective I have at my disposal at the moment, having had only 2 hours of sleep in the last 40 hours or so). The skies pouring rain, 40,000 people singing/shouting along to “Creep” (which they rarely play at shows…fridge buzz issues) after a malfunctioning keyboard (Thom: “Bugger! Das ist kaputt, ja?”) forced a last minute song change….that pretty much sums the whole thing up for me. (Some other accounts of the same show.)

Radiohead pictures: strumming away, inciting the crowd’s emotions.

Sigur Ros, a recent favorite of mine, is even better than I thought they were, but probably better suited for smaller club venues rather than a large festival.

Sigur Ros photos: singing, playing the guitar with a violin bow.

Beck’s acoustic set was a little disappointing. It seemed out of place with the rock/electronica stuff going on with all the other bands. A picture of Beck.

Read some other accounts of the show.