For the Radiohead faithful that gathered in Madrid, Spain, on Nov. 4 for the opening night of their 2025 European tour, the first few moments of the show were overwhelming for a multitude of reasons. Not only was the band back onstage after a seven-year hiatus — the longest break of their career by far — but they were barely visible inside a wall of video screens that surrounded their round stage in the center of the arena. It was immediately clear that this was going to be unlike any other Radiohead tour in their history, but there was little hint just how bold and unpredictable the show would become as it unfolded across opening night, and the radically different second gig the following evening. We were lucky enough to witness the two historic concerts, and we had quite a few thoughts along the way. Here are 10 big takeaways and questions we’re still thinking about.
They’ve never switched up the setlist like this.
Prior to the tour, bassist Colin Greenwood told fans that they’d rehearsed 70 different songs. “So we’ll play anything in any order, at any time,” he said. “We sort of take a busking attitude to the Radiohead setlist.” This is the kind of thing that bands often say before tours where they essentially play the same show night after night. But he wasn’t kidding. They played 25 songs on night one, and then played 14 different songs on night two, repeating only nine.
They don’t have a new album to support at the moment, which is giving them the opportunity to have fun as they journey through their past. At times it almost felt like watching a Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band show during the much-missed “Stump the Band” era of 2013/14, where anything felt possible at any moment, even if they weren’t about to pick up a sign from the audience and break into an unrehearsed “Wooly Bully.” We’ll see if they keep the setlists this loose as the tour goes on, but for now, it’s giving these shows an exciting, unpredictable energy.
The Bends 30th anniversary celebration is finally here.
Many Radiohead fans were a little disappointed when the 30th anniversary of The Bends came and went this past March without a deluxe reissue or any sort of acknowledgement. But they played a majestic “Fake Plastic Trees” on the first night, and then treated the crowd to “(Nice Dream),” “Planet Telex,” “Street Spirit (Fade Out), and “The Bends” on night two. “(Nice Dream)” sent shockwaves through the crowd, since they hadn’t played it since 2009.
The setlist listed “Just” as an alternative to “Planet Telex,” meaning odds are high it’ll surface very soon even though that song also hasn’t been touched since 2009. It’s also very possible we’ll hear “My Iron Lung” since that’s a live staple, but could we also get the first “High and Dry” since 1998? The first “Bones” since 2006? The first “Bullet Proof..I Wish I Was” since 2008? The first “Black Star” since 2006? Can we even dream of the first “Sulk” since 1995? Before this tour is done, all of that might indeed happen. (They might need to bring smelling salts to the floor to revive some fans if “Sulk” happens.)
Drummergeddon 2025 has hit Radiohead (sort of).
As our eyes adjusted to the in-the-round staging, we noticed a new fellow on a second drum kit who most certainly wasn’t longtime touring drummer Clive Deamer. (The first clue was that he had a full head of hair.) The mysterious figure wasn’t introduced, since virtually nothing was said onstage, but it turns out he’s Chris Vatalaro. He’s toured with Imogen Heap in the past and has also played with Antibalas, Elysian Fields, Richard Fairhurst, and many others. He’s never done anything as high-profile as this tour, but he worked seamlessly alongside Phil Selway, who’s been holding down the beat in this band for decades. We’ll miss the symmetry of two bald drummers playing at once, but are still happy to welcome Vatalaro into the Radiohead family.
The swap also means that Radiohead can now arguably be said to have joined the very long list of bands — including Pearl Jam, Nine Inch Nails, Guns N’ Roses, the Who, Oasis, Foo Fighters, Iron Maiden, and Primus — who parted ways with a drummer this year. Drummergeddon 2025 isn’t a myth. It’s real, and it’s spreading fast.
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The screens are a work in progress.
The screens gradually began lifting throughout opening night, but large chunks often remained down, and they moved continuously throughout the main set. Depending on your vantage point, the band was often semi-obstructed or blocked from view. And even when Thom Yorke was directly in front of you, dancing like a maniac during “Myxomatosis,” the vibe would be sometimes be dampened when a screen lowered right in front of him. (At one point, a woman in front of me texted a friend “I can’t see because of these screens. This is insanity!”) For the extended encore section on night one, the screens were finally completely raised. You could feel the crowd breathe a big sigh of relief since everyone could finally see the entire stage.
A quick scroll of the Radiohead subreddit after the show revealed that not all fans were thrilled with the staging. “Tear down the wall!” one fan wrote. “The people I know who were there were saying it was very hard to feel engaged when they were so removed from the performers.” This person wasn’t alone. “Sorry for being negs, but the cage that makes it almost impossible to see what’s going on stage,” wrote another, “and the video screens above it are so jittery and distorted like Max Headroom that you also can’t see what’s going on.”
The second show began in very similar fashion — but the screens came up about a third of the way through, and basically stayed up the rest of the night. We weren’t as “negs” about the situation on night one as some of the fans, but night two definitely worked better. Let’s hope they stick with that plan. The screens are very cool, but we want to see as much of the band as possible.
We’re on the verge of a complete OK Computer.
They played six OK Computer songs on night one: “Karma Police,” “Let Down,” “Lucky,” “No Surprises,” “Paranoid Android,” and “Subterranean Homesick Alien.” They repeated “Let Down” and “Paranoid Android” on night two, and added in “Airbag” and “Exit Music (For a Film).” That’s eight of the 12 tracks on the album, or really eight of the 11 since “Fitter Happier” isn’t really doable without a vintage Macintosh on lead vocals. They had “Climbing Up the Walls” on the setlist for night two, though it was replaced by “Myxomatosis.” If they throw in “Climbing Up the Walls” soon and just add in “Electioneering” and “The Tourist,” that’s the whole album. “The Tourist” was in rotation on the Moon Shaped Pool tour, but “Electioneering” is the “Sulk” of OK Computer. They haven’t done it since 1998. We wouldn’t be surprised, however, if that streak ends in the very near future.
Hail to the Thief is getting a lot of attention, too.
Opening night sometimes felt like a trip back to 2003 since they played “2 + 2 = 5,” “A Wolf at the Door,” “Myxomatosis,” “Sit Down. Stand Up,” “The Gloaming,” and “There There.” (They hadn’t done “Sit Down. Stand Up” since 2004. Hey, fellow Radiohead freaks, is 21 years the record for longest gap between live performances of any song in their catalog?) The album is front of mind for Yorke, who recently worked on the stage production of Hamlet Hail to the Thief (which mashes up the album and the Shakespeare play) and the surprise live album Hail to the Thief (Live Recordings 2003–2009) was released earlier this year. There are 14 songs on Hail To The Thief, and we’re unlikely to hear all of them, but we’re rooting for “A Punch Up at a Wedding.” They haven’t done it since 2003, and it didn’t make the cut for the recent live album, but that song rules.
Will Pablo Honey have a moment?
There’s often one asshole at a Radiohead show who spends half the night screaming “Creep!” at the top of his lungs. We aren’t requesting a “Creep” here. They did it 18 times on the Moon Shaped Pool tour, and that was 18 more times than anyone expected. But they also did “Blow Out” once. It’s not hard to imagine another “Blow Out” at some point this fall; aside from that, “You” and “Lurgee” are the only other Pablo Honey songs they’ve done this century, and it’s been over 20 years since they played either of them. It would be an incredible moment if they busted out “Stop Whispering,” “Thinking About You,” or “Ripcord,” but we just don’t see it happening.
How else will this evolve in the coming weeks?
This is a pretty unique tour, where they’re doing four nights each in five European cities. After just two shows, we’ve heard 39 different songs. If they truly rehearsed 70 tunes, they have another 31 to go. Will nights three and four in Madrid see as many setlist changes as we saw at the first two shows? If so, they could hit all 70 before leaving Spain. (Let’s hope that means more Amnesiac. It’s been pretty neglected so far.) If that’s the plan, the fans in Bologna, London, Copenhagen, and Berlin are likely in for a similar treat. But right now, it’s really anyone’s guess until each night’s show happens, which is part of the fun.
Are there standards they’ll play every night?
Here’s a list of the songs played both nights: “2 + 2 = 5,” “Ful Stop,” “You and Whose Army?,” “Idioteque,” “Bodysnatchers,” “There There,” “Myxomatosis,” “Let Down,” “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi,” “Paranoid Android,” and “Everything in Its Right Place.” To use another Springsteen comparison, how many of these are a “Badlands” or “Born to Run” that we’re guaranteed to get every night? It’s very possible the answer is none of them. But if any of these songs are genuine standards in Radiohead’s live set, it’s probably “Idioteque,” “Paranoid Android,” and “Everything in Its Right Place.” We’d be surprised not to see at least two of those three on any given night.
Is the tour coming to America?
Let’s not forget the biggest question on many Radiohead fans’ minds. There are currently no dates on the books after the European leg wraps up Dec. 12 in Berlin. Will they really rev the machine up after all these years and only hit five European cities before powering it down again? Anything is possible, but an American leg in 2026 feels like a fairly reasonable bet. If that’s the case, expect an even crazier scramble for tickets than usual. This is the tour Radiohead fans have waited years to see. They could probably book 20 nights at Madison Square Garden and sell them all out. (And maybe, somewhere along the way, they’ll break the 30-year “Sulk” drought.)
From Rolling Stone US
