Four years after their last Irish gig, REM returned to refute rumours of their demise. Since the departure of drummer Bill Berry, and their relatively poor last two albums, REM are increasingly being seen as yesterday's gods, fading majestically, but fading nonetheless. The band at Lansdowne Road last night, however, was fired up with spit and shimmy, and came on like bunch of not-so-young bucks who are still hard enough to have a go. The trio came on in broad daylight and leapt into the prickly rhythm of Lotus, then turned up the pitch with What's The Frequency, Kenneth? Singer Michael Stipe was a bundle of jerky energy. Bassist Mike Mills looked regal in a long, shiny coat, while guitarist Peter Buck gave his impression of playing in a local bar.
The Christmas-light stage set was so plainly undazzling, it could have been a parody of Popmart. Stipe, however, is not here to play around with images and ideas of pop stardom. He's here to be a pop star, albeit a rather unlikely one. Call Me Leper is a puzzling, quasi-religious examination of conscience, and it's also a limp song for such a big arena. Fall On Me, on the other hand, is made for the great outdoors. A prolonged and fruitless search for media facilities meant I missed The One I Love and Losing My Religion, but that's OK - I know how they go, and so does everybody else in the known universe. Arriving back in time for Finest Worksong was a fine reward, however.
Coming back onstage alone with an acoustic guitar, Stipe gave his audience a brief, poignant glimpse into the small, vulnerable creature within us all, as he intoned a plaintive "meee" refrain. Crush With Eyeliner and Tongue played with the twin facades of makeup and sexuality, but Cuya- hoga's message was more than skin-deep. Its call to "put our heads together and start a brand new country up," could have been directed at Northern politicians faltering at the brink of peace. It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) made a mocking swan song for the century.
