20 April 1989 - The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA support: Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ set: Pop Song 89 / Exhuming McCarthy / Welcome To The Occupation / Shaking Through / Turn You Inside-Out / Disturbance At The Heron House / Be All That You Can Be - Orange Crush / Cuyahoga / Feeling Gravitys Pull / Sitting Still / We Live As We Dream, Alone - World Leader Pretend / Begin The Begin / Pretty Persuasion / Rotary Ten / Tired Of Singing Trouble - I Believe / Get Up / Auctioneer (Another Engine) / It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) encore 1: Stand / I Remember California / You Are The Everything encore 2: Finest Worksong / King Of Birds - Letter Never Sent / Swan Swan H / See No Evil encore 3: Harpers / Summertime / Crazy / Perfect Circle / After Hours
18 June 2008 - The Mann Center For The Performing Arts, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, PA support: The National, Modest Mouse soundcheck included: Staring Down The Barrel Of The Middle Distance set: These Days / Living Well Is The Best Revenge / What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? / Wolves, Lower / Man-Sized Wreath / Turn You Inside-Out / Imitation Of Life / Staring Down The Barrel Of The Middle Distance / Ignoreland / Bad Day / Hollow Man / The Great Beyond / Houston / Electrolite / Walk Unafraid / The One I Love / Find The River / Let Me In / Departure / Life And How To Live It / Orange Crush / I’m Gonna DJ encore: Supernatural Superserious / Losing My Religion / Begin The Begin / Fall On Me / Man On The Moon notes: Eddie Vedder guests on ‘Begin The Begin’. Johnny Marr guests on guitar on ‘Fall On Me’ & ‘Man On The Moon’.
15 November 1986 - Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke University, Durham, NC support: Let’s Active Let’s Active set included: Talking To Myself / Writing The Book Of Last Pages / Room With A View / Hush R.E.M.: These Days / Harborcoat / Hyena / Time After Time (Annelise) / Maps And Legends / The One I Love / Feeling Gravitys Pull / The Flowers Of Guatemala / White Tornado / Driver 8 / Tired Of Singing Trouble - I Believe / Swan Swan H / 7 Chinese Bros. / Superman / Can’t Get There From Here / Pretty Persuasion / Auctioneer (Another Engine) / Little America - The Pledge Of Allegiance encore 1: Fall On Me / Cuyahoga / Begin The Begin encore 2: Finest Worksong - King Of Birds / Oddfellows Local 151 / Born To Run / We Walk - Uncle Salty / Toys In The Attic / Happy Birthday To Mitch Easter / Funtime notes: Peter Buck & Mike Mills joined Let’s Active for their cover of Deep Purple’s ‘Hush’ on their opening set. Mitch Easter joined on guitar from ‘Born To Run’ onwards, & finishing up singing Happy Birthday to Mitch.
21 June 2008 - Lakewood Amphitheatre, Atlanta, GA support: The National, Modest Mouse soundcheck: Strange Currencies (without Vocals) / Strange Currencies (with Vocals) / So Fast, So Numb / Time After Time (Annelise) / Living Well Is The Best Revenge / Nightswimming set: These Days / Living Well Is The Best Revenge / So Fast, So Numb / What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? / Time After Time (Annelise) / Driver 8 / Man-Sized Wreath / Walk Unafraid / Hollow Man / Ignoreland / Houston / Electrolite / (Don’t Go Back To) Rockville / Auctioneer (Another Engine) / Harborcoat / The One I Love / I’ve Been High / Let Me In / Bad Day / Horse To Water / Orange Crush / I’m Gonna DJ encore: Supernatural Superserious / Losing My Religion / Pretty Persuasion / Nightswimming / Fall On Me / Man On The Moon notes: Johnny Marr guests on guitar on ‘Fall On Me’ & ‘Man On The Moon’.
15 November 1986 - Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke University, Durham, NC support: Let’s Active Let’s Active set included: Talking To Myself / Writing The Book Of Last Pages / Room With A View / Hush R.E.M.: These Days / Harborcoat / Hyena / Time After Time (Annelise) / Maps And Legends / The One I Love / Feeling Gravitys Pull / The Flowers Of Guatemala / White Tornado / Driver 8 / Tired Of Singing Trouble - I Believe / Swan Swan H / 7 Chinese Bros. / Superman / Can’t Get There From Here / Pretty Persuasion / Auctioneer (Another Engine) / Little America - The Pledge Of Allegiance encore 1: Fall On Me / Cuyahoga / Begin The Begin encore 2: Finest Worksong - King Of Birds / Oddfellows Local 151 / Born To Run / We Walk - Uncle Salty / Toys In The Attic / Happy Birthday To Mitch Easter / Funtime notes: Peter Buck & Mike Mills joined Let’s Active for their cover of Deep Purple’s ‘Hush’ on their opening set. Mitch Easter joined on guitar from ‘Born To Run’ onwards, & finishing up singing Happy Birthday to Mitch.
21 June 2008 - Lakewood Amphitheatre, Atlanta, GA support: The National, Modest Mouse soundcheck: Strange Currencies (without Vocals) / Strange Currencies (with Vocals) / So Fast, So Numb / Time After Time (Annelise) / Living Well Is The Best Revenge / Nightswimming set: These Days / Living Well Is The Best Revenge / So Fast, So Numb / What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? / Time After Time (Annelise) / Driver 8 / Man-Sized Wreath / Walk Unafraid / Hollow Man / Ignoreland / Houston / Electrolite / (Don’t Go Back To) Rockville / Auctioneer (Another Engine) / Harborcoat / The One I Love / I’ve Been High / Let Me In / Bad Day / Horse To Water / Orange Crush / I’m Gonna DJ encore: Supernatural Superserious / Losing My Religion / Pretty Persuasion / Nightswimming / Fall On Me / Man On The Moon notes: Johnny Marr guests on guitar on ‘Fall On Me’ & ‘Man On The Moon’.
First:
R.E.M. - 1987-11-14 - Bren Events Center, University Of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA
01 Finest Worksong
02 These Days
03 Welcome To The Occupation
04 Disturbance At The Heron House
05 Exhuming McCarthy
06 Orange Crush
07 Feeling Gravitys Pull
08 King Of Birds
09 Simple Gifts > I Believe
10 Maps And Legends
11 Driver 8
12 Superman
13 Auctioneer (Another Engine)
14 Oddfellows Local 151
15 It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
16 Begin The Begin
Encore:
17 Strange > Rollers Show > Saturday Night
18 Pretty Persuasion
19 See No Evil
20 The Flowers Of Guatemala
21 Cuyahoga
22 Fall On Me
23 Harpers
24 The One I Love
25 Crazy
26 Pop Song 89
27 Just A Touch
28 After Hours
Last:
R.E.M./Modest Mouse/The National – Greek Theater, Berkeley, CA, 31/05/08
R.E.M. - 1987-11-14 - Bren Events Center, University Of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA
01 Finest Worksong
02 These Days
03 Welcome To The Occupation
04 Disturbance At The Heron House
05 Exhuming McCarthy
06 Orange Crush
07 Feeling Gravitys Pull
08 King Of Birds
09 Simple Gifts > I Believe
10 Maps And Legends
11 Driver 8
12 Superman
13 Auctioneer (Another Engine)
14 Oddfellows Local 151
15 It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
16 Begin The Begin
Encore:
17 Strange > Rollers Show > Saturday Night
18 Pretty Persuasion
19 See No Evil
20 The Flowers Of Guatemala
21 Cuyahoga
22 Fall On Me
23 Harpers
24 The One I Love
25 Crazy
26 Pop Song 89
27 Just A Touch
28 After Hours
Last:
R.E.M./Modest Mouse/The National – Greek Theater, Berkeley, CA, 31/05/08
My first. I hoped to have had that experience again but it didn’t happen.
6 April 2005 - Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide, Australia
Support - Little Birdy, Bright Eyes
Set - I Took Your Name / So Fast, So Numb / Animal / The Outsiders / Bad Day / The Worst Joke Ever / Disturbance At The Heron House / Electron Blue / Electrolite / Departure / Leaving New York / Orange Crush / I Wanted To Be Wrong / Final Straw / Imitation Of Life / The One I Love / Walk Unafraid / Losing My Religion
Encore - What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? / Everybody Hurts / Drive / The Great Beyond / Happy Birthday To Brett Eliason / I’m Gonna DJ / Man On The Moon
16 August 1985 - The Concert Hall, Masonic Temple, Toronto, Canada support: The Three O’Clock set: Feeling Gravitys Pull / Harborcoat / Green Grow The Rushes / Hyena / Pilgrimage / Femme Fatale / Driver 8 / Fall On Me / So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry) / Have You Ever Seen The Rain? / Can’t Get There From Here / 7 Chinese Bros. / Auctioneer (Another Engine) / Old Man Kensey / The Star-Spangled Banner (snippet) - Little America - Home On The Range / Pretty Persuasion / Life And How To Live It encore 1: California Dreamin’ / King Of The Road / Bandwagon / Skip A Rope / 20th Century Boy encore 2: Theme From Two Steps Onward / Broken Whiskey Glass / Wild Thing - Louie Louie - D.I.V.O.R.C.E - Respect - Louie Louie - 12XU / See No Evil / Pale Blue Eyes
8 June 2008 - The Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto, Canada support: The National, Modest Mouse soundcheck included: So Fast, So Numb set: These Days / Horse To Water / What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? / Drive / Man-Sized Wreath / So Fast, So Numb / Ignoreland / Accelerate / 7 Chinese Bros. / Hollow Man / Bad Day / Houston / Electrolite / Living Well Is The Best Revenge / The One I Love / Final Straw / Until The Day Is Done / Let Me In / Begin The Begin / Animal / Orange Crush / I’m Gonna DJ encore: Supernatural Superserious / Losing My Religion / Second Guessing / Fall On Me / Man On The Moon notes: Johnny Marr guests on guitar on ‘Fall On Me’.
Back then, I don’t think it was all that unusual for them to be performing that amount of new material in concert as it wasn’t uncommon for them to road test it. That is what has always left me scratching my head when some fans put down Lifes Rich Pageant for including too much older material. Unless you’d been following them on the road or were an avid collector of their live shows I’m not sure how anyone would have known how long some of the songs had been around. I was a pretty avid fan but I’d never heard any of those songs before. Even if I had, I don’t think I would have thought of the album as weak.
In addition to the new songs a few other things come to mind for me one of which is how their love of Aerosmith leaked through. I didn’t know it at the time but in some old interview Peter Buck mentions Toys in the Attic being in heavy rotation in their van back in the day. Another is their cover of “Born to Run.” At the time, I thought it was a send up of Springsteen because he was saturating the airwaves at that point mainly due to the overwhelming success of Born in the USA. I didn’t find out until they performed with him on the Vote for Change tour that they were actually big fans of his.
If you want to check it out, this is a link to a recording of the show. This comes courtesy of Eric Zimmerman. I’m not sure if he’s a member of this version of Murmurs but he was a member of the original. He is also one of the first R.E.M. fans I ever remember meeting after I first went online in the late 90s. Years ago, he was kind enough to digitize this show for me as he only had it on cassette. I can only guess that this is that same recording. I should probably also mention that this remains my favorite concert of all time.
I was only lucky enough to get to 2 shows, so that makes first and last pretty easy.
100% do not remember Pete Yorn. Might have gotten there late and missed.
5 October 2003 - Tweeter Center For The Performing Arts, Mansfield, MA support: Pete Yorn set: Begin The Begin / So Fast, So Numb / These Days / Drive / Animal / Fall On Me / All The Way To Reno (You’re Gonna Be A Star) / Bad Day / The One I Love / Daysleeper / Electrolite / (Don’t Go Back To) Rockville / Orange Crush / Losing My Religion / At My Most Beautiful / She Just Wants To Be / Walk Unafraid / Man On The Moon encore: Life And How To Live It / Exhuming McCarthy / Final Straw / Imitation Of Life / Permanent Vacation / It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
11 June 2008 - Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD support: The National, Modest Mouse set: Finest Worksong / Living Well Is The Best Revenge / Bad Day / What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? / Drive / Ignoreland / Man-Sized Wreath / Little America / Hollow Man / Walk Unafraid / Houston / Electrolite / (Don’t Go Back To) Rockville / Pop Song 89 / Horse To Water / The One I Love / Driver 8 / Until The Day Is Done / Let Me In / These Days / Orange Crush / I’m Gonna DJ encore: Supernatural Superserious / Losing My Religion / Mr. Richards / Fall On Me / Man On The Moon notes: Johnny Marr guests on guitar on ‘Fall On Me’ & ‘Man On The Moon’.
20 July 1984 - Agora Ballroom, West Hartford, CT audience: 2,000 support: The Dream Syndicate soundcheck: Driver 8 / Stretch My Hand set: Radio Free Europe / Harborcoat / Driver 8 / Shaking Through / Letter Never Sent / Sitting Still / 7 Chinese Bros. / Talk About The Passion / So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry) / Second Guessing / Pretty Persuasion / Gardening At Night / 9-9 - Windout / Old Man Kensey / 20th Century Boy / Moral Kiosk / Little America encore 1: Pale Blue Eyes / Camera / Wild Thing encore 2: We Walk - Behind Closed Doors / Smokin’ In The Boys’ Room / Carnival Of Sorts (Box Cars) notes: An audience member who was yelling ‘Wild Thing’ during the show was invited on stage to sing the song with the band. Michael gave him some daisies, which were tossed into the audience.
11 March 2009 - The Music Of R.E.M. At Carnegie Hall, Ronald O.Perelman Family Stage, Isaac Stern Auditorium, Carnegie Hall, New York, NY R.E.M. rehearsal backstage: E-Bow The Letter (w/ Tony Shanahan (Piano)) & Jay Dee Daugherty) soundcheck included: The dB’s: Fall On Me Fink: The Apologist The Feelies: Carnival Of Sorts (Box Cars) Guster: Shaking Through Dar Williams: At My Most Beautiful Kimya Dawson: World Leader Pretend Apples In Stereo: So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry) Throwing Muses: Perfect Circle Vic Chesnutt & Elf Power: Everybody Hurts Patti Smith: New Test Leper (w/ Tony Shanahan & Jay Dee Dougherty) set: The dB’s: Fall On Me (w/ Don Dixon) Fink: The Apologist Keren Ann: Man On The Moon (w/ Calexico) Calexico: Wendell Gee Rachel Yamagata: The Great Beyond (w/ Calexico) Bob Mould: Sitting Still (w/ Calexico) The Feelies: Carnival Of Sorts (Box Cars) Ingrid Michaelson: Nightswimming Glenn Hansard: Hairshirt Apples In Stereo: So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry) Guster: Shaking Through Marshall Crenshaw: Supernatural Superserious (w/ Calexico) Rhett Miller: Driver 8 (w/ Calexico) Kimya Dawson: World Leader Pretend Vic Chesnutt & Elf Power: Everybody Hurts Throwing Muses: Perfect Circle Dar Williams: At My Most Beautiful Jolie Holland: (Don’t Go Back To) Rockville (w/ Calexico & Kyp Malone) Darius Rucker: I Believe (w/ Calexico) Patti Smith: New Test Leper (w/ Tony Shanahan) R.E.M.: E-Bow The Letter (w/ Patti Smith, Tony Shanahan & Jay Dee Dougherty) notes: Tribute to R.E.M. concert, with proceeds to benefit musical education programs for underpriviledged youth, The American Symphony Orchestra, Church Street School ForMusic & Art & The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation. Calexico were the house band supporting the acts. Peter Buck, Mike Mills & Michael Stipe were joined by Patti Smith, Tony Shanahan (piano) & Jay Dee Dougherty (drums) on ‘E-Bow The Letter’ which was the last R.E.M. song performed by the full band in front of a paying live audience.
November 7, 1995 - Pyramid Arena, Memphis, TN - with Luscious Jackson
I Took Your Name
What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?
Crush With Eyeliner
Drive
Me in Honey
The Wake-Up Bomb
Binky the Doormat
Losing My Religion
Bang and Blame
Undertow
Strange Currencies
Revolution
Tongue
Man on the Moon
Country Feedback
The One I Love
Orange Crush
Get Up
Star 69
Encore:
20. Let Me In
21. Everybody Hurts
22. Java (Allen Toussaint cover) (+ Band Intro)
23. So. Central Rain
24. Departure
25. Landslide (Fleetwood Mac cover) (Snippet)
26. It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
LAST
October 26, 2008 - Voodoo Music Experience - City Park, New Orleans, LA
Living Well Is the Best Revenge
These Days
What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?
Drive
Fall on Me
Man-Sized Wreath
Ignoreland
Houston
Electrolite
Walk Unafraid
[(Don’t Go Back to) Rockville (Mike Mills on vocals)
West of the Fields
The One I Love
She Just Wants to Be
Let Me In
Horse to Water
Bad Day
Orange Crush
It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
Encore:
20. Supernatural Superserious
21. Losing My Religion
22. Driver 8
23. 7 Chinese Bros.
24. Man on the Moon
First - Sept 14th 2004 This was a big deal for me at the time, I seem to recall sitting through Minnie Driver and Ricky Gervais mocking disabled people before R.E.M. played seven songs.
Losing My Religion
Boy in the Well
Walk Unafraid
Leaving New York
Man on the Moon (with Chris Martin)
Encore:
I Wanted to Be Wrong
Bad Day
Last - Aug 27th 2008 Hometown show for me. I visit the venue often to watch cricket with my young son and often look over to where the stage was set up. I also shook hands with Bertis after the show in a rather drunken way, calling him a legend. He was very gracious, but I remain very embarrassed…
Bad Day
Living Well Is the Best Revenge
What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?
Fall on Me
Drive
Man-Sized Wreath
Begin the Begin
Hollow Man
The Great Beyond
Ignoreland
Animal
Electrolite
I’m Gonna DJ
Pretty Persuasion
The One I Love
7 Chinese Bros.
Nightswimming (preceded by a few lines from ‘Hope’)
Let Me In
Auctioneer (Another Engine)
Horse to Water
Orange Crush
It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
Encore:
Supernatural Superserious
Losing My Religion
Imitation of Life
Man on the Moon
PS: I would love a recording of this show if anyone is aware of one existing.
Southampton? Also my last time seeing them. Great show.
I’d seen them at Manchester and Cardiff in the few days before. Stipe was coming down to the front and shaking hands during The One I Love, and Losing My Religion. I came tantalisingly close in Manchester and Cardiff. Finally managed to grab his hand during Losing My Religion in Southampton.
As far as I know, there isn’t a recording of that show unfortunately. I’ve scoured YouTube looking for a video of the moment I touched Michael Stipe, but no dice there either… There is a recording of the Cardiff show kicking about.
They were amazingly good on that tour. Talk about going out on a high.
My first and last, courtesy of the R.E.M. Timeline:
27 July 1995 - Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland
support: Belly, Spearhead, The Cranberries
soundcheck: Talk About The Passion (part) (Instrumental) / Orange Crush (Instrumental) / Unknown Instrumental / See No Evil
set: What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? / Crush With Eyeliner / Drive / Turn You Inside-Out / Try Not To Breathe / I Took Your Name / Undertow / Bang And Blame / I Don’t Sleep, I Dream / Strange Currencies / Revolution / Tongue / Man On The Moon / Country Feedback / Half A World Away / Losing My Religion / Pop Song 89 / Finest Worksong / Get Up / Star 69
encore: Let Me In / Everybody Hurts / So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry) / Departure / It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
notes: Unconfirmed setlist - it seems the show being circulated claiming it is this show is from a different show.
27 August 2008 - The Rose Bowl, Southampton, England
support: Guillemots, Editors
set: Bad Day / Living Well Is The Best Revenge / What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? / Fall On Me / Drive / Man-Sized Wreath / Begin The Begin / Hollow Man / The Great Beyond / Ignoreland / Animal / Electrolite / I’m Gonna DJ / Pretty Persuasion / The One I Love / 7 Chinese Bros. / Nightswimming / Let Me In / Auctioneer (Another Engine) / Horse To Water / Orange Crush / It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
encore: Supernatural Superserious / Losing My Religion / Imitation Of Life / Man On The Moon
31 March 2005 - Sydney Entertainment Centre, Sydney, Australia support: Little Birdy, Bright Eyes set: I Took Your Name / Bad Day / The Wake-Up Bomb / The Outsiders / Maps And Legends / Electron Blue / Electrolite / Strange Currencies / The Great Beyond / I’ve Been High / Leaving New York / Orange Crush / I Wanted To Be Wrong / Final Straw / Imitation Of Life / The One I Love / Walk Unafraid / Losing My Religion encore: What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? / Everybody Hurts / Drive / Animal / Happy Birthday (to one of the road crew) / I’m Gonna DJ / Man On The Moon
1 April 2005 - Sydney Entertainment Centre, Sydney, Australia support: Little Birdy, Bright Eyes set: Finest Worksong / Bad Day / So Fast, So Numb / Boy In The Well / So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry) / Electron Blue / Disturbance At The Heron House / Leaving New York / 7 Chinese Bros. / Animal / The Great Beyond / Orange Crush / I Wanted To Be Wrong / Final Straw / Imitation Of Life / The One I Love / Walk Unafraid / Losing My Religion encore: What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? / Everybody Hurts / Exhuming McCarthy / Sweetness Follows / I’m Gonna DJ / Man On The Moon notes: ‘Exhuming McCarthy’ was played as a fan request.
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