Emperor Morphetine
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REM Live- A ReviewI finally got my chance to see REM last night, and don't regret it! It was a great show, very enjoyable. After a quick amble to the merchandise stand ( I got a T shirt), my friends and I went down onto the pitch at the Rose Bowl to ensure we got good vantage points- we ended up somewhere in the middle of the throng of people who'd massed onto the turf, but we got a fairly good view of the stage. First on were Guillemots, who I must admit I hadn't really heard of beforehand but they really won me over with their catchy pop/rock and happy demeanour. They were unlucky with some technical hitches ( the sound wasn't too good and their electric piano cut out!) but they got around these, substituting the piano for guitars and soldiering on.
After a brief break between acts ( and a quick trip to the beer stall!) it was back into our little corner of turf to watch the Editors, whose early songs all sounded the same, relying on a similar riff and effects. But once they swapped this format for some slower songs they improved considerably, and while their songs are mostly quite miserable in tone they went along nicely and their last song 'Munich' went down well with the crowd in particular.
Then it was time for the main event..REM themselves. They started with the song 'Bad Day' which Michael Stipe assured us was for a good reason ( he'd been to buy some new shoes and got them dirty!), before progressing on to some upbeat songs from new album 'Accelerate' such as 'I'm Gonna DJ' and 'Supernatural Superserious'. They even managed a few golden oldies- 'Let Me In' and ' Seven Chinese Brothers' among them, which went found favour with most of the crowd. Then it was into more recent territory with the likes of 'Nightswimming' from 'Automatic For The People' as Stipe continued working the crowd. We were all lapping it up, and before they ended we got an encore with the likes of 'It's The End Of The World As We Know It ( And I Feel Fine)' and 'Man On The Moon' being wheeled out, to much acclaim from everyone.
In short it was a fantastic evening's music! I loved every minute of it, being a long standing fan of theirs. My only gripe was that a few of my other favourite songs of theirs weren't played- 'Stand', 'Everybody Hurts' etc, and the booze was £3.50 a pint....but they're minor annoyances, it was well worth going, I'm so glad that I did.
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Lucifer_666
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Sounded class mate  
I was glad to see Michael Stipe back looking well again....there was a stage there where he just looked awful  like he was sick or something
The problem with a band like REM or U2 or any other band really that has had so many hits is that inevitably they can't fit everything in to one concert  but it still sounded amazing
Prices of stuff in events like this are always a scandal aswell but does go with the territory
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Catnapper
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Sounds like you had an amazing time Morphy I heard a few days ago about a promoter going bust and fans losing out on tickets....I was hoping it wasn't the REM concert they were talking about!
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Emperor Morphetine
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Oh, I did have an amazing time- I didn't want it to end! It was a fantastic show and I still can't stop listening to them at the moment, its helped me rediscover a load of their songs plus heightening my appreciation of the others ( the big hits etc). Their 'Best Of' compilation has been stationed in my CD player for a while now actually.
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Catnapper
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Are there any REM songs you don't like?
I've never liked "Everybody Hurts".......it's too miserable for me!
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Emperor Morphetine
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Not many actually, I like quite a lot of their stuff! I guess the albums between 'Automatic For The People' and 'Accelerate' are their low point, I really didn't like those. However in particular I love the albums 'Green' and 'Automatic For The People' as well as 'Accelerate'. and 'Dead Letter Office' is a nice collection of early B sides/cover versions.
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Lucifer_666
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I know what you mean babe about Everybody Hurts...its not one of my favourites now but I think it is because it got played constantly at the time ....though I can't think of many other songs from REM that I could say I disliked Only ones that I liked less than others......
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Emperor Morphetine
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That's pretty much the case with me and a testament to them really given how long they've been around.
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