In the 21st century, it’s normally a matter of when, not if, a band that breaks up will reform. Some acts barely allow enough time to be missed when the inevitable reunion tour or festival show is announced. R.E.M. was never a band that played by the rules, however. They often selected unusual singles (“E-Bow the Letter,” anyone?) and even avoided touring to promote what proved to be their two most successful records, 1991’s Out of Time and 1992’s Automatic for the People. Since amicably splitting in 2011, the group has ever-so-frustratingly balked at the idea of reuniting, save for a single performance of “Losing My Religion” to celebrate their induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2024.

While fans continue to pine for a revival, Oscar-nominated actor Michael Shannon and rocker Jason Narducy have taken up the torch—what was supposed to be a one-off in 2023 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Murmur at the Metro has morphed into an annual series of tribute shows centered around classic R.E.M. albums, like last year’s performance of Fables of Reconstruction. This year’s selection is 1986’s Lifes Rich Pageant, considered one of the band’s finest records—for my money, it has the strongest start to any R.E.M. album, opening with four stone cold classics (“Begin the Begin,” “These Days,” “Fall on Me,” and “Cuyahoga”).

Shannon’s and Narducy’s note-perfect renditions on Thursday night’s Metro show—accompanied by members of Superchunk and Wilco—made for a night light on surprises but full of gusto. (Some cities are lucky enough to enjoy both, like last week’s Brooklyn show that featured a Michael Stipe guest spot on two numbers.) At every turn, they faithfully recreated the songs we know and love, cracking out the banjo for “I Believe” and a megaphone on “Superman.”

Once they’d run through all of Lifes Rich Pageant, they began a second set of further R.E.M. deep cuts, kicking off with one of the band’s most bizarre singles, the hypnotic “Lotus” from 1998’s Up. Other selections included a pair of selections from the band’s debut EP Chronic Town and a trio of non-album cuts, including fan favorite “Fretless.” Before “Fireplace,” they teased that they’ll be back next year to tackle 1987’s Document album.

Opening for the band was comedian Bobcat Goldthwait, whose set covered everything from cannibalism to airplane malfunctions to erectile dysfunction, and concluded with an inexplicable yet brilliant mash-up of Bush’s “Glycerine” and the Village People’s “YMCA”…sung with a spot-on Bono impression.

All photos by Julian Ramirez.

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