Watch Thom Yorke Debut New Song “Back In The Game” & Play Acoustic Radiohead Songs At New Zealand Tour Opener
Lately, Thom Yorke has been awfully busy with his new band the Smile; they just released Cutouts, their third album in two and a half years. Yorke also recently scored the Italian film Confidenza, and now he’s off on a solo tour of his own. Earlier this year, Yorke announced plans to hit the road by himself, playing shows across New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, and Japan. On Tuesday night, the tour kicked off at Christchurch’s Wolfbrook Arena, and it included the debut of a new song that’s reportedly called “Back In The Game.”
In live videos from last night’s show, “Back In The Game” is a largely electronic track with a huge, thumping beat. It’s more immediately accessible than much of what Yorke has released in recent years, whether as a solo artist or with his various bands. Over the rest of the show, Yorke also played a series of songs from across his career, including solo tracks, one Atoms For Peace track, one Smile song, and the UNKLE collab “Rabbit In Your Headlights,” as well as a lot of Radiohead.
Yorke recently told an Australian radio station that he’s not too bothered about the idea of bringing Radiohead back and that he doesn’t “really give a flying fuck.” But He kept going back to the Radiohead well during last night’s show. Of the 24 songs that Yorke performed, 10 of them were Radiohead tracks, often done solo-acoustic. Yorke opened the set with a solo-acoustic “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi,” and he went on to play songs like “I Might Be Wrong,” “How To Disappear Completely,” and “Everything In Its Right Place.” During his second encore, Yorke finished up by leading an arena-wide “Karma Police” singalong. Below, check out some videos from the show, via NME, and last night’s setlist, via Setlist.fm.
“Back In The Game”:
“Karma Police”:
“Bloom”:
“How To Disappear Completely:
“Everything In Its Right Place”:
The live debut of the solo track “Hearing Damage”:
Atoms For Peace’s “Default”:
SETLIST:
01 “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” (Radiohead song, acoustic)
02 “I Might Be Wrong” (Radiohead song)
03 “A Brain In A Bottle”
04 “Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box” (Radiohead song)
05 “Suspirium”
06 “Bloom” (Radiohead song)
07 “Nose Grows Some”
08 “How To Disappear Completely” (Radiohead song, acoustic)
09 “Black Swan”
10 “Back In The Game” (new song)
11 “Rabbit in Your Headlights” (UNKLE song)
12 “Volk” (live debut)
13 “Daydreaming” (Radiohead song)
14 “Not The News”
15 “Present Tense” (Radiohead song)
16 “Everything In Its Right Place” (Radiohead song)
17 “Dawn Chorus”
18 “Hearing Damage” (live debut)
19 “Default” (Atoms For Peace song)
20 “Bodysnatchers” (Radiohead song, acoustic)
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21 “Bodies Laughing” (The Smile song, acoustic)
22 “Cymbal Rush”
23 “Atoms For Peace”
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24 “Karma Police” (Radiohead song, acoustic)