R.E.M. Review

Winston-Salem, NC -- Here is the set list of last Tuesday night's show that I attended in Raleigh. As Michael Stipe put it, "Welcome to the R.E.M. weigh loss program" -- the outdoor amphitheatre was a steam bath. The heat didn't slow down R.E.M.'s set, whcih featured a heavy dose of songs from the new album, "Accelerate."

• Harborcoat
• Living Well is the Best Revenge
• Bad Day
• What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?
• 1,000,000
• Man-Sized Wreath
• Welcome to the Occupation
• Accelerate
• 7 Chinese Bros.
• Hollow Man
• Imitation of Life
• Houston
• Electrolite
• Walk Unafraid
• The One I Love
• Final Straw
• Find the River
• Let Me In
• Horse to Water
• Auctioneer
• Orange Crush
• I’m Gonna DJ
• Supernatural Superserious
• Losing My Religion
• Pretty Persuasion
• Fall on Me
• Sitting Still
• Man on the Moon

I was hoping for a few more hits from the 80's and 90's... Superman, Don't Go Back To Rockville, Drive, Crushed with Eyeliner, Driver 8, The Great Beyond, etc. Michael Stipe didn't shed one piece of the black suit that he was sporting. Mike Mills performed his trademark aaaahhhh harmonizing. Peter Buck was fantastic on lead guitar. Mitch Easter, who I met playing at Winston-Salem's The Garage back in October, produced the first two R.E.M. albums. He played during the encore's "Sitting Still." How many people can say, "I've met the person on stage" at a rock concert of 10,000+ fans?

One tidbit before I close, the three spotlights above the stage were aimed at Stipe, Mills, and Buck. The drummer and third guitarist played in the dark and were barely cheered for. When the band took a bow after the closing song, "Man on the Moon," it was only the main three. After learning that Bill Berry would retire from R.E.M. following their 1997 tour, Stipe replied, "I guess a dog is still a dog if you removed one of its four legs."