Gear Blog: Radiohead

The Gear Blog is a behind-the-scenes look at the instruments and equipment that graces the Austin City Limits’ stage. Our Audio Engineer Kevin Cochran goes in-depth to give our gearheads some insight.

The producers of ACL are always refining and building a wish list of artists they hope to nab to appear on the show. They keep an eye on upcoming album releases and touring schedules between early March through late November, our shooting window, so that we can catch a performer in top form when they hit Texas. Some artists are obvious choices and others are favorites of a particular producer who must lobby (sometimes for years) to prevail upon the powers that be to book a taping.

Some acts clamor to play Austin City Limits. But there are others that seem like a long shot. When I heard that the “ask” for Radiohead had been made, I had my doubts. The five piece from Abingdon, Oxfordshire guards their image fiercely and hold celebrity and exposure at arms length. Their American broadcast appearances have either been late night talk shows or awards ceremonies, giving only a glancing view of their live proficiency. So when I heard that the band had been booked, I was excited but surprised. But then again, a band like Radiohead thrives on surprise.

Once again, Jim Warren plopped his Venue in front of house, this time bringing along Sherif El-Barbari to help tune the room with Lake processing. Sherif was extremely thorough and the end result is what you would expect one of the world’s largest bands to sound like.

photo by Kevin Cochran

Radiohead’s monitors were d&b audiotechnik processed by d&b D12s. Monitor mixes ran through another Digidesign Venue.

photo by Kevin Cochran

What impressed me the most about Radiohead was that they agreed to do a full camera rehearsal. As a matter of course, we ask artists to run through their entire show so that our director Gary Menotti can watch how the band arranges and plays their material live. Many times, bands at Radiohead’s level forgo camera rehearsal, unless there are certain songs that deviate from the arrangement of their recordings. The band thought they could use a run through themselves and rehearsed every song on the set list. It’s extra work but it helps the cameramen immensely. The quality that ACL is known for is, in great part, because cameramen know what musician to focus on in every part of every song and aren’t reacting to things that have already happened like you see in some other shows.

photo by Kevin Cochran

Jonny Greenwood’s pedal boards.

photo by Kevin Cochran

Thom Yorke’s pedal boards and DIs.

photo by Kevin Cochran

Ed O’Brien’s pedal boards.

photo by Kevin Cochran

Settings on keyboards are called patches. This comes from the days when sounds had to be physically patched by cables from oscillator to another. Jonny’s key world is a good example of how things used to be done.

photo by Kevin Cochran

An upright piano with a Dave Smith Instruments Tetra attached to it. Or it could be synth keys in an upright chassis – I’m not sure.

photo by Kevin Cochran

Drummer Phil Selway and bassist Colin Greenwood really shine on King of Limbs. The intricate rhythms on the album would be hard replicate live so Clive Deamer was brought along to help out on drums. This is a repeat appearance for Clive. He previously taped with Robert Plant in Season 28. Mr. Plant happened to be on hand to watch the taping live.

Both drummers used Gretsch drum kits that night. Clive’s is on the left. Colin Greenwood’s Ampeg rig is in the back with a couple of synths.

photo by Kevin Cochran

Phil’s on the right. Off to the side is Ed O’Brien’s Fender Vibroking amp and Thom Yorke’s Vox AC30.

photo by Kevin Cochran

Thom Yorke’s guitar world.

photo by Kevin Cochran

Ed O’Brien’s guitar world.

photo by Kevin Cochran

O’Brien relied heavily on the new Johnny Marr Fender Jaguar that night. This is the cleanest, clearest guitar I have ever heard in my life and gave me a new respect for Jaguars.

photo by Kevin Cochran

Not pictured are Jonny Greenwood’s Telecaster Plus’ Version 1 which he has been using since the early ’90’s.

In researching this post, I stumbled upon this very cool website: King Of Gear. This site will give you more detail about the toys and tools of Radiohead than I ever could.

For recording and post production, Radiohead brought their longtime producer, Nigel Godrich with them to record and mix in post. He was very friendly.

Radiohead is very careful about their image and public exposure. When they accepted our invitation, not only was it a feather in our cap that we would be airing one of the biggest and most enigmatic bands in the world, but an honor that a band so guarded felt safe to let us show America what they do for an hour.

Austin: Special post-ACL Fest after-after show broadcasts

Watch Radiohead and Bon Iver in the middle of the night

Calling all Austinites! We know that this weekend is already laden with music, what with the Austin City Limits Music Festival kicking off Friday and the various after shows that will follow after the park closes. But we want to keep you up even later! Musical goodies will be happening on your TV screen late into Friday and Saturday nights. That’s right, this weekend we’ll be airing our latest additions to Season 38 multiple times from Friday to Sunday. It’s like we’re having our own kind of festival, only it’s in your living room, late at night, and there will be no annoying foot traffic! You’ll have six chances to catch Bon Iver’s and Radiohead’s debut performances on KLRU. Check it out!

Friday, Oct 12th:
10PM – Radiohead

Saturday, Oct 13th:
2AM – Radiohead
4AM – Radiohead
7PM – Bon Iver

Sunday, Oct 14th:
1AM – Bon Iver
3AM – Bon Iver

Season 38 begins on October 6

Austin City Limits will premiere its brand new season Saturday, October 6th, with a rare, full-hour performance from iconic British band Radiohead. Coming up, we’ve got a killer line-up of the best in popular music, including 2012 Best New Artist Grammy winner Bon Iver, Bonnie Raitt with Mavis Staples, the Shins, the Civil Wars and more. We also have an ACL Presents special airing this fall showcasing the Americana Music Festival.

Austin City Limits – Season 38 preview from Austin City Limits on Vimeo.

“We’re proud to continue the tradition of presenting a diverse, eclectic mix of some of the most original music being made today,” says ACL Executive Producer Terry Lickona. “One thing that hasn’t changed in the last 38 years is that ACL has a way of bringing out the best in an artist’s performance – whether it’s a rising new star or a legend. This year is no exception.”

Season 38 Current Broadcast Schedule (seven additional episodes/artists to be announced at a later time)

October 6, 2012       | Radiohead
October 13, 2012     | Bon Iver
October 20, 2012     | Bonnie Raitt with Mavis Staples
October 27, 2012     | The Shins | Dr. Dog
November 3, 2012   | The Civil Wars | Punch Brothers
November 10, 2012 | ACL Presents: Americana Music Festival 2012 (Hosted by Jim Lauderdale and featuring performances by Carolina Chocolate Drops, Richard Thompson, Patty Griffin, Alabama Shakes, Lifetime Achievement Honoree Bonnie Raitt and more)

Radiohead on Austin City Limits “Morning Mr Magpie” from Austin City Limits on Vimeo.

Movies in the Park features Austin City Limits

We are so excited about our upcoming broadcast season on PBS that we want to preview it for our Austin fans first! Join us on September 6 at 8:30 pm at Republic Square Park when we join forces with the Alamo Drafthouse and Austin Parks Foundation and go behind the scenes of some of our most exciting tapings to date – Bon Iver, Bonnie Raitt, the Shins and more. Plus we will screen the season premiere featuring Radiohead. And if this sneak peek isn’t enough – it’s free! Grab your friends and a blanket and join us at Republic Square Park to experience ACL on the grass and under the stars!

Preview Radiohead on Austin City Limits

You might recall that Austin City Limits had the pleasure of taping Radiohead back in March. As a taste of what to expect when their episode airs in the fall (on PBS, of course – check your local listings when the leaves start turning brown), check out this preview created by our videographer (and creator of our current open) Jonathan Jackson.

Radiohead “Lotus Flower” – Austin City Limits – behind the scenes from Austin City Limits on Vimeo.

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr to keep up with tapings. airings and other ACL happenings..

Radiohead’s ACL taping is a triumph

Radiohead taped Austin City Limits last night. It almost feels like that’s all we need to say. This was a highly anticipated show, not only amongst the fans, but for us as well. Radiohead has been highon our wish list for years, so that rush of “When’s it gonna happen? It’s gonna happen! Now it’s happening!” has been buzzing through all of our veins for a long time.

Needless to say, the band delivered. Not the hits, necessarily – Oxford’s favorite sons have never been the pandering kind. A progressive rock band in the purest sense, Radiohead is always pushing itself forward, deconstructing and reconstructing its own aethestic, experimenting with its sound and presenting its latest iteration, rather than falling back on old habits and familiarity. In Thom Yorke’s words prior to launching into one of the several brand new songs played during the night: “This is why we press on.”

In that sense, Radiohead gave us one hell of a show. “My face was melted at @radiohead” remarked @zee_funk on Twitter. Drawing almost exclusively from their last three albums Hail to the Thief, In Rainbows and The King of Limbs, the band blazed through some of its most daring material, adding drummer Clive Deamer (last on our stage with Robert Plant, who was in the audience) for extra polyrhythmic emphasis. “Little By Little” made perfect use of the band’s distinctive three-guitar attack, the interlocking six-string lines slithering in and out of the skittering rhythms. “Myxomatosis” and “Morning Mr. Magpie” were jittery rockers seemingly influenced as much by caffeine as the electronica the band weaves into its rock tapestry. “The Gloaming” hit a unique balance between dissonant and ethereal, the instrumental parts almost fighting each other while singer Thom Yorke floated over the top. “Arpeggi” and the new song “Identikit” built a generous amount of tension into their swirling arrangements, smartly ending before the anticipated Big Rock Climax could happen.

We love it when artists play brand new material, and Radiohead graced us with the atmospheric, rhythm-heavy “Staircase,” the piano-heavy “The Daily Mail” and the lovely “Skirting On the Surface,” as well as “Identikit.” The band also resurrected the odd, intriguing “The Amazing Sounds of Orgy,” an old B-side that Yorke described as having “disappeared like a wet fart in the wind.”

The band ended the main set with the bizarre “Feral,” a strange but compelling mix of dub and Latin rhythms, and the frenetic “Idioteque,” a Kid A gem that got a huge response from the crowd. But not as huge as the final song of the encore – the towering “Paranoid Android” still stands as one of modern rock’s greatest achievements, and everybody gave the band’s fiery performance the love it deserved.

“After Radiohead tonight, I don’t feel the need to RSVP to any more sxsw events,” claimed @chu16 on Twitter. “My experience has already peaked.” While we’d never claim that a single show summarized an entire concert-going career, once the rest of the world sees this performance on PBS in the fall they’ll understand the hyperbole. Radiohead’s show represents what can be achieved by an artist determined to dive deep into the heart of its muse. Or, as @HeatherCuriel put it more simply and breathlessly, “passion, life changing, beautiful. rock and roll is alive.”

But you don’t have to take our word for it – check out what Examiner.com, Austin Metblogs, KGSR, and Austin Bloggy Limits had to say about Radiohead’s ACL taping. And don’t forget to visit our Facebook and Twitter pages and let us know what you think.