Hey, I'm Rog. I came across this a while ago, passed it off as dead, then noticed it in asylum_promo and thought I might come post.
R.E.M. Sydney Entertainment Centre 01/05/05
After ten years out of the country, it’s good to see that R.E.M. haven’t quite forgotten about us Aussies just yet. The current World tour has seen them play in over thirty cities already, and they’ve hit Sydney with a great (but ageing) fan base (with a few more bald patches that the last time they visited), a load of energy, and a couple of acceptable support acts (an unusual quality now-a-days). This April Fools day was the second night of their shows in Sydney, and whilst not completely sold out, a near-full Entertainment Centre provided the ambience and audience to please.
Little Birdy, hailing from Perth, kicked the night off, playing well. However, it is hard to enjoy the music of someone who treats their guitar like a sex object. And I must say, a drab-looking female lead who spends half her time on stage pulling her micro-mini-skirt down to it’s pre-ride possie is far from orgasmic. But they were forgiven, while a beaming Bright Eyes (aka Conor Oberst) brought his talents to the stage, having had Michael Stipe introduce him personally. My, that is a man with a lot of pent up aggression. Though the crowd didn’t exactly go wild for the Nebraska-born “emo� God, a portion of the audience mumbled along to a song or two, while the star palpitated his words out. With a large and talented band to back him up, the budding lyricist managed to drag me onto his side, almost interested enough to purchase an album – but not quite. I can see why R.E.M. would have been interested in such a performer, as Oberst possessed a few energetic qualities of the younger Stipe himself. Likely to impress the likes of Dashboard fans with a little bit of edge.
And then came the gods. Every man woman and child in the audience rose to their feet and screamed for these men, these heroes of music. And for one hundred and thirty-four dollars a head, I’d expect a hero or three. The massive twenty-three-track, one-hundred-and-thirty-minute set brilliantly combined a mix of old, new, and different, including a well-done Leaving New York (in which Stipe hit each and every note for the first time in six weeks) and well-known Orange Crush and Losing My Religion. Michael entered the stage with a blue Zoro-esque mask painted over his eyes and ears, and began the show as surly as always, eventually warming up and creating a more personal touch (including a birthday cake for one of their roadies’ 40th).
The lighting and stage layout and design was, as expected, impressive, with some very effective polished metal panels and funky flourescents hanging from the ceiling. The venue’s renowned poor sound quality seemed to take a night off, at least for those fans with seats on the would-be-dancefloor in front of the stage. R.E.M., as always, had Amnesty International and OXFAM travelling with them, selling their goats hats and taking donations next to the merch. stand. The night was very much a success, and any band that can get nine thousand inhibited thirty-five to fifty-five year olds dancing like teenagers again has my stamp of approval.