Atoms for Peace Perform Radiohead Songs at Coachella

Posted on Apr 20th 2010 3:02AM by Benjy Eisen
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When it was first announced that Thom Yorke would be coming to this year's Coachella, he was billed as a solo act but his name was accompanied by a set of question marks -- "Thom Yorke ????." The mysterious nomenclature revealed that Yorke obviously wouldn't be performing with Radiohead but it suggested something exciting all the same.

As was revealed in February, the once-questionable project has since been named Atoms for Peace and its lineup includes Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Nigel Godrich, Mauro Refosco and Joey Waronker. The group has yet to offer an album, video or even a single -- in fact, there are no official releases whatsoever -- and they've only really played a handful of gigs as a band. It doesn't matter. At Coachella -- by far their largest gig to date -- fans by the numbers seemed to have the same kind of religious experience that Radiohead concerts are known for inducing.

Following the template from their recent theater workouts, the first portion of the set showcased Yorke's 2006 solo album, 'the Eraser,' in its entirety. Yorke confessed to the audience early on that this would be the plan of attack and, midway through, he dedicated the song 'Atoms for Peace' to Pavement without explanation. Clearing the stage at the conclusion of the 'Eraser' song cycle had the unintended effect of partially clearing the audience -- many mistakingly thought the set was pretty much over and wanted to stake out a place for Gorillaz, who were up next on the adjacent main stage.

Too bad -- those fans missed Yorke truly performing solo, taking to an acoustic guitar and an upright piano, respectively, for 'Airbag' and 'Everything in its Right Place.' Literally the only act that could follow Atoms for Peace was Gorillaz because, otherwise, it would've been "thank you and goodnight" for 75,000 satisfied music fans.