Firstly, I’d like to say how great it is to have this website back. I hadn’t realised until very recently about its return. I can’t remember my old username, which it’s probably for the best considering I was posting in my late teens and early twenties! As a 37 year old, it’s great to still have the conversations going.
The reason for my post: every now and again I get hooked on a song and end up spending time relistening to the original, seeking out alternative versions or demo’s. Recently I’ve been really enjoying the demo for Swan Swan H, and did a quick setlist.fm search of the last time that song was played live. I was amazed to see it was in London, 2005. This was one of only four times I saw the band, and who would’ve thought aged 20 I would hear Swan Swan H live for the very last time.
From this thought it got me interested to ask others about being present to hear the band play a song for the last time to an audience, without realising it at the time.
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I’d like to suggest The R.E.M. Timeline as being a far more accurate and reliable source than Setlist.fm.
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The R.E.M. shows I attended were uninteresting setlist wise.
I definitely have some first time songs from other bands.
Went to a concert for a band I like a couple nights ago where they pulled out some rare old songs which might end up being the last, I suppose. The singer joked about one of them “we’ll never play this again” but he’s said that before and it still pops up every 8 years or so.
I thought I might have a last time song from U2 but looks like it was 3rd-to-last.
I was at the Twickenham gig on the Accelerate tour. What was to turn out to be their final UK gig. They played Perfect Circle for the only time in that tour, and thus the last time they ever played it.
I remember looking it up and they’d only played about 12 times since the 1980s. The whole setlist was special as they played 8 IRS songs. Having first seen them in the 90s, I’d only ever had One I Love, Orange Crush and End of the world before. Couldn’t believe it, but I guess Perfect Circle was the truly special moment.
That gig was by far the greatest set I’ve seen them play. Even compared to other sets on the tour, it’s pretty special. I wonder if they knew or had a good idea it was their last UK show so pulled out the stops? Perhaps it was to do with them celebrating Obama being elected (I think the day before)?
Who knows, but I got to see the set of the gods.
