Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Photos: Thom Yorke Stopped The Rain At MoMA's Warm Up
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Sep 9, 2012
Modified Sep 9, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
View all 7
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Sep 9, 2012
Modified Sep 9, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
More than halfway through Rustie's set at MoMA PS1's Warm Up, the spirits of the packed crowd felt momentarily (and literally) soggy. Menacing clouds dumped rain on the souls who had braved the merciless lines for the Holy Concert Triumvirate (Burritos, Beers & Bathrooms), and though the Scottish DJ was doing his damndest to play enough booty-moving mashups (What's Your Fantasy? Yes please) to keep everyone happy, it appeared as if the novelty of dancing in the pouring rain had run its course. But lo, look up! It was the Ponytailed Priest himself, smiling down upon his flock and giving a sheepish wave! Was it a coincidence that the rain stopped, or a clinic in How To Make Precipitation Disappear Completely?
Thom Yorke, performing under the moniker of Atoms for Peace, wasted no time climbing down from his perch and taking the stage promptly at 7 p.m., at which point he shocked the crowd into a mournful trance. It's not that his voice wasn't soulful (it was) or the tunes weren't interesting (they were) or that his beard wasn't grizzled enough (Oh, but it was: a perfect French Trapper Living On Lichens, an exquisite mix of grey and red) but that well, we wanted to dance, not convulse in our bedrooms to Eraser b-sides.
Happily, Yorke was a perceptive DJ: after a few Atoms for Peace cuts the Radiohead frontman spun Shake Your Rump and Once In A Lifetime, and other songs you and your roommates listen to on Spotify before you paint the town. Thom Yorke was playing at our house, and it was wet, and crowded, and fun.
Tagged
long island city
Moma Ps1 Warm Up
radiohead
thom yorke
warm up
original
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
A visit to Art of Play, the Brooklyn store in an animatronic bird beef with Kelly Clarkson
"Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger," says the co-owner of Art of Play.
By
Sonia Rao
Published Oct 13, 2026
The hottest way to show you're an authentic New Yorker is… riding a Citi Bike?
Thanks to Dua Lipa, Kim Kardashian, Timothée Chalamet and more, the rideshare program is having a moment.
By
Lindsay Lee Wallace
Arts & Entertainment
The hottest way to show you're an authentic New Yorker is… riding a Citi Bike?
Thanks to Dua Lipa, Kim Kardashian, Timothée Chalamet and more, the rideshare program is having a moment.
By
Lindsay Lee Wallace
Is NYC’s hottest attraction the free observation deck at 1 Centre Street?
By
James Ramsay
What happens when NYC kids take lessons in rock music? Really good bands.
By
Jayson Greene
Inside a photographer's journey to visit every neighborhood in New York City
By
Sonia Rao
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .