I was pretty late to the party when it came to Radiohead. Towards the end of the 90's everyone at school was reaching an age where they were getting into music and a lot of people were getting very obsessed by Radiohead. I don't remember having very strong opinions on them either way for quite a long while - I knew and enjoyed Karma Police and a few other songs from OK Computer. People started going crazy when Kid A came out and it took me nearly a year to actually listen to it.
The turning point for me was a well-timed concert. It was the summer after GCSEs and I was on holiday with my family visiting my uncle who was living in Boston at the time. He was going to see Radiohead whilst we were there and asked if my sister and I would be interested in going. We'd both started going to gigs and were really excited to see a show in the US. Radiohead were playing outside at a horseracing stadium/track. It was probably the biggest concert I'd been to at that point (excluding Reading Festival), or it at least felt that way. I remember being blown away by the new songs from Kid A; there was something mesmerising in how loud and intense it all was. Songs like The National Anthem and Idioteque are just mean to be played loudly.
After that trip I bought a copy of Kid A, then this live album, then filled out the rest of the back-catalogue. I was very excited to hear these live versions in the hope they'd remind me of that time first time I saw, which they do. I've seen Radiohead countless times since and they always impress me, even though I'm not such a huge fan of all of their records. This record always takes me back to that first time. I'm sure I would have got into Radiohead eventually, but I love that it was a chance-concert that converted me.
Format: 12", gatefold sleeve, picture sleeve
Tracks: 8
Cost: £13 new
Bought: Tower Records, Southampton
When: 07/06/02
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no
