Greatest R.E.M Live Performances

I am pleased to see a version of 'Permanent Vacation' on the list. I wonder if any of these versions have made their way online?

 

Probably this one.

 

It's definitely up there as one the best shows I've ever seen.

I did see R.E.M. nine more times throughout their career. Not too surprisingly, my other favourites were in smaller venues but (bigger) shows I saw on the Green and Up tours were very good and their slot with Springsteen on the Vote for Change tour was memorable.

 

Great version of a classic. Hard to argue with Stipes opinion on it..

 

"Radio Free Europe" - Late Night With David Letterman, '83

 

I was thinking this one:

 

Moonshadow Saloon
Atlanta, Georgia
February 18, 1985

"Bandwagon" & "Wendell Gee" (Buck on 12-string instead of banjo)

 

Wow! Unfortunately I was never able to see them live, and can only imagine how amazing it would have been to see them so many times in such different conditions.

 

I completely agree; it is such a wonderful, melodic, pure pop song and so unique to R.E.M. This version is fantastic, a highlight in a show full of them.

 

Thanks! That is a superb version, certainly a competitor with the other version posted.

 

If you're an REM fan and have never seen this...well, it's a MUST...



edited...found a better version.

 

R.E.M.'s performance on Late Night with David Letterman, in Oct 1983, was very memorable for me.
It was their national debut.

They played "Radio Free Europe", from Murmur which was just released.
Then they played an early version of "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)" which wasn't to be released until the following year.
I replayed that VCR tape numerous times, and copied it over and over for others.
It seemed like a flash of lighting in a bottle.

 

Thanks!

 

This is some good stuff - Scheherezade / Liza Sez, also from the same Tyrone's show:

 

One more, same show, their cover of "Little Girl":

 

Cool thread! I have all of R.E.M.'s studio albums and most of their b-sides but never owned a live album or DVD of performances. Should I start with the Unplugged live album? One of my favorite R.E.M. songs is a deep track from Around the Sun called High Speed Train. It is amazing (though the album it's from is very spotty). Not sure if they ever did a live version of it.

 

Road Movie version of Undertow has some huevos:

 

That's great!

 

This thread reminded me how great they were live. Lots of good stuff so far!

 

Universal Amphitheatre 1985. I've seen them a bunch of times, but that may be the most stunning. It's out there on an audience tape -- you know the show I mean.

That said, the whole thread begs the question -- when do we start getting these archive releases?

 

And this version of Rockville

 

I love this Everly Brothers cover. There's some debate in the comments over whether it's actually live. I think it is, but either way it's one of my favorite R.E.M. things.

 

Love this cover too.

 

I like it when he'd throw himself more into the song, plus this one has hair. I think there are better audio ones than this although I can't pick a specific one, but there are loads of soundboards from '84 where he adds some yelps almost Buddy Holly-like hiccups and such. (Any Gardening At Night is better than none at all btw).