Postcard From the Road: The Reconstruction of the Fables

…by some super-talented musicians and superfans of the band, for the good of everyone who gets to see them.

I owe REMHQ one of those old-school Postcards From the Road from the past week or so so a better place to write it from the my old school? 

Let’s see, it’s been a busy few days of music, friends, some travel, and all around fun. 

First, let me allay any concerns: no, I have not joined the circus or anything crazy like that, but I am a self-professed superfan of the people and this project, and of course music behind the current reconstruction of the fables tour: Michael, Shannon, Jason Narducy, and friends (Jon Wurster, John Stirratt, Dag Juhlin, and Vijay Tellis-Nyack) are out celebrating the 40th anniversary of the third album by R.E.M., all these years later (Fables was recorded in March 1985 in London with Joe Boyd producing). 

This time around, after the first two weeks out west, they came roaring into Athens and it was an eventful couple of nights at the 40 Watt Club. The shows had sold out pretty much as soon as they went onsale based on how great the Murmur tour was last year and just the general hometown love that exists for the band and their music by so many people. Of course this time it was incredibly special when Bill Berry played drums and sang on Wendell Gee and then when Peter Buck and Mike Mills participated in several other songs, including Second Guessing, Strange, Letter Never Sent and Little America. But the thing that really surprised me, all the musicians onstage and everyone in the room, perhaps even Michael himself, was when on Thursday night Michael Stipe got up on and sang on an old but still somehow underrated favorite Pretty Persuasion from Reckoning (and then did it again the next night on the same song, only this time having worked out with Michael Shannon who was going to sing which part). Stipe and Shannon have many things in common, especially talent, presence and charisma. And they both sing beautifully.

Anyway, I’m not really a journalist and will not try to capture those moments but a couple of friends who are have done so in their own ways: 

Annie Zaleski, who was participating online and after the fact like most people who were following along wherever they were in the world: https://berto.fyi/4bpNQK5

And Jordan Stepp who wrote an excellent post from her Athens Music Junkie blog as well: https://berto.fyi/4i5GP3z

They capture the experience of the night way better than I can and I highly recommend both of their articles.

I was happy to have a weekend chilling out and catching up and just in general resting (people my age need to do that once in a while!) rather than drive up to Chapel Hill for the show at the Cats Cradle in Carrboro. Although I really wanted to see that show and I’ve heard from so many people who were there how packed and perfect that show was

Instead I waited until Tuesday night to catch up with those guys again, this time at a sentimental favorite club of mine, the 9:30 club although not the one at 930 F Street, the “new one” up in the U St. corridor. The larger venue was absolutely packed with fans, and the people seemed to range from 30-something to 60-something and most of the punters seemed to know all the songs, kind of like the band. From the opening strain of Gravity, all through Fables and then into the unending REM songbook that these guys have mastered, it was a very special night indeed, 2 1/2 hours and best I could tell nobody left until 11:30 PM with the show was finished. Many favorites were played, but nothing topped a fierce version of Radio Free Europe at this point in the historical arc seems kind of extra-relevant all of a sudden. I know it sounded amazing in that room for that four minutes and I don’t know how long reels on Facebook last, but I got a decent video of it for my perch above stage 

It certainly left me wanting more, and although I don’t think I will make it any more of the American shows over the next week, I am hoping to make it over for some of the shows in what ones called the British Isles. Dublin went on sale today and evidently became a hot ticket right away. No surprise there since the Irish always loved R.E.M. from the first time the band played there, in 1984 on the Reckoning tour at the old and now departed SFX. 

We are so thrilled about these guys out there playing this timeless music for old and new fans and keeping it alive— and glad they are enjoying it too.

One more link if you’re still reading— on WXPN in Philly, a great interview and acoustic performance by half of the current combo (Michael, Jason and Dag): https://berto.fyi/4i94v79

– bertis