Tonight’s the night. I know the band has played a few live shows already, but R.E.M. starts its summer tour for real tonight in Vancouver. To say I am excited is an understatement.
I won’t get my chance to see them for a couple of weeks, but I will pore over tonight’s set list to see what gems they pull from the back catalog to try and guess what they might play for me on June 11. And, yes, they will be playing them for me.
I know the band has had tepid studio success over the past decade or so, but they always put together a kick-ass live show. Even on the last tour, when they played a bunch of the songs from “Around the Sun,” which just didn’t translate live, they managed to rock the house.
I can’t imagine what it will be like with the songs from “Accelerate” mixed in. Can you fathom a one-two punch of “Living Well’s the Best Revenge” and “These Days?” Or “Horse to Water” and “Pretty Persuasion?” Or “Supernatural Superserious” and “Gardening at Night?”
That’s why I look forward to their shows so much. You never know what you might get.
The set list.
1. Living Well’s the Best Revenge
2. What’s The Frequency, Kenneth?
3. Ignoreland
4. Second Guessing
5. Gardening At Night
6. Man Sized Wreath
7. Disturbance At The Heron House
8. Hollowman
9. Accelerate
10. West of the Fields
11. Houston
12. Electrolite
13. Losing My Religion
14. Time After Time (annelise)
15. Let Me In
16. The One I Love
17. Country Feedback
18. Bad Day
19. Walk Unafraid
20. Supernatural Superserious
21. Sweetness Follows
22. Get Up
23. I’m Gonna DJ
24. Man on The Moon
Wow
I don’t do that. I just bookmark the URLs of the people who do. 🙂
When you start making a spreadsheet of all the setlists, then you know you’ve gone too far.
I may or may not be doing this with Springsteen’s tour.