Live Review and Photo Gallery: EOB at Lincoln Center
Ed OβBrien (EOB)
Lincoln Hall
Saturday, February 8, 2020
Following in the footsteps of bandmates Thom Yorke, Colin Greenwood, and Phil Selway, guitarist and vocalist Ed OβBrien is stepping outside his role as a founding member of Radiohead and occasional high-profile sideman for other artists including Neil Finn. Performing under the name EOB, OβBrien and his sharp band appeared at Chicagoβs Lincoln Hall on Saturday night. The group introduced material from OβBrienβs debut solo album Earth (due April 17) and added a couple of well-curated and revealing covers.
The quintet strode onto the stage in matching black attire, with their lanky bandleader towering a head above his four bandmates. OβBrien struck a casual tone while welcoming the crowd. βItβs Saturday night, isnβt it?β asked OβBrien. βYay, itβs the weekend!β
The show began with the heavy throb and hypnotic piano of βLove Story.β Performed as an instrumental introduction, the song featured the siren whine of OβBrienβs ring-modulated guitar. The tone was reminiscent of the distinctive sound deployed on Radiohead songs like βMy Iron Lung.β The band leapt into βShangri-Laβ afterward, familiar to many in the room as the bandβs fractured but pop-savvy new single. The upbeat song led with a bright and chirpy loop and OβBrienβs falsetto vocal.
OβBrienβs descending acoustic guitar pattern and drummer Alvin Ford Jr.βs samba beat propelled βBanksters.β βWhere did all the money go?β sang OβBrien as the song shifted gears into an aggressive chorus. The heavy lurch and violent mood swing recalled the innovative shifts in Radioheadβs βParanoid Android.β Eventually, the song resolved into a gliding coda and cribbed from Allen Toussaint and Lee Dorseyβs βWorking in the Coal Mine.β
The concert took place before a packed house of Radiohead devotees and supportive industry guests. Still, OβBrien admitted to some jitters. βThis is our second gig ever, and our first was last night,β he said. βI was petrified. I just want to say thank you for coming out tonight. I donβt take this shit for granted.β
The EOB band may not have accumulated much collective stage experience yet, but the musicians appeared engaged with the audience and with each other. There were high-fives over the rim of the stage, and frequent smiles flashed across it. The camaraderie on stage and off served to smooth the rare rough edges. OβBrien introduced the delicate βLong Time Comingβ as a song about being alone. He started the songβs gentle acoustic pattern only to stop and request a bit more lighting so he could see the dots on the neck of his guitar. Rather than pull listeners out of the moment, it was a human touch that brought the room closer together. βAll we ever needed is someone who said, βI believe in you,ββ sang OβBrien. The crowd clearly extended such grace to their hero onstage.
The song βMassβ was built upon muted but intense energy, with a low acoustic strum and a steady pulse reminiscent of βI Promise.β Ross Chapman played melancholy arpeggios on electric guitar, and a trio of voices blended in ghostly harmony. OβBrien dedicated the song to friend, drummer and Earth collaborator Glenn Kotche of Wilco, who was watching from the balcony.
A cover of German electronic musician and current Tangerine Dream bandmember Ulrich Schnaussβ βOn My Ownβ featured keyboardist Hinako Omoriβs icy synthesizer swells. βSail Onβ unfolded under dim red light and fog, with a cavernous and haunted vocal. βTime for me to say goodbye to everything I know,β sang OβBrien, his voice full of regret. With no drumbeat and Chapmanβs ghostly guitar, the song was formless and spectral. The mood was a stark contrast to the tense and urgent krautrock of the prior song.
OβBrien took another moment to thank his supporters for helping him to exorcise his nerves. βItβs just me being fidgety,β he said. βI need all the encouragement I can get. Last night was an out-of-body experience. Tonight is like coming into orbit, but my feet still arenβt on the ground.β
The band closed the main set with its most confident performances. βBrasilβ was an expansive showcase of the bandβs contrasting strengths and musical emotions, with improvisational interplay that stretched beyond the initial singleβs already–substantial duration of eight and a half minutes. The song shifted between fragility and resolute determination. Its wistful, ethereal and romantic components were reminiscent of Lo Moonβs spaceborne dream-pop.
βOlympikβ was a driving, urbane rocker with slashing guitars and a body–moving rhythm anchored by bassist Dishan Abrahams. The vibe suggested an alternate realityβs heavier version of Pet Shop Boys. Chapmanβs heavily processed guitar hooks implied affection for Achtung Baby-era U2. Other touchstones included Radiohead burner βFul Stop,β the infectious Afro-pop roots of Talking Headβs Remain in Light, and Poster Childrenβs post-rock. As if the music wasnβt ambitious enough, OβBrien didnβt hold back on personal demands in the lyrics. βA love supreme is all I need to be waking up from the deepest sea,β he sang.
The band encored with a final track from Earth, a tender ode to fidelity called βDeep Days.β βWhere you go, I will go,β sang OβBrien, promising to also stay, sleep, rise and follow along with his beloved. The concert concluded as EOB cut loose with the epic funk of Labi Siffreβs βI Got The,β a seminal source for popular hip-hop tracks by artists including Jay-Z and Eminem. Chapman led the influential 1975 songβs taut guitar riff, and Omori followed with soulful clavinet. It may have been slightly out of character for the bulk of the eveningβs material, but it was utterly joyous and exposed an unforeseen element of what makes OβBrien tick as a lifelong servant and fan of music.
Performing eight of Earthβs nine tracks suggests that OβBrienβs own music travels the arc between Radioheadβs 1995 sophomore album The Bends and 2001βs iconoclastic Amnesiac. The pop and rock songwriting sensibilities of a straightforward guitar band are filtered through the experimental whims of a future-seeking studio rat with a penchant for electro-pop. Itβs an engaging mix that should appeal to a wide swath of longtime Radiohead fans, as well as being more generally accessible outside the bandβs fanbase than the electronic fare heard on Yorkeβs albums including Tomorrowβs Modern Boxes and Anima.
– Review by Jeff Elbel. Photos by Curt Baran.
Set List:
Love Story
Shangri-La
Banksters
Long Time Coming
Mass
On My Own
Sail On
Brasil
Olympik
–
Deep Days
I Got The
EOB βShangri-Laβ video: https://youtu.be/N7Djc5z-EMg
EOB βBrasilβ video: https://youtu.be/xefWbfWUbrQ
Category: IE Photo Gallery, Live Reviews