When one attends a concert at Jones Beach in New York, one must realize that the weather is the true headliner of the event. For those that do not know, Jones Beach is an amazing open air venue with a stage and amphitheater resting right in the water. With that in mind last nights brilliant line up of REM with special guests Modest Mouse and The National could only be upstaged by an act of God. Indeed they were as rain, heavy winds and a lightning storm took center stage.
REM took the stage an hour after they were expected to go on due to rain delayes. As the walked on, Michael Stipe came out saying "Welcome to REM:Survivor 2008!," instead of breaking out into one of their own tunes, they kicked the show off with Creedance Clearwater Revivals "Have You Ever Seen The Rain?" with bassist Mike Mills singing the verses and Stipe the choruses, then going into "South Central Rain," the band joked about the weather and were glad the audience still stayed. Backed by screens and photography from Vincent Moon, REM looked beautiful under the electrical storm. Playing only five songs from the band's latest Accelerate, they stuck to a lot of deeper cuts from their previous works. Songs like "Electrolight," "Let Me In," and "Welcome to the Occupation," not only showed the band's musical timeline but staying power. After two unsuccessful records and back in a big way thanks to Accelerate, REM show that after being in this business for three decades they still got it. The "encore," came about after playing "I'm Gonna DJ at the End of the World," Stipe smiled and said "Ok, this is the encore, no point in going off stage we are already wet. Here is where it gets dramatic, what are they going to do? He is so unpredictable and eccentric." Playing a half hour encore with more of their bigger hits, "Losing my Religion," "It's the End of the World as We Know It," and "Man on the Moon," Modest Mouse and former Smith's guitarist Johnny Marr came out to jam for a pleasant surprise.
Opening the show as a personal favorite of mine, The National. The driest band of the evening as they took the stage before the sun went down over the beach. The National began playing to an almost empty theater, but after their first song "Start a War," more people started trickling in and were curious to find out who these guys were. The National's live shows are just incredible. It is beautiful haunting music being played right in front of you and the passion the band has playing their songs is what drives their shows. This was the third time I had seen them and this time in a crowd who had no idea who they were. By then end of their 45 minute set they gained new fans and even a standing ovation.
The most unfortunate band of the night was Modest Mouse. The Pacific Northwest nautical rockers took the stage when it was dry and well, like the title of their latest release We Were All Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. The idea of having a perfect summer band like Modest Mouse at the perfect summer venue, sounds well....perfect. It was anything but. The band came on strong and delivered a lot of deep tracks from The Lonesome Crowded West and The Moon and Antarctica, creating a solid set. The band playing was tight, Isaac Brock's lispy vocals were in tact, Johnny Marr's (who just joined the band last year) guitar work of all Modest Mouses older songs was on point. Nothing on Earth could go wrong to ruin this magnificent set--Mother Nature is a Bitch! As rain and lightening pounded on the beach, half way through the band's brilliant performance, Modest Mouse kept their cool and still played on. 50 minutes into their playing time a bolt of lightening slammed near by the venue sounding like a canon exploded causing the band and crowd to jump and duck for cover. Modest Mouse were unfortunately cut short, and the show was delayed by an hour. However, this was one night I will never forget and glad that the show did go on.
#remjones