Newsgroup: it.fan.musica.rem
Titolo: Chicago 2 sere 2 Setlist

 2004-10-25 - Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL, USA
Around the Sun 
Begin the Begin 
So Fast, So Numb 
Exhuming McCarthy 
Animal 
Boy in the Well 
So. Central Rain 
High Speed Train 
The One I Love 
Outsiders 
Bad Day 
I Wanted to Be Wrong 
Imitation of Life 
Don't Go Back to Rockville 
Final Straw 
Losing My Religion 
Walk Unafriad 
Life and How to Live It 
----- 
What's the Frequency, Kenneth? 
Sitting Still 
Leaving NY 
Sweetness Follows 
Permanent Vacation 
I'm Gonna DJ 
Man on the Moon
commenti su 
murmurs.com
:
I guess where can I start. . . 
Now It’s Overhead was a great opening band first off. Having only
satisfied myself with a couple tasty treats from the Now It’s Overhead
website. Andy Lemaster looks and acts like Stipy at the age of 18 that
many girls would just want to take him home and feed him Milk and
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. 
I would describe Now Its Overhead a mixture of everything. A little
bit REM, a little bit Decemberists, a Little Athens Pop and also a
little dance pop thrown in the mix. But Andy is upbeat and while the
stage is probably a little larger than they are used to they still
pulled off an upbeat set. 
Then during the intermission there was this girl that was crying. The
only reason I add this story because there seems to be several stories
that need to be added in this review about this show.
I am not sure if these people were laughing or crying but there was a
young woman with her mate and this woman had her head in her lap. All
of a sudden a young man walks up and it seems that the man was trying
to help this young woman. I thought the woman was crying yet her
significant other proved otherwise by smiling yet trying to console
her as well. So the woman all of a sudden stops crying gets out of her
chair with her significant other and proceed to leave while two people
sit down. It seems the pouting lady was just trying to secure seats
and thought if she pretended to cry that she could get away with
sitting in a close row.
The show was amazing. I never thought that Around the Sun would work
as an opening song, but it does. Being that its really the theme of
the album it was done beautifully and one of the more solid tracks of
the new songs. Begin the Begin really started the show off though.
Tearing into the guitars you couldn’t help feel a little pumped as did
So Fast So Numb add to the energy. Kudos to the young man with the
Little America T-Shirt on. You are a true fan with your posturing and
dancing throughout the set. Lets just say that this fan was very
impressed and amused. 
Exhuming McCarthy was another treat. I remember peering over at this
moment and checking out Greg Kot, the music critic for the Chicago
Tribune bopping his head in tune with this show. Lets just say that he
did look like he was enjoying the set quite a bit so if there is a
negative review then that would surprise me. 
Animal . . .hmmm, Animal is Animal. To me I think if anything it was
strong but it would have been nice to see a different song in this
place. 
Boy In the Well was done pretty good as well. It is a straightforward
number which probably helped in the venue. The show was really “Loud”
in my opinion. They were playing like it was an arena at times. That
part to come later. 
So. Central Rain was a real treat for me and something they do just
beautifully. Still the best pop song that REM has ever written. 
I am not really sure about High Speed Train. On the album its pretty,
spooky, and delicate. As a live track I am not sure I like it as much.
There is too much feedback from the guitar than is really needed. I
wanted to hear some piano on it because that is the centerpiece of the
song. 
The One I Love was regular REM doing what they do. The Outsiders
bothered me quite a bit. The guitar on that was again either messed up
or just for some reason they added pieces that were not necessary. I
got caught up in watching Peter and I am not sure if he was having
guitar problems but maybe I can compare it with tomorrow to see if he
has the same problems. 
Bad Day is a solid song as always but better than anything it led
itself into I Wanted To Be Wrong and if anything what I noticed from a
heavily democratic Chicago crowd was a very supportive applause before
I Wanted To Be Wrong when Stipe discussed politics. While there might
have been people booing, I surely did not hear them from where I was
sitting. 
I Wanted To Be Wrong was probably the highlight next to Around the Sun
as far as I am concerned about the new songs live. They just really
captured the heart of this song perfectly. 
Imitation of Life led into Don’t Go Back to Rockville which was a
treat for me to listen to Mike do this as I was pleasantly surprised
by the lead vocals. It was also nice to see two songs from Reckoning. 
Final Straw was another treat and it seemed that you would never hear
me say this but Losing My Religion just does not have the same impact
it did years ago. It sorta reminded me of saying the “Our Father”. I
think its time be put this song away in the vaults for awhile. 
If there was one thing that I felt at this point was that this set
(with its problems) was REM more than anything. They did not play one
Era or just skip stuff. They played songs from every year and to me
that worked. It works more than just playing songs off the last two
albums or three or five. 
Walk Unafraid is as solid as it always is. I am not sure how anyone
cannot be blown away from the beginning of the song. 
And Life and How To Live It? They have something there which is
amazing and I like the idea they use this song on this tour because to
me the song signifies our country right now, sorta split down the
middle. I am not sure if this is what Michael meant by this but it
really works as the closer of the set and on this tour. 
Kenneth is as solid now as it was on the Monster Tour. Sitting Still
was a real treat but it wasn’t the song that meant as much as when
Michael handed the microphone to someone in the audience that did not
miss a beat and hit every word perfectly. That to me is what the fans
were out to see. Not the Losing My Relgions but the other hits. You
saw people giving thumbs up during the IRS years songs. You saw people
holding each other during Sweetness Follows, one of the better songs
off of Automatic For the People. Played differently here than on the
Up tour, the Auditorium Theatre treated the song with the charm it
deserved. 
The Last three songs were all worth it. Permanent Vacation is blast
from the past but works on tour, catchy, easy to sing, it brings REM
back to plain rock n roll, plus it’s a fun song. 
I do have to say that I’m Gonna DJ is better live than on tape and I
am just curious how this song will do on tape. To me it’s the
“Revolution” of this tour. I still think it’s a solid B-Side.
And well Man on the Moon. Still works as a solid live song, and it
works good to close the concert off.
Peter was funny at the end of the show sticking a airfan in front of
his guitar and doiing a somersault and picking up michael. 
I waited with Burglar outside in the alley with other fans for the
ability to see the band. I did see Peter and then Mike later on and he
was able to sign something for us. I think we were both on the quiet
side. 
And let me say that for the most part everyone in the alley was very
cordial and friendly cool but there were three women (and I use that
word to be nice) that just kept on pushing me to the side
consistently, not even realizing that I or my girlfriend were there. I
asked one of them at one point if I could borrow a pen so that Mike
could sign a piece of paper that I had and they of course ignored me. 
I knew there were other Murmursians there because I think I recognized
them but I can’t place names with faces. But to calm your fears . . .
. Lets just say that if you did not have Mike Mills face spraypainted
on your jacket or you were very very close friends with anyone that
did then you have nothing to worry about.
Otherwise it was a magical night. I still liked hearing some of the
new songs even though there was some minor criticism. I think I would
really want to hear High Speed Train again because I think if anything
it was not what I expected. The Auditorium Theatre was good to them
but I would like to see some other less rocking numbers tomorrow
night, possibly Drive, Electron Blue, Daysleeper.. .who knows. . . . ?
Definitely one of the top three REM shows I have seen.
 2004-10-26 - Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL, USA
Begin the Begin
These Days
Welcome to the Occupation
Animal
Drive
Boy in the Well
World Leader Pretend
High Speed Train
Cuyahoga
Make it all Okay
Bad Day
I Wanted to Be Wrong
Electrolite
She Just Wants To Be
Final Straw
Losing My Religion
Walk Unafraid
Life and How to Live It
-------------------------------------
What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?
Star 69
Aftermath
Leaving New York
The One I Love
Permanent Vacation
I’m Gonna DJ
Man on the Moon
commenti su 
murmurs.com
NOW for tonight.....tonight was beyond awesome. Before the show
started I went to thank Bob, Mike's bass tech, for the pick and used
strings he gave me the night before. Then I told him I was a bass
player and I was curious what strings Mike uses. He remebered the
brand but wasn't sure the exact gauge. So he went to look and came
back with a box which I thought was empty, but it wasn't it was a new
pack of Mike's strings. Bob said "Here try them out, you'll like them"
So I got a new pack of Mike's strings tonight as a souviner. I'm
taking my bass in tomorrow to get my strings changed.
The show tonight packed punch after punch which seemed to miss half of
the audience. I was getting kind of mad at all the people who were
sitting down for the new songs and then they would stand up for
"Losing My Religion"...."Oh My God I Know This Song"...I can't stand
it REM are so much more than that and half the people there didn't get
that. I was jumping my arse off and Scott definately saw my boyfriend
and I and kept smiling and laughing at us. 
Highlights for me were Star 69, Cuyahoga, Welcome to the Occupation
and World Leader Pretend and Michael standing up for what he believes
in and telling off the people in the crowd. I met Michael after the
show and he signed my Around the Sun and as he was doing so I said
"Michael great show and I want to thank you for putting your heart out
on the stage" and he stopped for a second and looked up at me straight
in the eyes. He couldn't say anything but smiled and his eyes said
everything. I will never forget that moment. Michael said he feels
embarrassed about talking about his beliefs from the stage. Then he
said he shouldn't, and I agree. These people yelling just play the
music are not true REM fans. When you go to an REM concert you are in
for something political whether it be environmental, political,
humanitarian, etc. It is REM. The stage is their canvas to express who
they are, what they believe in. We would not have great albums such as
Green if REM did not have political messages. Without politics,
without the beliefs of the members of REM intertwined in the songs,
there would be nothing but dead silence and the artwork would be
blank.
I reached a point when REM played Leaving New York when I started to
cry. I finally reached a pinicale of understanding. The music
surrounded me, I took in the atmosphere, memories of past and present
came to me and I had a moment of clarity of the direction I want my
life to go in. Everything came full circle and met in a single point
of harmony. I've been through a lot these past few years and have
given up everything to take up music and I finally realized I am on
the path I want to take. During that moment I remembered Michael
talking in St. Louis about how he remembered seeing Bruce Springsteen
at the Fox. Then I thought I'm seeing REM right now and one day I'll
be able to talk like Michael did about Bruce except it will be about
REM.
---------------
Ciao!
Vero
--
[Question]: Do you have a motto in life?
[Peter Buck]: Em... "LET'S PANIC LATER". Ha, ha!
I seem to use that a lot. Because everyone around me is always
panicking. I live at a kind of high anxiety level, but I don’t worry
about stuff that much. I just feel that, you know, you can worry about 
this shit now or you can deal with it when the time comes, and it’ll 
probably be fine.
:-) :-)

 Vero
Ecco perchè non ci si stufa mai di vedere loro concerti...non sai mai
che brani faranno...pensa invece che palle a vedere tre date in fila
degli u2...sarebbe come mettere un dvd e programmare repeat con quelle
loro scalette perennemente uguali.
ciao
daniele