Best. Show. Ever.
I couldn't have asked for anything more.
I convinced Greg to come to Berkeley with me, booked a room at the Hotel Durant, and we took an afternoon Amtrak train west to where the air is cool. And damp, evidently. It was a grey day, but didn't seem like it would rain. We didn't have to wait very long for the bus once we got off the train. The hotel, which is being renovated and greeted us with a lobby half covered in a drop cloth, had no record of my reservation, but they had a room anyway and I paid what I expected. The room itself was very lovely, and as I was in no hurry to get to the theater, I kicked back with a glass of wine and watched American Idol's two Davids on Larry King Live.
According to my ticket the show started at 6, but I thought that was awfully early to rock. I left my room at around 6:15; Greg even offered to walk me there, even though he wasn't going to the show. We walked across campus and reminisced about the time we'd spent studying there. I took a once-a-week seminar at Berkeley for one semester four years ago; Greg took an intensive course of study in Ancient Greek 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 10 weeks. You might think his connection to the campus would be a little more profound than mine, and that'd probably be the case if Berkeley hadn't been where I wound up when I ran away from home at 16. Berkeley and the Cal campus have always had a special place in my heart since then.
So: the concert.
I just read a review that more or less sums up how I felt about the concert-- though it was my first time, and he's evidently seen them live a whopping fourteen times. But I can echo most of his sentiments ad nauseum-- the show was like a religious experience for me. It was everything I could have asked for and more. The venue was spectacular. The weather was brisk and EVERYONE was wearing blue jeans. And as for the show itself, well, it was R.E.M., so of course the music was lyrical, intelligent, poetic. This was to be expected. But what I'm not sure I expected was how much they would rock. They rocked! I love the new album, and they set the tone for the show with their first song, "Horse to Water," a brief but raucous tune that captures all the raw anger and energy that drives Accelerate. Then they turned around and did "Little America" (off of Reckoning), a song I barely recognized. Yeah, my status as uber-R.E.M. fan may have suffered just a little. There was even a song they did that I truly didn't know-- "Bad Day," which is a recent release of an earlier song. Still, I sang along and danced (or swayed, if that's what was called for) to nearly every song, from all the different phases of their career.
The whole show was just completely phenomenal. They played for two hours. Their encore was a 5 song set including "Driver 8" and "Man on the Moon." My favorites included "Ignoreland," "Man-Sized Wreath" (the kickin'est, most dancin'est rock song of the moment), "Hollow Man," "Electrolite," (which Michael introduced as "a song about California"), "The One I Love," and "Let Me In," but the ultimate surprise, the absolute best song of all, was "Find the River." My very favorite song, out of all 15 of R.E.M.'s studio albums-- of all the 100s of songs they've recorded, they played the one I love the most. And played it beautifully. And looking at set lists from the other shows on the tour, this was the only time they've done it.
I've been glowing for days. It was just so great. That's all I can say about it. I'm scheming up ways to get to Europe at the end of the summer so I can see them again. I sort of doubt any other show could be as magical as the one I went to. I feel invigorated. I hope I can take this energy with me.
I convinced Greg to come to Berkeley with me, booked a room at the Hotel Durant, and we took an afternoon Amtrak train west to where the air is cool. And damp, evidently. It was a grey day, but didn't seem like it would rain. We didn't have to wait very long for the bus once we got off the train. The hotel, which is being renovated and greeted us with a lobby half covered in a drop cloth, had no record of my reservation, but they had a room anyway and I paid what I expected. The room itself was very lovely, and as I was in no hurry to get to the theater, I kicked back with a glass of wine and watched American Idol's two Davids on Larry King Live.
According to my ticket the show started at 6, but I thought that was awfully early to rock. I left my room at around 6:15; Greg even offered to walk me there, even though he wasn't going to the show. We walked across campus and reminisced about the time we'd spent studying there. I took a once-a-week seminar at Berkeley for one semester four years ago; Greg took an intensive course of study in Ancient Greek 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 10 weeks. You might think his connection to the campus would be a little more profound than mine, and that'd probably be the case if Berkeley hadn't been where I wound up when I ran away from home at 16. Berkeley and the Cal campus have always had a special place in my heart since then.
So: the concert.
I just read a review that more or less sums up how I felt about the concert-- though it was my first time, and he's evidently seen them live a whopping fourteen times. But I can echo most of his sentiments ad nauseum-- the show was like a religious experience for me. It was everything I could have asked for and more. The venue was spectacular. The weather was brisk and EVERYONE was wearing blue jeans. And as for the show itself, well, it was R.E.M., so of course the music was lyrical, intelligent, poetic. This was to be expected. But what I'm not sure I expected was how much they would rock. They rocked! I love the new album, and they set the tone for the show with their first song, "Horse to Water," a brief but raucous tune that captures all the raw anger and energy that drives Accelerate. Then they turned around and did "Little America" (off of Reckoning), a song I barely recognized. Yeah, my status as uber-R.E.M. fan may have suffered just a little. There was even a song they did that I truly didn't know-- "Bad Day," which is a recent release of an earlier song. Still, I sang along and danced (or swayed, if that's what was called for) to nearly every song, from all the different phases of their career.
The whole show was just completely phenomenal. They played for two hours. Their encore was a 5 song set including "Driver 8" and "Man on the Moon." My favorites included "Ignoreland," "Man-Sized Wreath" (the kickin'est, most dancin'est rock song of the moment), "Hollow Man," "Electrolite," (which Michael introduced as "a song about California"), "The One I Love," and "Let Me In," but the ultimate surprise, the absolute best song of all, was "Find the River." My very favorite song, out of all 15 of R.E.M.'s studio albums-- of all the 100s of songs they've recorded, they played the one I love the most. And played it beautifully. And looking at set lists from the other shows on the tour, this was the only time they've done it.
I've been glowing for days. It was just so great. That's all I can say about it. I'm scheming up ways to get to Europe at the end of the summer so I can see them again. I sort of doubt any other show could be as magical as the one I went to. I feel invigorated. I hope I can take this energy with me.