In perparation for their 2008 world tour, R.E.M. traveled to Dublin to stage a couple of tune up shows. Those "rehearsal" concerts will be released on October 27th as Live At The Olympia In Dublin.
I had the opportunity to catch the band at their Toronto stop of the tour and I was not expecting what I got. I was a tad jaded going in, expecting to see a band that was a shell of their former selves just going through the motion and pumping out their hits. Boy was I wrong.
The band is in magnificent form even at this Dublin show. The music is big and vibrant. Michael Stipe is strong as well, offering enough stage banter to connect with the audience while managing not to disrupt the flow of the show. Combined it becomes the sound of a band that has been revitalized.
While the set list does lean heavily on R.E.M.'s later material there are some old favorites thrown in. "Drive" and "So. Central Rain" are expected, but pleasant surprises are the inclusion of IRS-era janglers "Driver 8" and "Gardening At Night" (and pretty much the entire Chronic Town EP).
Even those newer songs, whose album version nonplussed most older R.E.M. fans, are sounding strong. The live renditions of songs like "Accelerate" and "I'm Gonna DJ" really command the crowd's attention.
If there is a complaint it could be that clocking in at 39 tracks and over 2 1/2 hours in length, there may actually be too much material for a listener to disgest in one sitting. This could be the critical flaw since few, if any, live albums are spun for a handful of tracks. When someone sits down to listen to a live record they typically play the entire thing. The unwieldy nature of this show can make that difficult.
By the time you're done though, I'm certain there will be more than one R.E.M. song for which you have a new found appreciation.
Best tracks: "Accelerate", "These Days"
Track listing for Live At The Olympia:
- Living Well Is the Best Revenge
- Second Guessing
- Letter Never Sent
- Staring Down The Barrel Of The Middle Distance
- Disturbance At The Heron House
- Mr Richards
- Houston
- New Test Leper
- Cuyahoga
- Electrolite
- Man Sized Wreath
- So. Central Rain
- On The Fly
- Maps and Legends
- Sitting Still
- Driver 8
- Horse To Water
- I'm Gonna DJ
- Circus Envy
- These Days
- Drive
- Feeling Gravity's Pull
- Until The Day Is Done
- Accelerate
- Auctioneer
- Little America
- 1,000,000
- Disguished
- Worst Joke Ever
- Welcome To The Occupation
- Carnival Of Sorts
- Harbor Coat
- Wolves, Lower
- I've Been High
- Kohoutek
- West Of The Fields
- Pretty Persuasion
- Romance
- Gardening At Night
7.5/10
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