Bootleg City: R.E.M. at the Avalon
What's the frequency, Mayor Wardlaw?
Happy Saturday, citizens of Bootleg City — we're here to kick off the first day of a long weekend with the latest bounty bestowed upon us by benevolent Mayor Wardlaw, who's seen fit to reach into his voluminous vaults and bring forth an R.E.M. performance from 2003.
Recorded at the Avalon in Hollywood on October 29 of that long-ago year, this widely disseminated set has been described as "killer" by our old pal Heather Browne at the late and lamented I Am Fuel, You Are Friends. I cannot personally vouch for this as I am currently listening to Béla Fleck's version of "Rhapsody in Blue" and Mayor Wardlaw does not pay me enough to dictate what comes out of my speakers, but Heather is a very good egg and we trust her completely. Anyway, here's the setlist: