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Rating: Once again, at one of the many concerts of my life; and once again, I will have to remember indelible episodes, now burned into my mind.
I got to know the Athens band from the album "Document" in 1987 and unfortunately missed their appointment in June 1989 at the Palatrussardi in Milan; a good six years passed before a second chance on Italian soil because the band took a long break from concert activity. Their early nineties albums "Out Of Time" and "Automatic For The People" were not promoted with a world tour. Then finally in September 1994 "Monster" was released, and R.E.M. ended their long concert hiatus: on February 25, 1995, they played at the Forum di Assago.
I managed to get four tickets without difficulty; Ticket One didn't exist, and things were decidedly better in advance sales; the long-awaited day arrives, and I leave from Domodossola. This time, believe it or not!!, together with three young ladies: Marina, Gabriella, and Orietta. We arrive well ahead of the gate-opening time, stand in line, and then enter. The girls opted for the comfortable stands to the left of the essential stage, and I stayed with them during the performance of Grant Lee Buffalo: their short set of Folk-Rock was very valid... But all of us, or almost all, were there in eager anticipation for Michael, Bill, Mike, and Peter.
I bid farewell to my companions and reach the vicinity of the stage: crowds and sweat have never scared me. I had been waiting for this fateful moment for too many years, and now it was very close to starting. The lights go out, and a resounding roar greets the band; we kick off wildly with the first two tracks of the new album: "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" and "Crush With Eyeliner". A contagious energetic Rock charge, and we, the audience, respond immediately in the best way possible. The sound isn't the best, as unfortunately is a negative characteristic of the Forum; but it doesn't matter, and no one notices. The rocky "Turn You Inside-Out" and "Finest Worksong", the funny "Me In Honey", the dramatic in their mystical progression "Half a World Away" and "Country Feedback"... Then comes "Losing My Religion", and it truly prompts me to write: what's the point of even saying it!!! Twelve thousand plus voices join the band to sing the song all together. Personally, it's not among my favorite songs of the band, but in this version, so participated by the audience, it's spine-chilling: absolutely!!
After "Star 69", another song that incites us onlookers near the stage, the band leaves the scene for a few minutes of well-deserved rest. They return, and it's time for the inevitable "Everybody Hurts"; then we are at the end, at the last awaited track. The first notes of ""It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" start and one of my crazy ideas pops into my head: with the complicity of a couple of guys, I let myself be launched above the audience and sail over it, supported by many hands. It feels like being at a Hardcore concert, and even Michael notices my bizarre presence, which is not quite typical for an R.E.M. concert. Who knows what the Athens boys thought of this young, long-haired, and daring Piedmontese guy, who, among other things, was wearing a GODFLESH t-shirt?!?
Over two hours of an unforgettable concert; among the top ten I have ever seen.
I return to my travel companions, and Marina greets me more or less like this: "I recognized you during the last song as you hovered above the crowd from one thing: your black and unmistakable shirt..." Well-spoken, my dear.
A Galensorg and madcat who loudly asked me to.
Ad Maiora.
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