Admittedly, R.E.M. aren’t my all-time favourite group, but for one small and simple reason: years ago lead singer Michael Stipe had “attacked” The Beatles, I think by saying something along the lines that they weren’t all that good, and seeing that the Fab Four are my all-time fav band…
The concert at the beautiful Villa Manin, just 15 kms from Udine (I spoke to someone from the band’s entourage who was quite impressed with the setting!), attracted about 10,000 people, even from nearby Slovenia. The show opened up with the Editors, an English band. At one point, Mike Mills snuck up on stage to watch the opening band (few in the crowd had noticed him). As he turned around, from down below I waved to him and he gave me the peace sign. The Athens, Georgia band’s repertoire consisted of a whopping 26 songs, 5 alone in the encore section. They opened with “Living Well” and concluded with “Man On The Moon”. Other hits included “Losing My Religion”, “Back To Rockville” and “Hollow Man”.
Stipe was in an energetic mode, squirming (and even spitting!) about on the stage. Peter Bucks was instead rather tranquil on guitar.
The concert at the beautiful Villa Manin, just 15 kms from Udine (I spoke to someone from the band’s entourage who was quite impressed with the setting!), attracted about 10,000 people, even from nearby Slovenia. The show opened up with the Editors, an English band. At one point, Mike Mills snuck up on stage to watch the opening band (few in the crowd had noticed him). As he turned around, from down below I waved to him and he gave me the peace sign. The Athens, Georgia band’s repertoire consisted of a whopping 26 songs, 5 alone in the encore section. They opened with “Living Well” and concluded with “Man On The Moon”. Other hits included “Losing My Religion”, “Back To Rockville” and “Hollow Man”.
Stipe was in an energetic mode, squirming (and even spitting!) about on the stage. Peter Bucks was instead rather tranquil on guitar.
Seeing that I had to park about 1 km away, and seeing that there would be a special on the Rolling Stones that night on late tv, I headed out rather early in order to avoid the traffic and to catch the Stones (no offence to R.E.M. fans out there, but the Stones are just a few notches higher than the American band, unless Stipe has the same feelings for Jagger and Richards as he’s had for Lennon and McCartney!). All pics by M. Rimati.
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