When does something go from being a concert video to being a concert film? I don’t know exactly, but I know it when I see it. R.E.M. Live, entertaining though it may be, is a concert video, not a film.
Still, I was surprised how effective it was in making me realize this: I have been unfairly neglecting R.E.M. for years! The last album of theirs I bought was Monster in 1994. For 13 years I’ve been treating them like a band that’s broken up. Frankly, I don’t know why. And I don’t know why I’m the least bit surprised that the new (to me) songs presented in R.E.M. Live are terrific. I was a HUGE R.E.M. fan for years – and while the inclusion of Cayahoga will obviously resonate with me more than Leaving New York I am here to declare that it is, as the kids say, all good.
I wish this movie wasn’t cut together like an epileptic on speed, though. This is a band full of old men like me – can’t they let a shot stand still for a second? You do get used to it after a while.
