TW Classic | Smile you just need a smile

As major characters on Radiohead, Yorke and Greenwood have already delivered unforgettable moments at Rock Werchter on several occasions. In any case, the two carry enough legacy to draw plenty of curious people to their new band The Smile, in which Sons Of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner helps them.

The violin bends to flutter

In this lineup, York and Greenwood constantly alternate guitar and bass, and it was as strange as it was fun to watch York bass on his bass guitar. The Smile is an introverted dance music full of highlights for those familiar with Radiohead discs. Played on acoustic guitar, “Free in the Knowledge” brought you back to Radiohead’s greatest singing moments, when “Hair Dryer” could easily have been on a hail. Including the typical traits of Yorke and Greenwood ripping a bow on his guitar.

Between showers, The Smile lost its grip on the crowd, even though Yorke did his best to keep their attention. During the introduction to “We Don’t Know What Tomorrow Brings” he jumped behind his synthesizer, in a “rooftop wrap” and put his hands in the air. There was even a smile. The highlights of the show came right after that in the adorable form of “Smoke” and “You’ll Never Work on TV.” The image of York dancing while his companion leans on his bass guitar is truly unforgettable.

tenaciously

“Beautiful in kind,” Stijn Van De Voorde once summed it up in a performance, and this statement certainly applies to The Smile. Angle and elusive as it’s called according to the cliché, but above all a clever statement by two living legends who stubbornly steered clear of audience spawning and the TW Classic’s greatest hits, and were backed in that by an audience that stubbornly refused to look for drier places.

The Smile, seen at the TW Classic on June 25, 2022

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