Four days ago, Radiohead announced they’d be playing a show at the Henry Fonda Theatre—a venue with an official capacity of under 2,000—to help raise funds for relief efforts in Haiti. The tickets would be made available auction-style through Ticketmaster, with all the proceeds going to benefit Oxfam International. The minimum bid for a pair of tickets started off at $200, and by the time the auction closed, anything less than $1,000 had you coming up short. To say it was the hottest ticket in town would have been an understatement, and the stars were definitely out in full effect. (Ed. note: Apparently Wilmer Valderrama has quite the ticket stub collection, Charlize Theron likes her Grey Goose with a bit of cranberry, and Daniel Craig is way shorter than he looks.)

After obtaining more wristbands than a family of four on holiday at a water park resort, fans made their way inside the Fonda, where they could thrown down more cash for the cause by either donating directly to on-site Oxfam reps or by purchasing a limited edition concert poster for $25. The band took the stage around 8:30pm and dove headlong into a roller-coaster set of songs that jumped back and forth between each of their seven studio albums, save for Pablo Honey. Operating with a stripped down set-up and nothing more than the venue’s stock lighting rig, Radiohead were able to step down from festival heights and perform their songs in a way that communicated both the intimacy and the ambling energy of a more recent song like “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi.” And when they broke into “The Bends,” their third selection from that particular album, their mid-’90s garage rock alchemy set the crowd on fire. Not a bad showing for a band that Yorke jokingly referred to as being “in studio mode.”

After concluding their first set with “Exit Music (For A Film),” Yorke came back for the first encore with a solo acoustic piano performance of “Everything In Its Right Place.” “Thank you!” a fan shouted from the first few rows of people. “Thanks for spending ludicrous money to get in,” Thom smiled. He stayed at the bench and was joined by the band for haunting versions of “You And Whose Army?” and “Pyramid Song” before closing out with In Rainbows’ “All I Need.”

For the second encore, Yorke again took the stage solo, this time for an acoustic guitar rendition of “Lotus Flower,” a track he first debuted back in October during his band’s inaugural gig at the Echoplex. When the band returned to the stage, guitarist Ed O’ Brien handed Yorke a folded piece of paper with totals from the night’s take.

“Gross…fuck me,” he said, holding back a chuckle. “$572,774.”

The crowd drowned out the final numbers with a roar of applause before the band jumped into crowd favorite “Paranoid Android.” But it was the band’s closing number, “Street Spirt (Fade Out),” that resonated with the most profound effect, as Yorke let the song’s final lyric, “Immerse your soul in love,” wash over a crowd whose collective presence signified their ability to dig deep into their pockets and do just that for a country that needs more help than most people can even fathom. From movie stars to harcore fans, everyone gave generously, and the biggest band in the known universe did the same in return.

After the show, a few select VIPs were treated to some good eats and a few choice guest DJ sets, which included Nigel Godrich dropping vintage Tribe Called Quest jams and a handful of reggae staples while Yorke and Chili Peppers’ bassist Flea bounced and wiggled on the dance floor. Drummer Phil Selway was generous enough to buy URB a beer, and when asked how far he thought the band was with the recording of their new material, gave a response that suggested their stay in Los Angeles is nowhere near complete.

Yorke performs new song “Lotus Flower”

Yorke performs “Everything In Its Right Place”

Radiohead performs “Fake Plastic Trees”

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