Apparently eager to make up for their ugly showcase night at the Railway a few months back, Radiohead whirligigged their way into giving Vancouver its best live show of the week Sunday night.

Hitting the stage after a slow-burn set from Drugstore -- a collage of Marianne Faithfull and Cowboy Junkies -- England's infamous pouters who made it big on the shoulders of their outcast anthem, Creep, had something to prove.

First, they had to put the past behind them. Second, they needed to show their fans that recording-studio gems like their latest release, The Bends, can translate into a solid and equally mind-altering live show.

They had no trouble settling the score on both counts, leading into their super-charged set with lead track Planet Telex cross-fading in circles throughout the Commodore Ballroom.

And considering they were using the house PA (or at least the house mains), that's a feat that shouldn't be overlooked.

So let's say it now: the sound mix was first-rate, catching all the sailing highs, gritty lows and fuzzy-wuzzy in-betweens that make up Radiohead's signature sound -- without making the big mistake of making it all too loud and distorting the entire show into oblivion.

(Don't you just hate it when some tight-jeaned jerk gets on the soundboard with the creative goal of seeing 1,000 pairs of ears spew blood? By golly, there should be a law.)

But it wasn't just the sound that made Radiohead's show a standout: it was the guts and glory moves of lead singer Thom Yorke.

Proving that not all U. K. bands of this day and age are uniquely obsessed with looking cool and standing still (yeah, you Jesus and Mary Chain, Oasis and the rest of you stone-faced English artistes), Yorke spun his tiny frame around in circles, thrashing at his guitar and screaming into the mike while hitting every note.

Clearly, size isn't everything.

The bird-like Yorke was relentless. His voice had the power of a man ten times his size -- and still carried all the tender sensitivity that makes songs like Black Star and Sulk saccharine sweet drops.

Quite simply, it was a solid show supporting a stellar album. And you can't ask for more than that.