Bertis lists his top ten highlights of the summer tour here.
Highlights of the summer–for me at least
In no particular orderâ¦
1. Dublin â as usual, a tremendous reaction in R.E.M.âs favorite home away from home even in a new setting: OXEGEN – one of the best festivals we’ve
We had a couple of days in Istanbul, and since we had never been there, everyone enjoyed seeing the sights, discovering the blends of cultures, in this sprawling, bustling city. And the show was on a spectacular site, hard on the bank of the Bosphorus, with illuminated mosques
XFM has posted the final installment in their five part documentary on the band at XFM.co.uk. Please click here to view the interview.
We all fly back to the USA today after a stupendous, tour-ending, one-of-a-kind FREE concert in Athens, Greece, at the original Olympic Stadium, Kallimarmaron Panathinaiko (the “beautifully marbled”), last night. It’s truly hard to think of another setting which tops this one…the only stadium in the world built out
Blue Leach, R.E.M.’s mega-talented tour video director (you’ve seen the screens!), has directed a VIDEO for Man-Sized Wreath, the hard-charging third single from ACCELERATE. The live video was produced by Emer Patten of Splinter Films, longtime R.E.M. collaborator, who, among other things, previously worked with the band
On the way to Istanbul, so not much time to update today . . . Madrid was magical, the place LAS VENTAS (very Verona Arena-like in dimensions and shape and crowd, but okay maybe not quite as old!) is the premier bullring in Spain and quite a
R.E.M.’s show in Murcia, Spain, tonight coincided with drummer Bill Rieflin’s birthday, which was duly noted and celebrated on stage with a fabulous birthday cake garnished with drum sticks. Happy Birthday, Bill!
It’s hard to believe it, but the band’s European tour, which began back on July 2nd in Amsterdam, comes to a close Sunday following two shows in Spain this week and weekend shows in Istanbul, Turkey, and Athens, Greece. The first of the tour’s final four stops is Murcia,
A little slow getting going this morning since we were up til all hours watching Round One of the Presidential Debates– a good opportunity for both candidates to show their stuff. We scored it even– kidding! Check out Progressive Blog Digest and Memeorandum
Tonight the band plays its final show in Switzerland for this tour, with an appearance at Hallenstadion in Zurich, and if recent indications are any sign, it should be a fantastic show. The guys are playing better than ever and the setlist is still growing almost 60 shows into
R.E.M.’s performance at the Paleo Festival in Switzerland this summer will be broadcast on Eurosonic on the following dates and countries. Visit Eurosonic’s website for more information and please be sure to check local listings.
September 25th: Germany–NDR “Njoy”
Tonight the band plays its final show in Switzerland for this tour, with an appearance at Hallenstadion in Zurich, and if recent indications are any sign, it should be a fantastic show. The guys are playing better than ever and the setlist is still growing almost 60 shows into
MTV will celebrate the launch of its latest incarnation, MTV Greece, with a free concert in Athens at Kallimarmaro Panathinalko Stadium on October 5th. R.E.M. will headline the special “MTV GR Day” concert with support from the Kaiser Chiefs, Gabriella Cilmi, and C:Real. Doors are at 5:30PM and
XFM.co.uk has posted part three of their five-part documentary on the band. You can view the new episode as well as previous ones at XFM.co.uk.
Photo: Vivian Johnson