Describe a concert that changed your perspective on music or life. Pick a song from that artist or band.

I could return to this prompt over and over because so many of my formative musical experiences have been in the context of a bounded space with somewhere between tens and tens of thousands of people gathered to participate in the sacred act of musicking.

Almost 25 years ago, on October 6th, 2000, myself and roughly and 9,999 of my friends gathered under a big top style tent on the grounds of Punchestown Racecourse outside of Dublin, for a Radiohead concert, 4 days after the release of Kid A. I had been travelling through Ireland in the week before the show and hadn’t yet had an opportunity to buy their new record, so this was my first time hearing the songs on the record that would cement their legend by taking an unexpected turn—bringing motorik, IDM, musique concrète, and free jazz influences into what had previously been a fairly traditional, albeit excellent, 5 piece rock and roll band formula. They opened with The National Anthem, then proceeded to play a set that leaned heavily into the new material from Kid A and the yet-to-be-released Amnesiac. It’s well documented that the change in approach was, on some level, an attempt at a creative reset after the massive success of OK Computer had made them much more famous than any of them—especially Thom—had any desire to be. But rather than alienating their fan base, it invited all of us to grow with them, and resulted in one of the most exhilerating live performances I’ve ever had the privilege of participating in.

Everyone Everyone is so near Everyone has got the fear It's holding on It's holding on