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Radiohead play First Avenue for the first time, with David Gray opening
Radiohead opened their first show at First Avenue in Minneapolis on Sunday 11 June with “The Bends”, and went on through songs from both albums. David Gray played a set of acoustic folk songs before them. The crowd was 1,782, on tickets of $7 in advance and $9 on the door.
The local papers have been kinder than the “Creep” reputation. The Twin Cities Reader threw out the one-hit-wonder label and rated them a Green Day with talent, and the Pioneer Press gave The Bends three stars.
Reed Fischer turned 15 the week The Bends came out, and was in the room. Fischer, later music editor of City Pages, told The Current in 2018 that the songs came short and energetic with no filler, and that “Street Spirit (Fade Out)” was the one that hit him.
That song really made sense to me for the first time when I saw them play it that night
Reed Fischer1
When the set was over he took the setlist from the top of the mixing desk. He thinks it is in Thom Yorke's handwriting.