Classic R.E.M.

[analogpackrat]

I remember seeing them for the first time in Columbia, SC in 1986 (Fables tour?) at the Township. Let's Active opened and Mitch came out and played on a couple of REM songs. I was a keyboard/synth geek at the time and mostly ignorant about guitar stuff, but I do seem to recall a Fender electric mandolin shaped like a tele being wielded at one point. Great show and memories I'll always cherish.

Here's one of my favorite early tunes:

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[Sweden]

I remember seeing them for the first time in Columbia, SC in 1986 (Fables tour?) at the Township. Let's Active opened and Mitch came out and played on a couple of REM songs. I was a keyboard/synth geek at the time and mostly ignorant about guitar stuff, but I do seem to recall a Fender electric mandolin shaped like a tele being wielded at one point. Great show and memories I'll always cherish.

Nice! It was the Pageantry tour btw.

I am a bit suspicious about the electric mandolin though. Peter has always talked about how he bought his first mandolin while on tour in '87, and I haven't seen any reports of one being used before that, not even by Mitch. But then again, perhaps we should simply let Mitch himself answer that if he drops by again?

Anyway, here's the setlist for that show you saw:

17 November 1986 - Township Auditorium, Columbia, SC
support: Let's Active
set: These Days / West Of The Fields / Harborcoat / Crazy / The One I Love / Feeling Gravitys Pull / The Flowers Of Guatemala / Pipeline / Cuyahoga / Tired Of Singing Trouble / I Believe / Swan Swan H / Lightnin' Hopkins / Superman / Can't Get There From Here / Old Man Kensey / Pretty Persuasion / Auctioneer (Another Engine) / Little America
encore: Driver 8 / Harpers / Fall On Me / Strange / I Can Only Give You Everything

/David

[rikk]

I was just about to ask if anybody remembers REM playing on a kids show and low and behold, A Youtube post of a show called "Livewire." That show was my first exposure to REM. All I remember from that show was a blond guy hosted it and REM was on it.

[analogpackrat]

David--thanks for the setlist! I always get LRP and Fables mixed up--my brother made me a tape with both on it and that was my introduction to the band. I was instantly hooked. Like I said--I wasn't into guitars at the time so I may be mistaken, but I do believe Mitch played a blonde or natural tele-shaped electric mandolin on at least one REM song at that show. Had to be one of the janglier numbers like Cuyahoga, Swan Swan H, Fall on Me, etc.

The last time I saw them was on the Monster tour. It was at a big outdoor arena and I was waaay in the back. Had to watch the monitors to see anything. I was pretty bummed until the encore. They closed with a perfect version of Fall on Me which really made my day.

Rikk--glad be of service! Check out the prominent bass on that take. Classic.

[harborcoat26]

I saw REM way back in early/mid 80's in the gym at Williams College. Anybody have a recording of that?

I checked the R.E.M. Timeline, and the first mention of Williams College is this:

4 May 1985 - Lansing Arena, Williams College, Williamstown, MA
support: The Neats
set: Feeling Gravitys Pull / Second Guessing / Green Grow The Rushes / Driver 8 / Can't Get There From Here / Laughing / Hyena / So. Central Rain / Good Advices / Maps And Legends / Seven Chinese Brothers / Auctioneer (Another Engine) / Old Man Kensey / Life And How To Live It / Pretty Persuasion / Little America
encore 1: Last Date / Just A Touch / (Don't Go Back to) Rockville / Harborcoat
encore 2: Theme From Two Steps Onward / Have You Ever Seen The Rain? / Wild Thing
notes: This setlist may or may not be correct - there is some evidence it may not be correct. For the first minute of Just A Touch, the song is played in a totally different style, beginning wth just Stipe singing, then the rest join in shortly after

No mention of it being available on a bootleg (vinyl or silver CD), but it might exist as audience recording, which I doubt anyone with any sense of music will love as they're more often than not horrible to listen to...

There is a show available from just 6 days later that is billed as a "Good Soundboard" recording from Madison, WI. The bootleg is pretty easy to find.

[indianation65]

I saw REM on the Work tour, '87 at SMU/Dallas. What a show! It's up there with U2 '82, Bronco Bowl, Van Halen '83, Reunion Arena, The Cult, '85 Greenville Avenue and The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, '06 The Granada Theater. When a band is young and fervent, they please themselves with drive and ambition, and look cool doing it. Luckily, REM had a great sound to bask in, and we all were benefactors. The best thing about the I.R.S. years and live gigs; three instruments and voices, not extra players and backup singers. Remember when the Police, the Stones and REM didn't have 5 extra people on the stage, just them doing what they do best! Great stuff, and all from my favorite band of all time. I never dreamed anyone would ever surpass Kiss in my eyes, but REM did it, all with a little song in '83 called Radio Free Europe. I had no idea how these cats and their music would suit me like a glove!

...wisdom

[Sweden]

I saw REM on the Work tour, '87 at SMU/Dallas. What a show! It's up there with U2 '82, Bronco Bowl, Van Halen '83, Reunion Arena, The Cult, '85 Greenville Avenue and The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, '06 The Granada Theater. When a band is young and fervent, they please themselves with drive and ambition, and look cool doing it. Luckily, REM had a great sound to bask in, and we all were benefactors. The best thing about the I.R.S. years and live gigs; three instruments and voices, not extra players and backup singers. Remember when the Police, the Stones and REM didn't have 5 extra people on the stage, just them doing what they do best! Great stuff, and all from my favorite band of all time. I never dreamed anyone would ever surpass Kiss in my eyes, but REM did it, all with a little song in '83 called Radio Free Europe. I had no idea how these cats and their music would suit me like a glove!
...wisdom

Last tour R.E.M. had one single extra player on stage, the exact same number of extra musicians they had on stage with them for most parts of the 1986, 1987 and 1989 tours (and every now and then all since 1982 or so), so you may be drawing too quick conclusions here.

Our "very own" Mitch Easter can actually be seen playing second guitar on some songs from this show from October '82. Check it out from 4.30 onwards for example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b1Wkx0bC1g

(For the record, I do agree that the 1999, 2003 and 2005 tours were slightly overloaded with synths, but my point above still stands... )

/David

[indianation65]

Yes, I know they didn't have five extra players like other bands. I was commenting on the simplicity of the previous live footage, and most footage of all young, but now famous bands. Good stuff...

...wisdom

[s4001]

Their early stuff is my favorite - Fables & older. They seemed to lose the energy and melody.

[electrofaro]

Last tour R.E.M. had one single extra player on stage

For those who might not be up to date or that familiar with R.E.M., I'd call it 1.5 players, as Bill Berry's replaced for recording and touring work by Bill Rieflin. Of course the extra man David's refering to is Scott McCaughey, who's been a recording & touring multi-instrumentalist since the Monster tour.

In the Fables - Lifes Rich Pageant time the band started to do things differently, as they were getting tired of the constant touring-recording-little-time-off schedule

[rikk]

Why do bands have these non-members? Why not make him a full member?

[electrofaro]

Why do bands have these non-members? Why not make him a full member?

A question that's come up on various band fan forums... more words have been written about it than wikipedia has to offer.
The conclusion is there's no general concensus why they don't - most bands have a certain sound, whereas the extra members have their own sound - if the extra band members would contribute their songs the band's artistic production would change. Next to that, R.E.M. is a company owned by the three members, so there's not just the artistic side to consider...

[Folkie]

I love I.R.S. years R.E.M. I'm also into the post I.R.S. stuff though, just not as much. Just bought the Deluxe editions of Murmur and Reckoning the same day i joined this forum. It started to make me miss my sold 330. Wow, Mitch Easter, I'm starstruck!

Can you tell me a little about the deluxe editions of "Murmur" and "Recknoning"? How much additional material is there? How is the sound quality on the live tracks?

[electrofaro]

Murmur [Deluxe] lives inside a double digipak and has the album remastered on one disc, plus on a second:

Live at Larry's Hide-Away

1. "Laughing"
2. "Pilgrimage"
3. "There She Goes Again"
4. "7 Chinese Bros."
5. "Talk About the Passion"
6. "Sitting Still"
7. "Harborcoat"
8. "Catapult"
9. "Gardening at Night"
10. "9-9"
11. "Just a Touch"
12. "West of the Fields"
13. "Radio Free Europe"
14. "We Walk"
15. "1,000,000"
16. "Carnival of Sorts (Box Cars)"

A vintage radio promo for the album is hidden in the pregap of the bonus disc.

Reckoning [Deluxe] has a similar format - the 2nd disc contains:

Live at the Aragon Ballroom

1. "Femme Fatale"
2. "Radio Free Europe"
3. "Gardening at Night"
4. "9-9"
5. "Windout"
6. "Letter Never Sent"
7. "Sitting Still"
8. "Driver 8"
9. "So. Central Rain"
10. "7 Chinese Bros."
11. "Harborcoat"
12. "Hyena"
13. "Pretty Persuasion"
14. "Little America"
15. "Second Guessing"
16. "(Don't Go Back to) Rockville"

Both live discs contain incomplete sets if I'm not mistaking.

[Folkie]

Werner,

Thanks for all the information. I don't have the live material on those two deluxe editions, so, by all means, send a few clips to me on VBR MP3. The one I'm really looking forward to is "Fables" (in my opinion, their purest folk rock record). Please fire me an e-mail when it's available.

Robert