Through tunes old and new, R.E.M. strings it all together
By Steve Knopper, Special to the Rocky
Published June 4, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
Preston Gannaway / The Rocky
Michael Stipe, lead singer of R.E.M., performs with the band at Red Rocks Amphitheatre near Morrison on Tuesday.
REVIEW
Guitars created R.E.M.
Guitars turned R.E.M. into worldwide pop stars.
And just this year, guitars rescued R.E.M. when all seemed lost.
After a string of meandering albums laden with moody, purposeless songs and flighty sound effects, the Athens, Ga., trio returned to its mid-'90s Monster formula, cranked up the guitars and, to paraphrase Bruce Springsteen, found its rock 'n' roll voice.
It came just in time. On a night when Sen. Barack Obama claimed he had clinched the Democratic nomination for president - as politically liberal singer Michael Stipe announced to the sold-out crowd - R.E.M.'s music seemed extra-urgent, sharp and comforting at the same time.
"This is our moment right now," Stipe declared, "and I'm really happy to be sharing my moment with all of you."
The first part of the show belonged to guitarist Peter Buck, who spearheaded the back-to-basics approach of the band's latest album, Accelerate.
The band opened with Living Well Is the Best Revenge from the album and its force-mixed-with-melody formula segued nicely into the best-known Monster hit, What's the Frequency, Kenneth?
The band zig-zagged between old and new throughout the show, jumping from the 1987 chestnut Welcome to the Occupation to the underrated 1992 anti-apathy anthem Ignoreland to the power-chord-filled new track Man-Sized Wreath.
Tying all of this together was Stipe, of course, totally bald and wearing a crisp black suit at center stage. He did a few wiggly dance steps, smiled broadly while seated at the drum riser and was in excellent voice for a guy screaming above a rock band since 1981.
Buck took over the leadership a few times, halting World Leader Pretend in the middle and frequently kicking the band's well-worn jangle into a higher hard-rock gear.
Although R.E.M.'s touring outfit includes drummer Bill Rieflin (replacing the long-departed Bill Berry) and second guitarist Scott McCaughey, the three original members took center stage, with Mike Mills providing particularly melodic basslines on the soft, nostalgic Cuyahoga.
An hour into the show, R.E.M. noticeably softened the sound, de-emphasizing Buck for the simmering, reflective Houston - a new song that Stipe said was about "the disgrace the Bush administration left in the Gulf region."
The piano-heavy Electrolite and the moany chestnut The One I Love were more nuanced than the pure-power opening songs, but they didn't translate as well to the back of the 9,000-person Red Rocks crowd.
At press time, the band had rectified this problem, blasting the "whoa oh oh" melody of Bad Day to a crushing backdrop of loud guitars, then following up with an older song with a similar formula, Orange Crush. And all was well with the world, again, or at least with R.E.M.
R.E.M.
* When: Tuesday night
* Where: Red Rocks Amphitheatre, near Morrison
* Grade: A-
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June 4, 2008
10:16 a.m.
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bluesman writes:
Typical of the RMN to be at this show instead of the real music show and story in Denver last night----Return To Forever's mind blowing reunion show at the Paramount. You can all go listen to Buck, Mills and Riefflen----I prefer to listen to Al Di Meola, Stanley Clarke and Lenny White who are in another stratosphere musically. It is a shame that the RMN, with Mark Brown leading the charge---is so busy piling on the overrated popular music and bands of the day (please not another Fray story) and misses out on the great under appreciated musical geniuses that sneak into Denver from time to time. (though Brown did do an interview with Clarke--there should have been a story). But hey Mark---I'm sure there is a Dressy Bessy show somewhere coming up that will appease your shallow musical mind.
June 4, 2008
10:30 a.m.
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PiperJM writes:
This was a great show. The National set the tone with some amazing feedback tricks with their violin and horns. Modest Mouse kicked it up a notch, a band where everyone seems to play at least three instruments and where the two set drummers were so clean they sounded like one (if a drummer could have more than two arms). Finally, REM did an amazing mix of the political and the sweet. They challenged the Iraq War, the handling of Katrina, and the military industrial complex. They spoke to the future, hope and action and our deeper ideals. They serenaded us about the beauty of love and sang two songs that describe the Teenage Nation that all of us are either in, or lived through.
I'm sure that Return to Forever's show was incredible. That doesn't make REM's show any less so.
June 4, 2008
11:16 a.m.
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aguysmiling writes:
FYI: Both shows are reviewed on Westword's site (blogs.westword.com/backbeat).
June 4, 2008
12:06 p.m.
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LeftyDv writes:
The Rocky Mountain News' editorial decision to review the R.E.M. concert makes sense from the standpoint the majority of their readers have heard of R.E.M. and don't have any idea who Return to Forver is. Advertisers don't pay the Rocky's fees to have fringe articles written about fringe entertainers. West Word's does.
What should really be talked about is how wrong this reviewer was in his review. R.E.M.'s set was a crowd killer, as evidenced by the 500 or so people who were fed up after "I've Been High" and left. Accelerate is a great album. The old, rare gems that were performed were great songs. But the mixture didn't sit well with people... and it was a real downer of a show. Well played as it was, the show wasn't even close to an A-.
June 4, 2008
1:37 p.m.
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njbillpas writes:
Show overall was good. Was disappointed that nothing was played from Chronic Town, Murmur or Reckoning. In reading set lists from previous shows on this tour, songs were played from these albums/ep. Only song from Fables was Feeling Gravity's Pull, Driver 8 would hve been a better selection. Too much emphasis on political songs.
June 4, 2008
5:51 p.m.
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tejastiger61 writes:
REM has not played a " A " concert since the original drummer split. The last 2 times
I saw them in concert everyone in my car wanted their money back. Personally speaking I prefer not to be preached too, while I'm trying to enjoy myself.
June 5, 2008
9:10 a.m.
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bluesman writes:
LeftyDv: Your helping make my point. By pandering to mediocre, overrated pop music, much like the radio stations do, musical geniuses like Return to Forever get ignored. Is McDonalds Quarter Pounder the best hamburger you can get? Is Budweiser the best beer brewed in the USA? I guess I better help you here--the answer is no. Just because they sell more or more people have heard of them does not make them better. There is not one musician in REM who is anywhere remotely near the caliber of musician on their respective instrument as their counterpart in Return to Forever. It is your loss that you and a lot of mainstream America does not know this. I genuinely fell sorry for you---some suit at Clear Channel decides for you what to listen to and like a faithful little sheep, you blindly follow. Now go have your Quarter Pounder, hammer down a Bud, and enjoy the next Fray concert and surround yourself with every mediocre thing the mainstream media will throw at your gullible self.
June 5, 2008
4:17 p.m.
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cbrown writes:
Bluesman - I just want to thank you for enlightening me with your sophisticated tastes. I see that I've been a Lemming, and I'm ready to ditch all of my pop records and buy only music recorded by "musical geniuses." By your logic, The Ramones should have hung it up before they even played note number one, because only the musically gifted can play worthwhile music. Get over yourself. You could power part of the grid with your self-satisfaction.
There is a reason why jazz is a niche market - it's too pretentious....just like you. Now you can go back to your basement with your Stella Artois and your vinyl Miles Davis records and watch some porn.
June 6, 2008
12:05 a.m.
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ORR4 writes:
I have to agree with cbrown. Bluesman - there is a reason REM guitarist Peter Buck was nicknamed "The One Arpeggio Wonder" He is not a technically gifted guitarist. But that doesn't make him a bad guitarist. And that doesn't make REM an inferior band. If I wanted to listen to busy, technically superior instrumentation - I'd listen to Rush. The same arguement can be made for Bob Dylan vs. Michael Bolton. Bolton has, by far, the superior voice - but I'd go see Dylan perform 100 times out of 100 (not sure which Clear Channel executive decided that one for me).
So, ease off on the anger, bud. RMN is just trying to sell newspapers in order to stay in business. They HAVE to go where the crowd is. Send your boys from Return to Forever on American Idol if they want a shortcut to additional attention. For now, I guess they'll be your little secret.
Also, REM became very popular without any radio airplay. The airplay came after 10 years of earning fans the hard way. So, check your facts next time.
June 6, 2008
1:33 p.m.
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cbrown writes:
Well said ORR4, particularly the point about Clear Channel. I'll take it one step further. If all bands of every genre with the exception of Return to Forever stopped releasing records and performing for an entire month and media coverage (radio, tv, newspapers, magazines) was solely dedicated to the marketing of Return to Forever, they still wouldn't sell out Red Rocks nor would they sell a substantial number of records. Jazz appeals primarily to other musicians and no amount of marketing can make a complex and often atonal genre pleasing to a mass audience.
Bands like The Fray may benefit from marketing, but marketing can only take you so far. People respond to a memorable melody (and have done so since the advent of modern tonality). It is hardly "shallow" to do so.
June 21, 2008
11:30 p.m.
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Mark Brown writes:
Thanks for thinking of me, bluesman. Sorry to take so long to respond, I was out of town for two weeks.
To lump REM in with new, overrated "bands of the day" ignores REM's nearly 30 year history of putting out classic records, does it not? Your view strikes me as funny, as the biggest complaint I get from readers is spending too much time on "old" bands and not enough on newer ones.
And for what it's worth, I was actually at Return to Forever even though we didn't review it. Even the soundcheck was awesome and despite a traffic jam that put the band 90 minutes behind schedule they were all in great humor -- got to chat a bit with Stanley, Lenny and Al backstage before the show. And as you yourself noted, bluesman, we did run a Stanley Clarke interview even though the show was long sold out, so I don't think the News can be accused of ignoring RTF for the sake of "new" bands such as REM.