R.E.M. performs strongly in concert
After a long absence from the tour circuit, R.E.M. finally came to Houston at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in the Woodlands on Sept. 15 and 16. The concert was absolutely worth the ticket price of $36.55, with excellent performances by both Radiohead and R.E.M., even if there were drawbacks such as low visibility from the lawn seats.
Radiohead, best known for the ever-so-popular "Creep," opened for R.E.M. The numbers with the most crowd appeal were "Creep" in its unedited version and "Fake Plastic Trees." They were a great opener, and the acoustics, even in lawn space, made you feel like you'd sprung the $45 and were actually somewhere near the stage.
R.E.M. took the stage about 15 minutes after Radiohead closed. They covered all of the basics from Monster -- "What's the Frequency Kenneth?," "Crush with Eyeliner," "Bang and Blame," "Star 69" and "Tongue," which Michael Stipe, R.E.M.'s lead singer, labelled a girl song. From Automatic For The People , they played "Man on the Moon" and "Everybody Hurts," accompanied by countless waving lighters. From Out of Time , they performed "Losing My Religion" and "Country Feedback," in addition to several unreleased cuts.
About halfway through the evening, Stipe began that between-set rambling. He waxed reminiscent about his own time in the Lone Star State: "I'd have to say that those five years in Texas were five years of my life." He expressed his desire to get naked with the crowd, did an amazing cover of "The Witchita Lineman" as a birthday present for a girl named Stephanie in the front row and gave a Don't Mess With Texas T-shirt that was thrown onstage to Radiohead to display with pride back home in England.
Also included in the set were classics such as "The One I Love," in its first performance in six years (Saturday was its second performance in six years) and "It's the End of the World as We Know It," with which they closed. During a vain but amusing attempt to perform without the lyric sheet, Stipe started ahead of the band, after which point he improvised and began yelling "Fine!" at random intervals.
It was a great concert, if not the absolute best I've ever seen. Still, next time R.E.M. passes through, go . It's a worthwhile experience.
This item appeared in the Arts & Entertainment section of the September 22, 1995 issue.
Copyright © 1996 The Rice Thresher. All Rights
Reserved.
This document may be distributed
electronically, provided that it is distributed in its
entirety and includes this notice. However, it cannot be reprinted
without the express written permission of:
The Rice Thresher, Rice University, 6100 Main, Houston, TX 77005-1892, USA.
The Thresher Online Project -- ethresh@listserv.rice.edu