Thom Yorke began his solo tour of New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, and Japan on Wednesday night in Christchurch, New Zealand, and played a handful of rarities, Radiohead and The Smile cuts, and even a brand new song called “Back in the Game.”
As Yorke alluded to in his recent interview with Double J — where he claimed he didn’t “give a flying fuck” about fans clamoring for Radiohead’s return — he took the stage with a minimalist set-up featuring several large synth machines and a microphone (and no drummer).
He opened the show with an acoustic rendition of the In Rainbows favorite “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi,” and continued with Radiohead’s “I Might Be Wrong.” Yorke went on to play several more Radiohead tracks, including “Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box” (which he debuted solo for the first time ever live), “Bloom,” “How to Disappear Completely,” “Daydreaming,” “Everything in its Right Place,” and “Bodysnatchers.” He closed the show again on his acoustic guitar with a rendition of “Karma Police.”
Meanwhile, Yorke busted out a handful of solo tracks from his 30+ year career, including “Suspirium,” “A Brain in a Bottle,” “Dawn Chorus,” “Atoms for Peace,” “Black Swan,” his 1998 UNKLE collaboration “Rabbit in Your Headlights,” and many more. He also debuted a new song, “Back in the Game.” The track features a throbbing beat, pulsating synths, and pounding drums; the beat cuts out towards the song’s concluding bridge, and Yorke wails over an eerie blend of synths. Watch a fan-captured video of Yorke playing “Back in the Game” below.
Yorke will continue his solo tour this weekend with a show in Auckland, New Zealand. He’ll then head to Australia, Singapore, and Japan until the tour’s conclusion in Kyoto on November 26th. Get tickets to see Thom Yorke here.
Thom Yorke at Wolfbrook Arena in Christchurch, New Zealand October 23rd, 2024 Setlist:
Weird Fishes/Arpeggi (Radiohead song) (Acoustic)
I Might Be Wrong (Radiohead song)
A Brain in a Bottle
Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box (Radiohead song) (Solo live debut)
Suspirium
Bloom (Radiohead song)
Nose Grows Some
How to Disappear Completely (Radiohead song) (Acoustic)
Black Swan
Back in the Game (New song)
Rabbit in Your Headlights (UNKLE & Thom Yorke song)
Volk
Daydreaming (Radiohead song)
Not the News
Present Tense (Radiohead song)
Everything in Its Right Place (Radiohead song)
Dawn Chorus
Hearing Damage (live debut)
Default (Atoms for Peace song)
Bodysnatchers (Radiohead song) (Acoustic)
Encore:
Bodies Laughing (The Smile song) (Acoustic)
Cymbal Rush
Atoms for Peace
Encore 2:
Karma Police (Radiohead song) (Acoustic)
Thom Yorke 2024 Tour Dates:
10/25 – Auckland, New Zealand @ Spark Arena
10/29 – Melbourne, Australia @ Sidney Myer Music Bowl
10/30 – Melbourne, Australia @ Sidney Myer Music Bowl
11/01 – Sydney, Australia @ Sydney Opera House Forecourt
11/02 – Sydney, Australia @ Sydney Opera House Forecourt
11/05 – Singapore @ The Star Theatre
11/12 – Osaka, Japan @ Grand Cube
11/13 – Osaka, Japan @ Grand Cube
11/18 – Fukuoka, Japan @ Sunplace
11/19 – Hiroshima, Japan @ Hiroshima Bunka Gakuen HBG Hall
11/21 – Nagoya, Japan @ Century Hall
11/23 – Tokyo, Japan @ Tokyo Garden Theatre
11/24 – Tokyo, Japan @ Tokyo Garden Theatre
11/26 – Kyoto, Japan @ ROHM Theatre
