Opening with "I Don't Sleep, I Dream"
Tim Fries
In a lot of the concert reviews I've read, where R.E.M. has opened with
"I Don't Sleep, I Dream," I usually see the reviewer complaining about
this choice as an opener. I'll admit that this is not my favorite song,
but thinking back, I think it's actually a pretty good song to open
with. This was my first R.E.M. concert, and my seats were very good (2nd
row behind the stage), and I was in total awe of being that close to
R.E.M.. I mean, they could have opened with "Shiny Happy People" at that
point and I wouldn't have minded. So by the time IDSID was over and they
launched into WTF,K? my initial reaction of awe and shock of seeing them
was more or less over and I was able to really get into the concert.
Also, since IDSID is not usually listed as an R.E.M. fan's favorite song
(I could be wrong here), while Kenneth is very popular, it gave the
soundboard controllers the chance to fix any problems with the mixing
before they started playing Kenneth. Anyway, that's why I think that
IDSID is a decent choice for an opener...it also made Kenneth sound that
much better. Anybody else out there agree?
--
==- "Ever been overrcharged by a faulty scanner?" Tim Fries
===-- "Ever pay for someone else's calls?" FtS Productions Lead Programmer
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Sue Irvin
I thought then and still think it was a good opening song. Yeah,
I think WTF,K would be a good choice for opening, too...it
certainly would get everybody's attention and get people into
the show right away...but I think IDSID is equally a good choice.
It may or may not be as popular as WTF,K is, but there's something
about it that draws you in (at least for me).
--
Sue Irvin
cl...@rahul.net <-- note my new address!
Jason McDonald
[A little stuff deleted]
: with. This was my first R.E.M. concert, and my seats were very good (2nd
: row behind the stage), and I was in total awe of being that close to
: R.E.M.. I mean, they could have opened with "Shiny Happy People" at that
: point and I wouldn't have minded. So by the time IDSID was over and they
: launched into WTF,K? my initial reaction of awe and shock of seeing them
: was more or less over and I was able to really get into the concert.
Even as one of those complaining posters, I'll have to concede
this point. I think that REM could have opened every show with a Boyz
II Men cover and no one would really mind. But then you get you get
into the question of crowd manipulation -- do you wait for the awe to
subside, or do you whip them into a further frenzy right off the bat?
Differing schools of thought, I guess. If they were playing the more
"mellow" songs, I would say IDSID would have been the way to go, but since
their intentions are to be more rocking on this tour, I would have leapt
right into "Kenneth" with reckless abandon.
: Also, since IDSID is not usually listed as an R.E.M. fan's favorite song
: (I could be wrong here), while Kenneth is very popular, it gave the
: soundboard controllers the chance to fix any problems with the mixing
: before they started playing Kenneth. Anyway, that's why I think that
Well, under the disclaimer that I've never actually done soundboard
work, I would tend to think that professionals at this level, with so
many shows to fine tune their program wouldn't really need that much time
to get things in sync. Some might also say that's what an opening act is
for.
: IDSID is a decent choice for an opener...it also made Kenneth sound that
: much better. Anybody else out there agree?
Decent choice.... sure! I like IDSID a lot, even more so now that
I've heard it live. Furthermore, I'll admit that the additional
fact of the pouring rain at the Pgh. show may have made that show
atypical of the overall vibe at other shows. But I still think rolling right
into Kenneth would have been a better opening. You make a good case, but
I'm sticking to my guns on this one.
Actually, is there anyone out there who's seen it done both ways?
I thought I remember there were a few setlists with "Kenneth" leading off.
I'd be interested to hear an opinion of someone who saw both the openings.
--
Jay McDonald University of Pittsburgh
bjb
McDonald) wrote:
> Tim Fries (ad...@detroit.freenet.org) wrote:
>
> [A little stuff deleted]
> : with. This was my first R.E.M. concert, and my seats were very good (2nd
> : row behind the stage), and I was in total awe of being that close to
> : R.E.M.. I mean, they could have opened with "Shiny Happy People" at that
> : point and I wouldn't have minded. So by the time IDSID was over and they
> : launched into WTF,K? my initial reaction of awe and shock of seeing them
> : was more or less over and I was able to really get into the concert.
>
> Even as one of those complaining posters, I'll have to concede
> this point. I think that REM could have opened every show with a Boyz
> II Men cover and no one would really mind. But then you get you get
> into the question of crowd manipulation -- do you wait for the awe to
> subside, or do you whip them into a further frenzy right off the bat?
> Differing schools of thought, I guess. If they were playing the more
> "mellow" songs, I would say IDSID would have been the way to go, but since
> their intentions are to be more rocking on this tour, I would have leapt
> right into "Kenneth" with reckless abandon.
Well, at the first of three Chicago shows a few weeks ago, they led off
with "I Took Your Name." Not my favorite song from Monster, but I
actually enjoyed letting my awe diminish a bit in time for "Kenneth",
which was second. Also the spectacle of my favorite band (and I like a
lot of bands) strutting onstage and leading off with a muscular version of
"Took" made that song a lot more enjoyable than it would have been buried
in the middle of the set.