Chaos and Noise, Pt. 3

As the midget said in one of the dream sequences in 'Twin Peaks,' "Let's rock."

Last year we made our first ever trip to Red Rocks Amphitheater, an amazing outside concert site in the foothills to the west of Denver. It was amazing, and I vowed to go back. Well, last week I did just that, as Zack and I made the trek south to see The National, Modest Mouse and REM!

I don't have any pictures to share, so try to make some in your mind. REM has been at the top of my must-see list for many years, since back in the '80s when Karen's brother first gave me a cassette tape of a couple of their first albums. Over the years, we have never crossed paths until now. They have continually been one of my favorite bands, always mixing it up with their releases. Some have been better received than others, but always there are great songs. Several years ago I stumbled upon Modest Mouse. They play a kind of quirky brand of rock that I like a lot. Their cd 'Good News For People Who Like Bad News' and the most recent 'We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank' are filled with great oddball rhythms, bizarre lyrics and how can I not like that? For reasons I can't explain, I passed on a chance to see them in Billings a couple of years ago. I know nothing about The National.

We were extremely lucky to have my friend Aaron get us tickets and to have him and Tricia go with us. We picked up some brats, beer, water and headed for the show. We had a little tailgate party, cooking up the brats on Aaron's mini-grill, drank a couple of beers and walked in as The National were playing their first song. They were pretty good, just right to get us in the mood.

After a brief break to move equipment, Modest Mouse came on and played a very good set. Here is their setlist:

	Satin In A Coffin
	The View
	Dashboard
	Fire It Up
	Trucker's Atlas
	Wild Packs Of Family Dogs
	Paper Thin Walls
	Education
	Black Cadillacs
	The Good Times Are Killing Me
	Spitting Venom

Particularly good were Dashboard, Fire it Up, The Good Times, and, one of my personal faves from their newest cd, Spitting Venom. Last year they added a guitar player who used to play with The Smiths, and their sound is much bigger with him in the band, in a good way. We all really enjoyed MM, though we did think they could have played a few more songs, like Float On or Ocean Breathes Salty. Maybe next time!

REM came out just as the sun went down. Did I mention that the weather was near perfect? Not hot, not cold, and not raining. They blasted off with Living Well's The Best Revenge, from their new album, and did not stop until they had treated us to 27 songs:
1. Living Well's the Best Revenge
2. What's the Frequency, Kenneth?
3. Welcome to the Occupation
4. Ignoreland
5. Man-Sized Wreath
6. World Leader Pretend
7. Accelerate
8. Cuyahoga
9. Hollow Man
10. Walk Unafraid
11. Houston
12. Electrolite
13. The One I Love
14. Feeling Gravity's Pull
15. Departure
16. Final Straw
17. I've Been High
18. Let Me In
19. Horse to Water
20. Bad Day
21. Orange Crush
22. I'm Gonna DJ
Encore:
23. Supernatural Superserious
24. These Days
25. Losing My Religion
26. Fall On Me
27. Man On The Moon
And what a treat it was! At almost every concert I go to, there are always a song or two that I really, REALLY want to hear. For REM, it was Walk Unafraid, and they played it! (Just for me, I am pretty sure...) Plus, I never would have expected some of the older songs, like World Leader Pretend, Cuyahoga, Feeling Gravities Pull, and Departure. The new songs rock hard, especially Horse to Water, Supernatural, I'm Gonna DJ, Living Well... And of course, the old classics, like Fall on Me, Losing My Religion, Orange Crush (absolutely stunning version), and The One I Love were fresh and had the crowd in a frenzy.

All in all, it was another fantastic show. After waiting so long, REM did not disappoint. If you get a chance...