R.E.M. Kick Off Tour In Vancouver With Some Rarities
R.E.M.'s tour in support of the great Accelerate got under way this past Friday 5/23 in Burnaby (just outside Vancouver), and people are lovin' it. Reader Nick wrote in to tell us about a report he filed for Whitney:
Wow, one of the most amazing R.E.M. shows I have seen! This was the first time they played Ignoreland live. It was awesome! Second Guessing! West of the Fields from Murmur! Get Up! I was just loving the set list, especially the new version of Let Me In which featured three acoustic guitars and a piano, which they all stood around in a circle. It gave me chills it was so beautiful.
Our in-house fact checking department (read: me clicking on the DriveXV liner notes) can confirm that Mike Mills told us "Ignoreland" had never been performed live. A year ago, Fluxblog theorized as to why that was as part of his track-by-track dissection of the R.E.M. oeuvre:
There's two likely reasons for this. First, the album arrangement is a thick soup of overdubs, and though a streamlined version may have its charm, it would most likely sacrifice its illusion of density. Secondly, I suppose there may be some concern that the lyrics are a bit dated, but um, that argument doesn't actually make good sense to me since its words only seem more relevant in the era of Fox News.
Whatever the reasons, the band finally blew the dust off the track and, with any hope, will keep it rotating through the setlist in shows to come. Maybe they were inspired by the Forms' cover, which successfully showed that a streamlined and overdub free take on the song could not only work but also kick lots of ass. We have no idea what the concert-version of "Ignoreland" sounds like, but YouTube brings us audio/visual proof of the other super-rarity R.E.M. unleashed in Vancouver:
For the first time in 20 years, here's Reckoning's "Time After Time (Annelise)," live:
That comes via Fluxtumblr (obvs).
So if you woke up needing two more reasons to buy a ticket to the R.E.M. tour, you are welcome.
[Stipe photo from the Vancouver gig @ Deer Park via justwalkaway's Flickr, where she's got more.]
Posted at 4:41 PM by amrit in Video
Tags: R.E.M.
Ignorreeelaaaand:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJOU6wt9K34
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Ignoreland was pretty cool live. Overall it was a most rocking show, they sounded fantastic. The National and Modest Mouse were also really good!
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How much do modest mouse and national play at these shows?
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The National: 40 Minutes
Modest Mouse: One Hour
Excellent show, "Gardening At Night", "Country Feedback" and "Let Me In" were also highlights.
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Thanks, MV.
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Finally, when they're old and gray, they play stuff from Murmur and Fables
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Damn it, wish I could go see them. I doubt I'll be able to make their local date, though. Sad face.
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Here's the review from the paper I work for (and no, I didn't write it): http://www.straight.com/article-147301/rem-rediscovers-its-mor-strength
I was a bit bummed that I was too busy to go, and even more bummed when I found out that the band was hanging out at the Biltmore Cabaret afterwards, which is literally right next door to me.
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even hearing about that happening to someone else is making me sad. sorry, dude.
i'm in the same boat, though. they're playing a little under a two-hour drive from me (which is well within reason), but the venue is enormous and obnoxious, and i couldn't summon up the money to sit about a thousand miles away from the band. i'm a little bummed, to say the least. i would've enjoyed the opening acts, too.
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I saw them performing Wolves, Lower at the Olympia in Dublin last year. They also pulled out a load of other stuff off the first record and the Chronic Town EP. They're doing that a lot live - is it because the new album isn't really that great and they're reminding everyone that they have an amazing catalogue of songs pre-'98?
Also, to anyone who was at the show, would it be worth my while snapping up tickets when they play this side of the pond (they're only playing a shitty festival where the underclass go to stab people)? I said after the Olympia gig that I might never bother go to another REM show because they'd never be as good as when they were rehearsing the songs last summer.
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i have no idea what you're talking about. the new album is amazing, and "the underclass" probably only stab holier-than-thou shitheads like you for condescendingly referring to them as "the underclass" and squandering all the good tickets.
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