I really don't know what to say or how to describe what I witnessed last night. Thom Yorke's solo venture—Atoms For Peace, with bassist Flea from the The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Nigel Godrich, long time Radiohead producer—completely destroyed a sold out Roseland Ballroom.

Flying Lotus  opened (as per Thom's request) and showed off his production skills while performing from his laptop with a host of remixes, one of which included a deranged version of "Idioteque" that had Nigel Godrich (producer of Radiohead) smiling from the balcony above. After his set concluded he took to the mic and yelled to the crowd, "New York, are you ready for Atoms for Peace? I don't think you are, you have no idea how lucky you are for what you're about to see." Well, he was definitely right.

After a slight wait, the small (maybe a 1,000 people) crowd erupted when Thom took the stage with Joey Waronker (Beck drummer), Mauro Refosco (Forro percusionist), Nigel Godrich and Flea. Thom walked right over to his piano and started the opening chords to "The Eraser," which was then followed in order to the closing track "Cymbal Rush."

I have to admit, I had my doubts about how Flea would work on stage —but, with the added percussion, each song had a different energy and layer that didn't appear on the record. Flea's intense non-stop dancing only multiplied the show's electricity. Even when Flea took to a melodic blow organ on "Skip Divded," it didn't stop him from dancing with Thom all over the stage.

One of the highlights of the show was the intimidate track "Atoms For Peace," when the entire crowd went silent and Thom completely took over for the most challenging vocal part on the record. Even Flea stepped back and played his bass in the corner while Thom sang "No more talk about the old days/It's time for something great." The entire place roared and then went immediately silent for "So many lies/ so many lies/ so feel the love come off of them/ and take me in your arms" It was magical to say the least.

After "The Eraser" finale, Thom came back on stage to perform a new song solo in which he joked that he didn't even know how to play it yet. Slidding into the piano bench, he performed the U.S. debut of another new song "Daily Mail," only to jump into the Radiohead classic "Everything In It's Right Place," which had a beautiful sound on the grand piano.

The rest of the guys ran back on stage and performed a Radiohead B-side "Paperbag Writer," followed by a new Atoms For Peace song "Judge, Jury & Executioner." Thom released the final two songs on vinyl last year, "The Hollow Earth" and the epic grand finale "Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses."

As the years have gone by, it's been evident that Thom Yorke has been letting his guard down and becoming more personable on stage. Last night, he went above and beyond in conversing with fans and joking around in between songs. It's obvious that he is truly enjoying himself and when a man of that talent is having fun, it spreads to the crowd and makes a connection that only a few can accomplish.

Set List

1)   The Eraser

2)   Analyse

3)   The Clock

4)   Black Swan

5)   Skip Divided

6)   Atoms For Peace

7)   And It Rained All Night

8)   Harrowdown Hill

9)   Cymbal Rush

Encore

10)  Let Me Take Control [Thom Solo](New Song)

11)  Daily Mail [Thom Solo] (New Song)

12)  Everything In It's Right Place [Thom Solo]

13)  Paperbag Writer

14)  Judge, Jury, & Executioner [New Atoms For Peace Song]

15)  The Hollow Earth

16)  Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses

Photos by Bao Nguyen