REM the aftermath

[janne_d]

My neck hurts and my feet hurt and my ears are ringing. but! I do not care at all because:


I got within about a foot and half of touching Michael Stipe! (Obviously this would be cooler if I'd actually touched him, but still. OMG!) He came down steps at the front of the stage and got lifted up and leaned over the crowd and I was about 3 people back from the barrier, and he totally looked at me. (That is my story and I'm sticking to it - there was eye contact.) He has seriously blue eyes. And is rather gorgeous close up.

I was close enough to see expressions on their faces - mostly I could see Michael Stipe and Mike Mills well because Peter Buck was over the other side, but he would occasionally get in a good viewing position for me too.

Support was The Guillemots, who we missed what with only getting the tickets at half past four this afternoon, and Editors who I mostly missed because of the 25min queue for the toilets, but they sounded pretty good from there and better once I'd worked my way back down to the front.

Then REM came on and I got very excited. The first two songs I didn't really recognise because I don't have the most recent album, but they played lots that I did - starting with What's the Frequency Kenneth as the third song, back to things like Orange Crush and Pretty Persuasion and The One I Love and Fall On Me, and newer ones like the I've Been High and Imitation of Life.

Things I remember - Michael Stipe being pleased English was our first language because that meant he could talk a lot (and he hoped that was okay with Mike and Peter). Him saying that they hated their government a lot, on and off but mostly on as proved by the next song which was Ignoreland. Him talking about it being Gay Pride weekend this weekend in Manchester and doing a little set in honour of that (Pretty Persuasion was part of that).

There was a bit where he talked about the cricket ground looking like LA on a good night and getting everyone to hold up their mobiles while the big lights were off, and they had that put onto the screens behind them, all these little glowing lights. And then they did Electrolite and Michael got everyone to do it again part way through and said that it looked beautiful.

They did Drive from Automatic too, and Walk Unafraid from Up, and So Fast So Numb from New Adventures. And Hollow Man, which Michael said was not autobiographical but that he'd lied to the crowd in Germany about that. And the Bad Day one, and the one about pushing elephants up the stairs that I can't remember the name of. There was also a gorgeous acousticy version of Let Me In where they all gathered around the piano in a huddle and he sang with his back to the audience. And 7 Chinese Brothers. And something about not being a horse to water, which I assume must be from the new album, and another new one that was all about the US government falling apart under the Bush administration (that's how it was introduced, there was a lot of Wows at the end of lines).

The encore was Losing My Religion and Man on the Moon (Losing My Religion was when I nearly touched him, OMG) and they did songs for each of the support bands. I didn't recognise one of them (something about Mr Richard and a decision) but the other was It's the End of the World as We Know It - which he announced as an acronym so there was a little pause while everyone worked it out and then a huge cheer. And he stopped singing so everyone in the crowd could belt out "Leonard Bernstein" and "Right" and "Fine" at the end of the chorus.



And now I am knackered and going to bed.

Comments

[torakowalski.livejournal.com]

Wow, that sounds amazing, I'm so jealous. How did you get to be third from barrier without being there from the start? You must have awesome elbows!

(The one about the elephants is The Great Beyond btw - that was the song that introduced me to REM)

[janne-d.livejournal.com]

You know, sometimes I forget that you are this tiny baby young person and then you say things like "The Great Beyond btw - that was the song that introduced me to REM" and I remember.

Along with most of the rest of the world, it was Losing My Religion and Shiny Happy People that introduced me to REM.

My elbows weren't a factor actually. I think because it was at the cricket ground and not a stadium it was a bit more relaxed - it didn't seem like everyone had arrived and immediately rushed to the front. People were spread out (some on picnic blankets) up to most of the way through the Editors' set. They were on 7-8 and I started moving down about 7.30 - the rows were a bit tighter, but I could still zigag through all the way down to where I ended up. That's where it got to be all squished together - if I'd wanted to get to the barrier, I would have had to really shove through and I wasn't prepared to piss off all the people around me like that!

I was split off from my two friends - one went to the back because she likes space and the other started moving down much nearer to REM coming on and didn't make it as far so I think I was lucky in the timing too.

[torakowalski.livejournal.com]

*grins* I'd love to say that Shiny Happy People introduced me to REM, but alas I was not that advanced a six-year-old.

That sounds really nice, just wandering down to the front. All the concerts I go seem to involve being crushed down to 80% of the volume I was when they started!

[janne-d.livejournal.com]

alas I was not that advanced a six-year-old

You just said that to make me wince, didn't you?

[torakowalski.livejournal.com]

*polishes halo* Who? Me?