A killer live R.E.M. show from Hollywood, 2003
The induction of R.E.M. into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last night got me all sentimental about just how deep my love flows for this band, which I have logged thousands of hours listening to since high school. Yet there are times when I still feel like I have only scratched the surface of their careers, knowing there are dozens of tunes from them that are so deserving of my love, but that I have not yet discovered. What a great predicament.
This is a fantastic soundboard-quality set from the Avalon in Hollywood, 2003. It was a two-disc promo distributed to radio stations, so now you can be as cool (and with ears as happy) as the big dogs. Features Ken Stringfellow (The Posies) and Scott McCaughey (Minus 5) as band additions for this set.
R.E.M. live in Hollywood
The Avalon, Oct 29 2003
Finest Worksong (what a way to start)
These Days (ooh yay! love this album)
The Wake-Up Bomb
So Fast, So Numb (“This is now, this is here, this is me, this is what I wanted you to see” — one of my favorite driving & singing songs)
Exhuming McCarthy
Animal
Sweetness Follows (“live your life filled with joy and wonder“; introduced by Stipe as “a beautiful song from 1991″ and it is indeed a masterpiece)
Bad Day
World Leader Pretend
Strange Currencies (a vastly underrated love song)
Losing My Religion (even after hearing this song so many times, don’t you just feel happy at those opening notes?)
At My Most Beautiful (another vastly underrated love song; “I read bad poetry into your machine, I save your messages just to hear your voice“)
She Just Wants To Be
Walk Unafraid (I loved Up)
Man On The Moon
Life And How To Live It
Welcome To The Occupation
Nightswimming (can’t even talk about how flawless this one is)
Final Straw
Permanent Vacation (unreleased)
Imitation Of Life (fantastic last song choice)
(zip only re-upped 6/13/07, individual links are expired)
Regarding the induction last night, I got a few play-by-play emails from friends but I missed seeing it. Anxiously awaiting an mp3 of Vedder’s duet with R.E.M. on Man On The Moon.
Man On The Moon – R.E.M. with Ed Vedder
Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame induction, March 12, 2007
God bless the Pearl-Jam-crazy Italians! [more mp3s]
ADDENDUM: In his heartfelt induction speech, Vedder said, “How do you explain the dialogue between Michael and the listener — a dialogue that grew up and we grew up with it? Such wisdom in the feelings in these songs that — I think they helped us find things that we knew were inside us, and I think they helped us find things that we didn’t know we had inside us. And I can say, there are things that I hold and feel [hand on heart] very deeply about inside here that Michael Stipe put in there himself. What’s really incredible about this is, is that while this is happening — this all happens without ever being able to understand a fucking word he is saying. . .”
Name: Heather Browne
You are a lovely and wonderful human being and I owe you cookies.
I’ve been on a hell of an R.E.M. kick, lately. This is exactly what I need. I always love me some soundboard recordings. (And I also kind of liked Up too. I just wrote about it, coincidentally.)
Sharpless — March 13, 2007 @ 3:06 pm
Heather,
The also played a great live version of “Gardening at Night”. Is there any way you could cause that to show up on your blog? Please!
Thanks for eveything
Anonymous — March 13, 2007 @ 5:24 pm
Thanks Heather! One problem, though: track 6 (“Animal”) is a repeat of 5 (“Exhuming McCarthy”).
Eric — March 13, 2007 @ 5:36 pm
Thanks Eric! Fixed now!
heather — March 13, 2007 @ 5:42 pm
Thanks so much!
Eric — March 13, 2007 @ 5:45 pm
Oh, and anonymous, the Gardening At Night mp3 is available through that Italian site I linked to at the bottom of the post.
heather — March 13, 2007 @ 6:05 pm
it was very cool last night. I had to stay up for the whole show for REM. (had to endure Grandmaster Flash). and finally…HoF was broadcast live! and the Van Halen boys couldn’t clean up for their big night.
Jay — March 13, 2007 @ 6:05 pm
Thanks Heather!
A great end to my day… I think I saw this tour when they stopped at Shoreline Amphitheatre.
Have you ever seen their studio version of Academy Fight Song pop up anywhere? I have a live version from 1989.
Randy
Randy — March 13, 2007 @ 6:20 pm
Randy, I saw them at Shoreline on the Monster tour – great, great show. One of the few really good shows I’ve seen at Shoreline — despite my being on the lawn, Stipe really connected with the audience even way out there, and filled that huge space with intimate sound. It was fantastic. I still remember his comments on the full moon that night.
heather — March 13, 2007 @ 8:51 pm
I saw them a week earlier and the setlist was different, http://www.popmatters.com/music/concerts/r/rem-031003.shtml,
that line from sweetness follows was actually supposed to be my yearbook quote but they forgot to print it
Ian — March 13, 2007 @ 10:06 pm
The first time I saw REM was in the early 80′s in a small dive in South Carolina. They had clearly been playing a lot recently, and looked tired. The audience was into them, and not so into some of the lecture Michael was giving in between songs. He got irritated and kicked his beer cup. They kept playing, and had a great sound, in their early janglely way. Soon after Their albums got bigger, especially since Green. People have always seemed to listen since.
Yon — March 13, 2007 @ 11:42 pm
Randy,
Academy Fight Song mp3 – Fanclub Single version
heather — March 14, 2007 @ 10:15 am
I guess it pays to click through the links on the site. Thanks for pointing me to “Gardening at Night”
Anonymous — March 14, 2007 @ 12:20 pm
REM rocks- nough said, great post, thanks. love comments too!
Anonymous — March 14, 2007 @ 1:16 pm
Thanks Heather! You’re awesome!
Randy — March 14, 2007 @ 5:25 pm
Oooooooh, thank you so much for the REM show!
alicia — March 14, 2007 @ 7:40 pm
Who is handling the sticks on this one?
Ken Smith — March 14, 2007 @ 8:46 pm
i cannot put into words how much i love this band. thank you for the show.
(here from a link on LiveJournal)
izzybeth — March 15, 2007 @ 12:06 am
a great post heather. thank you.
Chad — March 15, 2007 @ 12:40 am
ken, Stipe says it’s Bill Rieflin at the end of the Permanent Vacation track.
heather — March 15, 2007 @ 8:06 am
T set is frigging sick. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Flash — March 17, 2007 @ 7:01 pm
Love the looks of this set… but I can’t download it! Did you remove it from the server?
Thanks!
Pete — March 27, 2007 @ 9:35 pm
Pete, indeed I did. My server is getting chock full o’ goodness and I had to do some purging. Sorry. Email me if you want, I may be able to work something out.
heather — March 27, 2007 @ 9:39 pm
Thanks- Not sure how to e-mail you, but you can find my address on my website http://www.petepizza.com...
Pete — March 28, 2007 @ 8:35 pm
I would be eternally grateful if I could get this R.E.M. show re-posted…
Darren — April 1, 2007 @ 8:13 pm
Thanks so much – great memories brought back to my ears!
Cynthia — April 24, 2015 @ 3:57 pm