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| The Smile's Thom Yorke @ the Bill Graham Civic (Photo: Kevin Keating) |
Although not yet a familiar household name to many, Radiohead offshoot 'The Smile' packed the Bill Graham Civic this past Sunday night with a sold out show that started with opening avant saxophonist, Robert Stillman. Perched behind a Yamaha DX7 and some DJ gear, Stillman blended down tempo jazz sax with minimalist electronic beats to warm-up the growing crowd before The Smile took the stage just after 9pm. Formed during the pandemic by Radiohead's Thom Yorke (vocals/guitar/bass/keyboards) & Jonny Greenwood (guitar/bass/keyboards), the duo was joined by London-based jazz drummer, Tom Skinner of the Sons of Kemet. After a surprise live showing at Glastonbury in 2021, the band released their debut album this past spring entitled A Light for Attracting Attention -- and attention is what they've attracted!
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| Robert Stillman @ the Bill Graham Civic (Photo: Kevin Keating) |
To be honest, I was a little surprised the show ended up selling out considering lack of mainstream awareness for the band, but I was completely wrong. The band's first album infuses a sort of free-form experimental jazz with a layer of what I can only describe as Radiohead-esque rock experimentation. With Thom on vocals, it's hard to get away from his fragile and yet melodic style. Speaking of Thom, he waited until after the band's second song ("The Thing") to address the crowd by saying 'San Francisco, San Francisco. We're the Smile, nice to meet you.' And it wasn't for another four songs before he spoke to the crowd again -- this time complaining how cold it was onstage: "Someone left the fucking door open somewhere, I'm freezing in here. Seriously, shut the door. Anyway, ladies and gentlemen, we're a new band, we're going to play a new song and welcome Robert back out. It's called "Colours Fly."
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| Thom Yorke of The Smile @ the Bill Graham Civic (Photo: Kevin Keating) |
At the start of "People on Balconies", Thom started with "Ok, another new one!" While singing a lone line with his opening bass line before abruptly stopping to complain about the draft again. Personally, I couldn't tell if his bass was out of tune because of the cold temperature, or if he was simply distracted and missed the notes. Either way, he joked(?), "I'm never fucking playing this place again. Sorry guys" and regrouped before starting the song over -- and after making it through the first couple of lines of the song, Jonny joined on piano before being followed by Tom and Robert to fill out the arrangement.
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| Thom Yorke of The Smile @ the Bill Graham Civic (Photo: Kevin Keating) |
Thom joked after "People", 'Ok, this is one you finally might know,' which led into "Skrting on the Surface" which has been performed live in various forms over the years -- as early as a piano solo with Thom's earlier Atoms for Peace band back in 2009 -- but never formally released until this years' Smile album.
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| Tom Skinner of The Smile @ the Bill Graham Civic (Photo: Kevin Keating) |
Considering who knows if Radiohead will ever record or tour again, the night was a fantastic opportunity to hear the threesome (also joined occasionally by Robert) work through their new material. Those hoping for any Radiohead singles were surely disappointed, but The Smile combined their experimental jazz fusion 'Yorke' to the delight of the vast majority in the audience. Personally, the opening and closing of the main set were the strongest. Opening with "The Same" and then closing the set with the trifecta of "Pana-Vision," "The Smoke," and "You Will Never Work in Television Again" -- all with Robert on sax -- were incredible.
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| The Smile's Thom Yorke @ the Bill Graham Civic (Photo: Kevin Keating) |
Unfortunately, the band only has two remaining dates left on the tour at press time -- they're closing the tour in LA with two dates at the Shrine Auditorium. Which will hopefully be warmer than the Bill Graham! Do yourself a favor and don't miss either or both of those shows if you're reading this from the LA area. And let's hope they head back out next year and make another swing through the Bay Area.
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