RAWK FESTIVAL REWIND
Some reviews from the weekend’s festival circuit in Ireland and Scotland which have collectively been described as R.E.M.’s finest hour festival wise in some time…:
News
R.E.M. HITS THE PEDAL TO GERMANY AND SWITZERLAND THIS WEEK
The band continues their torrid pace through Europe this week with back-to-back shows in Dresden (Elbufer) and Berlin (Waldbuhne) Tuesday and Wednesday nights, followed by a show Friday in Locarno, Switzerland, at the Moon and Stars ’08 (City Square). For full details on
MICHAEL FILMS PSA FOR AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
While in Ireland for the Oxegen Festival this past weekend, Michael taped a PSA for Amnesty International which is in the midst of marking the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with their “Small Places Tour.” The Small Places Tour, according to Amnesty’s Chairman
MAN-SIZED WREATH WORLD PREMIERE TODAY AT SPINNER
The new video for “Man-Sized Wreath,” R.E.M.’s third single from ACCELERATE, premieres today at 10:00AM ET at AOL’s spinner.com; the video was created by CRUSH, the Toronto-based design house, who also created the amazing video for Hollow Man.
Be sure to visit SPINNER.com to watch
A WEE POSTCARD FROM T IN THE PARK
Last night’s OXEGEN at Punchestown Racetrack near Dublin was one of the best festival shows I have ever seen R.E.M. play. Something just happened between the band and the Saturday night audience, and a very special show ensued. From the opening with Begin the Begin through
MICHAEL TAKES T WITH NME
Check out this awesome NME.com interview with Michael before R.E.M. headlined T In The Park in Scotland earlier tonight:
AMAZING T IN THE PARK FOOTAGE
R.E.M. headlined Scotland’s T In The Park finale tonight before a massive crowd, closing the weekend out with another blistering set, and we’ve come across some amazing footage from the show on youtube. Big thanks to Thistwilightgarden for posting these great videos of the
BIG WEEKEND AHEAD WITH OXEGEN AND T IN THE PARK
R.E.M. plays two of the summer’s most highly-anticipated festivals this weekend with headlining slots at both Ireland’s Oxegen Festival Saturday and Scotland’s T In The Park Sunday. Both events expect massive crowds just shy of 100,000 each and feature stellar main and secondary
QUICK POSTCARD FROM LYON
Well every day is different, that is for sure . . . tonight we are in Lyon playing one of the nights of the venerable Les nuits de fourviere . R.E.M. will play in a classic Roman amphitheatre tonight here in Lyon and tomorrow night in Nice.
POSTCARD FROM BILBAO
Amazing crowd tonight and even in a pretty cold rain and a show that started just before midnight, it was a stunning performance–on top of a mountain in the middle of Bilbao, in a city park in the misty steady rain–we are now 3 for 3 with weather this little
LIVE STREAM OF R.E.M. TONIGHT IN BELGIUM
Tonight the band will be hitting the stage in Belgium for the RockWerchter Festival. This performance will be streaming live on the festival’s website. Just click the “LIVE stream” button on the home page. Catch it live, because is will not be archived. Show begins at 5 pm
TEXT FROM MICHAEL (with updated text message…)
here NOW is the complete text from michael, who is upset with t-mobile while in europe and seriously considering switching carriers.
I biked all around Amsterdam with Bertis and got back to the hotel, where Thom Yorke introduced me to Stanley Donwood, the artist behind most of
CONFESSIONS OF A MAN-SIZED RIEFLIN
R.E.M.’s drummer, Bill Rieflin, and HQ’s David Bell recently had what one might loosely term a “conversation” the day of the Atlanta show. As you’ll see from the photo, Bill’s mouth was covered with a strip of orange tape, for some strange reason, so the admittedly “amatuerish” interview ensued as
POSTCARD FROM THE (RE)START
We are in Amsterdam, where Radiohead played Westerpark last night, and R.E.M., under foreboding skies, plays tonight–not a bad two-fer and many seem to have traveled from long distances to see both shows. Let’s hope the rain holds off…
Michael and David did their HELLO! book-signing
R.E.M. LIVE IN LONDON EP OUT TODAY
R.E.M.’s 9 song e.p., “Live in London,” recorded at the Apple iTunes store on Regents Street in London, is available for download at iTunes today.
The tracklist for the e.p. is as follows:
Living Well Is The Best Revenge
Auctioneer
Hollow Man
Supernatural Superserious
Fall On Me
West Of The Fields
Horse To Water
Man-Sized Wreath
Man On The Moon
Please