Radiohead crippled by technical problems at Coachella 2017

by: Ryan Castillo Apr 16, 2017

As Radiohead took the stage to close out Friday, April 14th, at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, the band’s headlining performance in Indio, California was interrupted suddenly (and continuously) by a parade of technical problems. Three songs into their show, the band experienced a complete audio dropout and several bursts of violent feedback. The production glitches affected not only the main stage speakers but also the live stream audio, reports Pitchfork.

“Fuckin’ aliens again,” Thom Yorke quipped to the crowd.

The first sound dropout occurred during “Ful Stop,” followed by an immediate audience grumble; with the second happening during “15 Step,” which lasted for most of the song and eventually resulted in a complete stage blackout, forcing the band to leave the stage. After a brief troubleshooting break, Yorke and his English rocker posse returned to continue the set. Audio problems persisted as Radiohead attempted to perform their 2000 hit single from Kid A, “The National Anthem.”

The band was forced to leave the stage a second time when a second major audio malfunction took out the main stage speakers near the end of “Let Down.” Radiohead returned humbly yet again, launching into “Street Spirit (Fade Out)” — but not before Yorke addressed the crowd with some light-hearted, self-depreciating humor, “Can you actually hear me now? I’d love to tell you a joke, lighten the mood, something like that. But this is Radiohead, so fuck it.”

Follow DA’s continuing coverage of Coachella 2017 here. Watch the full live stream here, as Lady Gaga takes the main stage Saturday, April 15, followed by Kendrick Lamar on Sunday, April 16th.