Tuesday 5th July 05 - REM at Hull KC Stadium By Steve Rudd photos by Matt Rudd & SMC

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The quality of weather couldn't really have been any worse for what is essentially deemed as being the height of summer, but the relentless rain failed to dumb down most people's spirits.

Unfortunately, myself and (some of) my family arrived late at the venue. One of my brothers, Martyn (who has long been the biggest REM fan in the family, and who is almost solely responsible for everybody else in our family being into the band's music), got there early and queued outside the vast stadium in an orderly fashion with all the other hardcore REM fans, the majority of whom still couldn't quite believe that one of the biggest, best and most respected rock bands on Planet Earth was stopping off on their mammoth tour to treat the people of Hull and the surrounding area to their astounding back catalogue of music. Yes, it was quite hard to believe.

As the rest of us (us being myself, my other brother Matthew and our mum and dad) approached, the first support act in Idlewild could be heard blasting out their brand of rock.

Promoting their latest Warnings/ Promises album, we did luckily get into the venue in time to witness the back-to-back triple-header of their new songs Love Steals Us From Loneliness, the aching and longing nature of El Capitan and the far more rocking I Understand It. All those three songs have been released as singles from the album, and provide a perfect indication of the type of music that the band is producing for the time being. Since the band supported Ash way back in the late 90's at Hull's City Hall, it's fair to say that Idlewild have come a long way - and somehow now sound better than ever.

The second support act in The Zutons won the crowd over partially due to their sax appeal. Far more upbeat and seemingly fun-loving than Idlewild, The Zutons know how to get the party started with their pop-pummelled indie-rock anthems. By this stage, everybody was suitably saturated by the rain - but way past caring. The agonisingly long wait between The Zutons and REM simply served to work the crowd up into even more of an exhilarated frenzy, so that when the band swept onto the stage the venue exploded with sheer joy. REM front man Michael Stipe literally looked a sight.

Only a few days previous the band had played three songs at the huge Live 8 event in London's Hyde Park, and just as he did there, here in Hull Michael sported a blue streak of face-paint that stretched from ear to ear and over his eyes to stunning effect. Why, nobody really knows - but that's beside the point. He maybe has good reason. There might have been six musicians on-stage for the majority of the gig, but REM is essentially a trio that utilises auxiliary musicians to flesh out their songs. Indeed, Peter Buck is the main guitarist, while Mike Mills (equipped in his sharp and uber-smart spangly jacket that glittered beneath the stage lights) plays the bass and piano. Mr Mills also sings when required, too.

Euphorically opening with one of their newest anthems in Bad Day, the guys immediately then harked back a fair few years into their long career to dredge up their incredible What's The Frequency, Kenneth? tune. Boy can these guys write songs, and almost every single tune that they've ever knocked up is so buoyed by catchy Pop influences that you just have to smile and sing along. Mixing and matching a perfect selection of older material (from Everybody Hurts to The One I Love) with a couple of relatively obscure tracks from yesteryear (such as Animal) and a healthy dose of material from their last album (that hit stores late in 2004 to widespread critical acclaim), REM could understandably do no wrong.

Continued... next page

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