Culture Music Live music

Radiohead at the Roundhouse review: The most intimate concert in ten years

Radiohead at the Roundhouse review: The most intimate concert in ten years | Live review

When Radiohead played two concerts at the massive O2 Arena in 2012 it felt as though it was finally possible to see them in a proper auditorium. In some way those shows had an intimate feel compared to the festival, park and stadium dates of the past decade, save for some inaccessible competition-only performances at the BBC theatre and 93 Feet East. Exactly ten years after their back-to-back Hammersmith Apollo gigs, Thom Yorke’s band comes to London with a three-date residency at the Roundhouse.

Fans couldn’t hope for a better venue to enjoy the intricate, mind-boggling melodies of the Oxford band. The show kicks off as a live performance of their latest record, A Moon Shaped Pool. They lead with album opener – and first single – Burn the Witch, a disturbing depiction of a witch hunt supported by obsessive and eerie col legno strings; the next four songs faithfully respect the tracklist, reaching a climax with Full Stop when Yorke dances as he plays a handheld controller.

There’s perfect symmetry between Radiohead and their adoring public, who respond to the trance-inducing moves of the frontman like volunteers in a hypnotic experiment. The state of oblivion culminates with the compulsive beats and strobe lights of Idioteque, driven by the song’s iconic synth sound. Yorke then invites the audience to stay with them tonight “until they play everything”.

The 25-track setlist covers most of their discography, from the ethereal falsetto on Reckoner to the groundbreaking soundscape of Everything in Its Right Place and the explosiveness of 2+2=5. But there’s more than that, there’s the return to the indie rock roots with Planet Telex and My Iron Lung, and the avant-garde feel of Nude and Separator.

It’s a complete show: it finally includes more of the well-known songs that made Radiohead the ultimate band for alt-rock fiends. Noel Gallagher once said “If Thom Yorke s**t into a light bulb and started blowing it like an empty beer bottle it’d probably get 9 out of 10”. Perhaps it’s true, but it’d nevertheless be good s**t.

Filippo L’Astorina, the Editor
Photos: Filippo L’Astorina (except cover Daniele Dalledonne)

For further information about Radiohead and future event visit here.

Watch the video for Daydreaming here:

More in Live music

Matt Berninger at Troxy

Benedetta Mancusi

All Points East 2025: The Maccabees

Bev Lung

Victorious Festival 2025 Day Three: Kings of Leon

Taryn Crowley

Rally Festival 2025: Floating Points, Porridge Radio, Speaker’s Corner Quartet and more

Ben Browning

Victorious Festival 2025 Day One: Queens of the Stone Age, Kaiser Chiefs, Wunderhorse and more

Taryn Crowley

Victorious Festival 2025 Day Two: Vampire Weekend, Circa Waves, Rizzle Kicks and more

Taryn Crowley

The Linda Lindas at Islington Academy

Gem Hurley

BBC Proms 2025: Pappano conducts Puccini and Strauss at the Royal Albert Hall

Cristiana Ferrauti

All Points East 2025: Chase and Status, Dimension and Nia Archives

Sarah Bradbury