New R.E.M. Live Video - "Leaving New York"
R.E.M. enthusiasts know Stipe & Co. have been fond of Dublin lately: This year the Athenians have been camped there (and in Vancouver) with Jacknife Lee, working out the kinks and getting sessions going for studio LP14. Earlier this summer, the R.E.M.ers unveiled new tunes at Dublin's Olympia Theater for a series of five "Working Rehearsal" gigs, their only shows this year. And earlier still, the band played two nights of the hits in the city in Feb '05 which were recorded for a live CD/DVD release, coming down the pike next month. Around The Sun's "Leaving New York" is the advance listen/peek, boasting multiple cam-angles, artily blurred jump-cut transitions, and Michael beautifully lamenting his NYC departure while rocking a face-painted eyemask. Like he says, it's never easy...
No date attached to LP14 yet, unfortunately, but we can tell ya that the R.E.M. Live CD + DVD are out 10/16. Check the tracklist...
01 "I Took Your Name"
02 "So Fast, So Numb"
03 "Boy in the Well"
04 "Cuyahoga"
05 "Everybody Hurts"
06 "Electron Blue"
07 "Bad Day"
08 "Ascent of Man"
09 "The Great Beyond"
10 "Leaving New York"
11 "Orange Crush"
12 "I Wanted to Be Wrong"
13 "Final Straw"
14 "Imitation of Life"
15 "The One I Love"
16 "Walk Unafraid"
17 "Losing My Religion"
18 "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?"
19 "Drive"
20 "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville"
21 "I'm Gonna DJ"
22 "Man on the Moon"
Posted at 12:34 PM in Video
Tags: R.E.M.
As a citizen of the Irish capital, I think I have to nitpick and say that the DVD is culled from 2 nights in Dublin's Point Theatre (a shitbox that holds 8,000 people (good news: it's getting knocked down for a 14,000 seater amphitheatre)) that took place in February 2005. Not last year or this year. The gigs themselves were good although when Stipe tried to address the crowd, there were the usual catcalls from the stereotypically hammered Irish crowd so he got pissed off and the band launched into "Orange Crush".
Fast forward two and a bit years to the Olympia Theatre and the "Working Rehearsals" were astounding. The audience stood to rapt attention as Stipe re-worded brand new songs before our very eyes, stopped songs because he "fucked up", talked in-depth about his song-writing techniques and laughed mid-song at the footnotes to the lyrics he downloaded so he could sing songs off Murmur. The cause of his laughter was a disclaimer saying that the lyrics were an approximation because nobody - not even Stipe - knew what he was singing. He showed this to the rest of the band at the end of "Sitting Still" and they all had a good giggle.
PS: The new tunes - and this is me trying to avoid hyperbole at all costs - are fucking amazing.
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thanks for the info and insight, neilo. post (and expectations) adjusted accordingly.
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The song is pretty decent. Thanx.
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A sort-of-decent song off of one of their weakest albums isn't my ideal sneak peek at the DVD, but it'll do. I look forward to this and the new album. Just get rid of the face paint, Michael.
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