​R.E.M.

January 26, 1995

Myer Music Bowl

Melbourne, Australia



Master recording



DAT to WAV capture using M-Audio ---> Adobe Audition ---> FLAC



Here’s a clean, clear, and likely not-very-circulated recording I made in 1995, when R.E.M. began its year-long tour to support Monster. Australia is beautiful and it was their summer, so I lined up freelance work, got my tourist visa, and arranged to bring recording equipment, too.



I saw three shows in Sydney and two in Melbourne. Though the tour was in its embryonic stage, the performances were quite good. The band focused on material from its most recent albums. They changed their set every night, so here, we get “King of Comedy,” which they later dropped (Mike Mills said some months later that it was “too hard to play”), the unreleased rant "Revolution," and a cover of “Wichita Lineman” with tennis player Jim Courier playing drums. He needed a few attempts to get the song going, but eventually got it right. We also heard a well-received “Disturbance at the Heron House” and “Half a World Away.” Samples attached.



I recorded four nights, missing only the first in Sydney, where I got busted and endured a stern dressing-down from one of the band’s crew. Undeterred, I went on to tape the remainder, and enjoyed them a lot.



Grant Lee Buffalo and Died Pretty opened, and they were terrific, too.



Trade freely, and for free, and enjoy!



- slipkid68

*******************end original text*****************

01. Intro
02.Circus Envy
03. What's The Frequency, Kenneth?
04. Crush With Eyeliner
05. Disturbance At The Heron House
06. Drive
07. You
08. For The Love Of Money - King Of Comedy
09. I Don't Sleep, I Dream
10. Revolution
11. Try Not To Breathe
12. Tongue
13. Man On The Moon
14. Half A World Away
15. Losing My Religion
16. Pop Song 89
17. I Took Your Name
18. Orange Crush
19. Get Up
20. Star 69
21. It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
encore:
22. Let Me In
23. Everybody Hurts
24. Wichita Lineman (aborted)
25. Wichita Lineman
26. Bang And Blame
27. Finest Worksong

Timeline notes: 'Wichita Lineman' features Jim Courier (yes the tennis player) on drums, after 3 unsuccessful attempts to start the song. Jim was in Melbourne after losing to Pete Sampras in the Quarter Finals of the Australian Open tennis tournament

Notes:
-Before Man On The Moon, MS "Once upon a time when I was really young I had yjis hero who was on television, and the first time I ever saw him he was miming along to a record which was the theme song to Mighty Mouse which was my favorite cartoon.  I was 15 years old and I had just discovered a singer from New York named Patti Smith and this all somehow worked itself together to be really signifigant in my life.  So What did I do?  I started a band and we wrote a song about it 11 years later and this is that song".

Grade: A