SURPRISES AT EVERY TURN RADIOHEAD DELIVERS THE UNEXPECTED.

Byline: Marie Vasari Staff Writer

For a band that often revels in layering its music with quirky electronic noises and liberal doses of synthesized sound, Radiohead reminded its audience Friday night at the Hollywood Bowl that there is, within its unique sound, a pretty sturdy foundation of musicianship upon which to build a show.

Breaking out a couple of songs from their newest release, ``Hail to the Thief,'' the band members took the stage with ``2+2=5,'' then rolled into ``Sit Down, Stand Up,'' proving their command in mere minutes. Singer Thom Yorke, alternating throughout the night among piano, guitar and, at one point, tambourine, was wildly unrestrained from the start, rocking his head, undulating behind the keyboard, or simply dancing, hopping and flailing in a flurry of unabashed expression that somehow perfectly matched the moods of his songs.

As two tall stage-side video monitors flashed jittery EKG-like images of shifting, popping jagged lines, Yorke's swooping vocals push their limits, running from a warm gentleness one second into weird caterwauls and anguished wailing the next. When Yorke traipsed down uncharted roads on ``Kid A,'' singing ``Rats and children follow me out of town,/Rats and children follow me out of their homes,/Come on kids,'' his Pied Piper dance pulled at the listener. On ``Backdrifts,'' the lyric mood teeters on desolation, yet the sound was all synth and drum pulse - irresistibly catchy yet ending in a descent of hard, scratching bass riffs.

And on ``My Iron Lung,'' guitarists Jonny Greenwood and Ed O'Brien showed incredible muscle, flipping back and forth into unpredictable tempo and meter changes, from moderate rocking into anarchistic sonic noise rants. This was followed with a version of ``I Might Be Wrong'' that mixed tambourine with a hard bass jangle, the music something not quite bluesy, not quite funky. When the band exhaled from there into the slow, coaxing notes of ``Creep,'' the energy was a tangible object, the crowd connected to Yorke's every syllable.

Even as the band descended into its most brooding phase, Yorke flailed and danced like a dervish, and one had to wonder if perhaps he really was having some fun up there. Fun or not, it was certainly expressive. On ``The Gloaming,'' the intensity was all-consuming, the band descending into walls of fuzz and distortion, with Yorke completely freeing in his chanting and wailing and whirling.

Yorke shone vocally on ``No Surprises,'' an ironically titled piece, perhaps, for a band that offers surprises at every turn. Ironic, in that Radiohead is always about surprises.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) Radiohead lead singer Thom Yorke breathes passion into his vocals during the band's performance Friday night at the Hollywood Bowl.

(2) Bassist Colin Greenwood plucks a bass line for a number during the concert.

Barry Brecheisen/WireImage.com