Project Description
Celebrating R.E.M.
@ State Theatre
07/09/18
(Live Review)
BY ALEC SMART
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The Ones We Love: Celebrating R.E.M. (1982-1992) Australian touring concert performed in the magnificent surrounds of Sydney’s State Theatre on September 7. Billed as ‘An evening of R.E.M. classics with an all-star line-up of vocalists’, the event featured singers and musicians from a variety of Australian bands that were prominent during the immensely popular American rock band’s heyday.
R.E.M., the 85-million album-selling folk-rock 4-piece that soared from college radio favourites to international superstars, enjoyed a 31-year career that eclipsed the decade-long era of their more popular songs, covered by this concert.
Hailing from Athens, Georgia, USA, the quartet was characterized by an eccentric vocalist, Michael Stipe, who wrote thoughtful, often obscure lyrics, and guitarist Peter Buck’s chiming, arpeggiated technique that brought to mind melodic 60s pop balladeers like The Byrds and The Beatles.
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R.E.M. Tribute Concert, State Theatre, Town Hall, Sydney, Australia. Photo: Alec Smart, Friday 7 September 2018
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The band called it a day in September 2011 after releasing their fifteenth studio album, Collapse Into Now, although they continue to release compilations.
The touring concert, also promoted by R.E.M.’s official Facebook page, featured Australian vocal luminaries Alannah Russack (The Hummingbirds); Ron S Peno (Died Pretty); Steve Kilbey (The Church); Jeff Martin (The Tea Party); Trish Young (The Clouds); Ashley Naylor (Even); Peter Fenton (Crow); and Greg and Darren Atkinson (Ups & Downs).
They were backed by The Exploding Boys, a versatile 5-piece band also comprised of famous Australian rock musicians, which authentically replicated the R.E.M. signature sound of ringing Rickenbacker and Gretsch guitars, melodic bass and sparse drums.
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R.E.M. Tribute Concert, State Theatre, Town Hall, Sydney, Australia. Photo: Alec Smart, Friday 7 September 2018
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The music covered the era 1982-1992, which encompassed R.E.M.’s first eight albums,
Murmur, Reckoning,
Fables Of The Reconstruction,
Life’s Rich Pageant, Document,
Green, Out Of Time
and Automatic For The People.
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R.E.M. Tribute Concert, State Theatre, Town Hall, Sydney, Australia. Photo: Alec Smart, Friday 7 September 2018
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The inclusion of the chart topping single, What’s The Frequency Kenneth? stepped outside the chosen decade, dominated by jangly guitar and occasional mandolin, towards R.E.M.’s limited foray into grungy garage rock from their 1994 Monster album.
Also performed was the 1986 single Superman, a cover by Texas band The Clique (who originally released it as a B-side in 1969), and, in a departure from the touring set list, the more sedate Find The River, from 1992’s Automatic For The People.
Although R.E.M. have an amazing catalogue of delightful melodies to choose from, the concert covered all of the obvious choices plus some unexpected gems, despite being limited to only the first of the band’s distinguished three-decades-long recording career.
This included the better known, Man On The Moon, End Of The World As We Know It, Everybody Hurts, Losing My Religion, Don’t Go Back To Rockville, Shiny Happy People and Orange Crush, to the less obvious Pilgrimage, Maps And Legends, Begin The Begin, Drive and Honey In Me.
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R.E.M. Tribute Concert, State Theatre, Town Hall, Sydney, Australia. Photo: Alec Smart, Friday 7 September 2018
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The vocalists averaged three songs each, some sung in combinations with others, and they did their chosen songs justice.
This reviewer preferred Ashley Naylor – former vocalist of Even, and guitarist with The Stems, Paul Kelly’s touring band and TVs RocKwiz house band – who, singing in the same key as R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe, was instrumental in encouraging people to dance and delivered a stirring version of the gorgeous Fall On Me.
Steve Kilbey was perhaps the best known of the performers. He has a distinctive talk-singing style of vocals, which worked well on Maps And Legends but I felt it didn’t suit the beautiful, albeit widey misinterpreted ballad The One I Love (incidentally R.E.M.’s first international hit), which requires a soaring, impassioned voice to reach the crescendo.
Ron S Peno put on a lively performance, delivering Orange Crush, Talk About The Passion and one of my personal favourites, So. Central Rain.
The Atkinson brothers sang fine harmonies, so too Peter Fenton. However, the audience favourite was clearly Jeff Martin, who alone led four numbers, beginning with the ever-popular Losing My Religion, before urging everybody to stand up and sing the melancholy Everybody Hurts, which has gained a life of its own as a suicide-prevention song.
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R.E.M. Tribute Concert, State Theatre, Town Hall, Sydney, Australia. Photo: Alec Smart, Friday 7 September 2018
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Martin alternated between mandolin, electric 6-string and acoustic 12-string guitars, then introduced a hurdy-gurdy, which he described as a ‘dying cat’, although it produced a dulcet drone that resembled a musical troupe of bees on the dreamy Nightswimming.
Alannah Russack and Trish Young also sang beautiful harmonies both together and with, respectively, Peter Fenton, Ashley Naylor and Steve Kilbey; the grand finale with Naylor showcasing their talent with a rousing version of Shiny Happy People, which propelled the entire audience up and dancing.
R.E.M. would have been proud and moved by the spectacle.
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Alec Smart’s gallery of Celebrating R.E.M. images is HERE
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R.E.M. Tribute Concert, State Theatre, Town Hall, Sydney, Australia. Photo: Alec Smart, Friday 7 September 2018
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